Caucasus Garden
Caucasus Garden
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
1 review
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"We have soup. We have salad. We have appetizer. We have bread. What do you want?"
I stared back at him, stonily, not amused by his assumption that I had stumbled in by mistake, and needed to be informed of the dining categories in a restaurant.
"I will have Dovga. Followed by the Kurza. I'll have the Garden Kebab as the entrée. Some Lavash bread. With Cranberry Juice."
His jaw dropped as I handed the menu back and started to jot my thoughts on the iPhone.
"Are you Russian? No? Then, are you Kavkazi? You look Kavkazi."
It was a pretty impressive 180 degrees turn in 15 seconds. From assuming me to be an uninformed idiot, he'd transformed me to being a local!
Caucasus Garden was my second experimentation with Azerbaijani food in the city. While there was an interlude of a few months between my two visits (resulting in loss of the likely FTR status), I'd say their food quality lags that at Café Sim Sim, but the ambiance is more upscale and it takes less time for the food to arrive at your table. Also, there are more dining options (particularly those popular in Russia), one of them is the Dovga (described as the Azerbaijan national meal made with rice, flour, yogurt, eggs, dill, and garlic). The Kurza (Azerbaijani ravioli – stuffed with spiced lamb) are much like the Manti, except that the preparation of the meat stuffing is different – rendering them unique from the ubiquitous version of Manti served in Uzbek restaurants in the city. Most comforting of all, perhaps, was the Mushroom Julian: the traditional Russian dish filled with mushrooms and a sour cream sauce, topped with cheese and then baked.
I am not a fan of the paper-thin pancakes: Kutab (whether stuffed with meat or with chopped spinach) and found them bland, nor of the many versions of Kebab which may be more influenced by Turkish versions (Garden Kebab featuring the popular Adana Kebab, lamb kebab, lamb ribs, chicken Adana and beef kebabs). The bread is also Turkish inspired, and while not technically Lavash but more like Pide, is another of those dining choices whose origin may be attributable to diverse sources, but whose taste renders such a discussion academic. Even while one of the versions served to me was slightly burned (see picture), the bread itself was tasteful. I couldn't say the same or share the enthusiasm for the "delicious Pakhlava" that was brought subsequently by the server.
I have really liked their Cranberry juice, and find it interesting that as you move westward there are slight variations on the same theme, with the Kompot being more common across restaurants from Central Asia. Memory is a key building block to learning and discernment, for the first server recognized me today despite the lapse of a few months. "I remember you", he said with a broad smile. "So do I", I responded, as I pondered the progress we both had made in cultural understanding.