Choosing a topic for this blog post was a bit of a struggle. After living abroad in a completely different country for four weeks, there are about a million different topics I could explore. I could wax poetic about Armenia’s love affair with Jazz, or explain the importance of parks as social spaces here. These are ideas I will likely explore in future blog posts, but to begin I want to stick by Mark Twain’s immortal advice and “write what I know.” And what I know is food.
I spent last summer working as a line cook at a local restaurant and I thoroughly enjoy cooking weekend dinners for my family back in America. I wouldn’t go so far as to say I’m a culinary snob, but I definitely meet the lower bar of “foodie.” After learning I was coming to Yerevan this summer, one of the first things I did was watch Anthony Bourdain’s “Parts Unknown” episode on Armenia. Bourdain’s stellar review was more than enough to get me excited about the prospect of eating my way around the country.
The first thing that surprised me about Yerevan is just how international the restaurant scene is here. In my first week walking around the city, I passed Mexican, Italian, Chinese, Middle Eastern, American, and Indian restaurants. I was not prepared to be floored by incredible Thai food in Armenia! But, for the sake of brevity, I’ll only focus this post on the regional foods I’ve tried and the local customs I’ve observed. With that, here are some of my favorite foods I’ve tried thus far:
Khachapuri: Khachapuri is a Georgian dish consisting of egg, cheese, and a whole lot of butter in the middle of a loaf of bread. Khachapuri is a dish that comes with its own utensils—you take pieces of bread from the edges and dip them in the goodness in the middle. For Khachapuri and I, it was love at first sight. It’s a bit heavy, so it’s better shared with friends (although I usually just end up finishing it after the others tap out).
Khinkali: Another Georgian dish, Khinkali are soup dumplings with a mix of meat and cilantro inside surrounded by a savory broth. The local way to eat Khinkali is to skewer the top with the fork, turn the dumpling upside down, and suck out the broth before eating the rest of the filling. I still haven’t quite perfected the technique and on more than one occasion have had waiters come up to me and correct my form.
Dolma: Dolma are grape leaves stuffed with rice and meat. They’re frequently eaten with a mix of sour cream and garlic. People can get pretty creative with the way they’re served. At one restaurant, they came out inside of a steamed pumpkin!
Shashlik: Шашлык is Russian for barbecue and is a general way of describing grilled meats. I’ve eaten beef, pork, lamb, and chicken shashlik and enjoyed them all immensely. My host father even made grilled chicken on the stovetop with an electric grill!
Apricots: Apricots aren’t just a fruit in Armenia—they’re a phenomenon. During apricot season, everyone you meet (and I mean absolutely everyone) will ask you if you’ve tried the apricots. They’re served with almost every meal with my host family and my host mother uses them to make apricot compote (almost like a sweet, infused water) and apricot jam. It’s also customary to crack open the apricot pits and eat the seed inside, which almost tastes like an almond.
There are also some Armenian eating customs I’ve noticed that are very different from meals back in the US. For example, every meal with my host family has bread, cheese, and fresh vegetables. Even if none of these items are eaten, they are always put out. Also, eating with hands is customary even if it's not dishes that we would typically think of as “finger food,” for example chicken or dolma. Bread is always torn, not cut. My host mother even taught me a saying: Хлебу жаль нож (the bread feels sorry for the knife!). In restaurants, “messy” meals (think hamburgers, sandwiches, and buffalo wings) come with plastic gloves you can use if you so desire. As a buffalo wings traditionalist, I have mixed feelings about this but it definitely makes cleaning up easier!
I’m sure there are some things I’m missing from this post. After all, I’ve only been here four weeks. Yerevan still has so much left to discover, and I’m sure I’ll stumble upon more fascinating aspects of Armenian gastronomy as I continue to explore the city!
Advanced Russian Language and Area Studies Program, Yerevan
Summer 2022