Hey everyone hope you're having an amazing day! It's Mark Wiens I'm in the beautiful region of something in the country of Georgia and today we've driven about two and a half hours outside of Tbilisi We are next to a gorgeous Lake We came here specifically to go to a restaurant where a family Cooks on the lake. Amazing food! it's actually Armenian food in Georgia We're going to see the entire process of some of the dishes being made. Grilled meat is especially famous, but they might have some other dishes as well. It's going to be a huge Armenian Georgian feast and I Cannot wait to share this entire experience with you and all of the amazing food! So welcome! We have just arrived! It was about a three hour drive from the center of Tibilisi, but the drive was spectacular through the mountains Meadows flowers are blooming, we passed by lakes truly spectacular and we've just arrived to um, we're going to be meeting up with Samuel and his family who run a restaurant and they're famous for their food.

We're hanging out with my friend Christo from Culinary Back Streets who's arranged this entire trip today and it's going to be an amazing day of food. Ah, we're just getting started now. this is the spot! Oh okay. oh very good.

Oh nice to meet you. Yeah, smells good already as soon as you step inside of here. I Mean the elevation is somewhere above 2 000 meters here which is pretty high in elevation and so it's always cool it is cold. I mean this is the type of place you want to just warm yourself with food.

but starting with a cup of coffee, oh it's great. Wonderful! So The plan is we are gonna go around. we're gonna do a little bit of sightseeing and get some of the views from this area in the meantime Samwell who is the owner of this restaurant and his family. They're gonna go to the lake and set up the equipment for an ultimate Armenian Georgian Feast Lakeside where they're gonna cook right in front of us and then we'll be eating and I cannot wait to share with you this entire meal.

but that's the plan. Yes is the Russian was it's very strong and good car for going in mountains yeah but not for going in. Asphalt This is the ultimate off-road van Ity so cool. Yeah! Bare Bones just straight metal, metal and engine.

What's the name of the village? It's uh Armenia word. it's uh same like gold something. Oh okay okay because when uh our grandfathers come here they look a river here. ah okay and in the river many fishes when you have and some food for life and some water for drink.

it will be a good life. Yes for sure it's a beautiful location. Chickens oh this is the coolest van ever. Great for off-roading Oh oh that was a fun, a fun and adventurous ride.

Oh gonna have a sore butt. So beautiful. This is literally a mountain! Meadow Alpine Paradise Beautiful up here. Wow in that part is Armenia Okay, that part is turkey and in this part is Georgia So how far is Armenia from here? uh if you look right this it's 10 kilometer after that mountain is Armenia in that mountain Most of the people in this area in The Villages are ethnically Armenian 360 views the Green Mountains and lakes just surrounding.

and then what is the that church? Armenian Little churches. We have so many churches like it. It's built at the top of this mountain as well. These rocks are many in this part.

Uh, that they say they are nine. one one is an altar. Yes, Yes, yes. And you step in here and it's even colder because it's just holding that cool air with these stones.

and The Rock Absolutely magnificent apricots from the mountains Armenia Oh beautiful, All right. Oh, that's the juiciest shape workout you'll ever have. Wow! I'm dripping with apricot juice. Wow, that's incredible.

Look at this slice of watermelon and this amazing family who came up here right after we came here. They brought with them fruit and they're sharing. They're just so hospitable, so friendly. This might be the most beautiful location I've ever eaten watermelon? Um oh wow.

Oh the apricots Followed by the juiciest watermelon you'll ever have in your life and the crispest. Oh and it's just freezing cold because of the weather I Can say that's some of the best watermelon I've ever had in my life. What a moment! I Will never forget an amazing family just rolls up to the mountain in the middle of kind of nowhere at the corner of Georgia turkey and Armenia watermelon in hand. the sharing the beauty, the deliciousness.

The View And I think after this we are heading back down to the lake to start with lunch. Yes Wow! Samuel Um wow, what a place. We just drove all the way down from the mountain, you can see where we were. That's where we were for the Viewpoint at the top of that mountain up there.

Oh, this is just spectacularly gorgeous. Yes, the fire is going somewhere foreign. Yeah, the fire is. Raging Oh, the barbecue over here and the full.

a full stove here? Yes! Oh in the kitchen in the back of the van? Yes. oh look at that bread. Wow. Armenian Lavage.

Oh nice. Whoa. It's huge. Like a towel sized piece of lavash foreign and tomatoes.

Oh eggplant. Yes. Directly onto the grill. so all those vegetables just immediately go onto the Smoky hot flame of the fire.

just start to smoke. They're just going to be embedded with that smoke from the fire from the wood. Oh they're hissing and puffing and juicing already. Oh plus a whole fish.

Oh this is what type of meat is this this one? Poke, pork, chicken, fish and all. It's all marinated and the interesting to come. Oh wow, what is that these are? Armenian Traditional brood? Okay Armenian Dalma Yeah yeah uh but uh. we make in barbecue.

Oh okay. it goes directly under the barbecue. haven't seen before this. Armenian Doma Which is going to be barbecued.

It looks like it's wrapped in cabbage. Cabbage inside me. Cabbage inside meat? This? yes. just handing them back straight onto the grill.

That is beautiful. So much variety too. It looks like a trout. The fish has been filled with a blend of spices that he's rubbing on the belly.

Um yes. for someone's beautiful family and this incredible incredible day. An amazing family. Yeah oh man.

an incredibly beautiful place and delicious food to come. She just tossed in a whole thing of pre-roasted eggplant that goes in. It looks like some tomatoes in there. Oh man.

I Love eggplant that's going to be. It just looks like soft and just juicy. foreign anymore. All right, what are you gonna make here? Uh, tasty barbecue in the world? It's what a move.

Okay and that goes again. Directly onto the grill. Look at those arms. Yes.

Bubble Up and blister and crisp. the fight. Wow, she shouldn't people. What is this one? This one? You know what's cutlet? This one.

This one is made. It's a cutlet. It's never ending barbecue. This one is like a tennis racket sized cutlet.

Wow. That's huge on the bread, the herbs, the cheese, the sauce from the sour plant and this one is Armenian sauce with the tomatoes and spices. Oh my God. Wow Yes Okay they've presented us with the platter of Armenian Barbecue Oh this is Amazing! see I'm well super The love, the hospitality, The food Christo Mentioned you gotta open your taste buds with the herbs, the fresh herbs.

It's going to open your your taste buds and build your hunger. I think it's flatly flat leaf parsley? Could it be? Oh man the food. It's all coming out once. We gotta eat these herbs fast.

The fifth, oh the flat leaf parsley is delicious. Purple basil as well. Oh yeah. Strong, really refreshing, flavorful pasturma.

cured meat. such a depth of flavor. Okay I'm gonna try some of that eggplant while it's hot right out of the pan, just steaming. And from what you told me, this is so popular in Armenia it's so common that it is called barbecue.

like barbecue eggplant. Oh wow they're so creamy and Smoky and like double cooked roasted so it has that smokiness and then fried again with the peppers in there is beautiful Amazing! Samuel Just said the toast for you only for the guests that you decide to come here to Georgia you know world is so big he says and somehow you decided to come here so he appreciates this and he says thanks to the gods and thanks to you that you came to this country. Wow so thank you thank you Samuel thank you Kristoff wow wow wow Armenian Told my summer summer is the king of King of barbecue right here. Wow maybe here this one is the wrapped in the the call fat.

Our table is almost maximized capacity. I'm gonna try this since it just came off the grill. Oh tender has to be the king, the king of all. Meats um oh oh it's the liver I believe there's the Luber oh it is.

Oh wow I Wanted to figure out yourself to find out yourself. Even better than expected. Um crumbles and melts in your mouth and then that fat. The call Fat just kind of holds it together.

That increases the juiciness because as that grilled that just like kind of absorbed into the liver. I'm going to start on the big tray now. There must be like a dozen different items on that tray from the grill. But the thing I I'm gonna try first is that Doma which is totally different from any other Doma and different from the Doma that they served here on the other plate.

but this is wrapped in cabbage, there's meat, there's rice inside and then it was grilled. Um yes, you have it again. you got to get them done like that. He went.

He did. Yeah oh man. the ultimate delicious move. Oh I Love that those gestures he makes.

even though we don't speak the same language, we speak the same language for food. Oh and and just hospitality. Um oh so good. So frustration as well.

This is an Armenian sauce. Put this onto that last bite of the Doma here and so refreshing. Tomato chili, some spices in there I'm going to reach in for that pork chop next. Oh the marinade.

like the dry chili in there saltiness and then the I mean just the flavor of that high fire smoke which is just embedded into meat. and with the meat it really goes well. Okay yeah oh yeah okay. thank you.

Samuel Um okay for that moment. a special that moment when you took a decision. Okay let's go to the Georgia He loves this moment and he wants to drink for that that moment that particular moment and against says thanks to God for that moment. Wow this is his favorite toast actually for the moment when people take decision to come here and then for the moment of here and he is he has the album of the of the photos and then he makes the picture.

Wow! Okay for us being together and for this beautiful moment. Wow and it's the first time anybody has dedicated a toast to the decision for coming to visit a country and so this is truly a pleasure. Truly a pleasure. Wow! Try this cutlet which is a giant burger made from a mix of pork and chicken with onions on top.

Um oh. Delicious, Juicy and crumbly and especially marinating. There's some spices. It's really flavorful, like a flavor of a kebab, just in a different shape in a burger shape.

Oh that fish is beautiful. Oh it does look like a type of trout. It has a bit of a pink inside, squeeze on a little bit of lemon, there's a little bit of a yeah, that spicy place and salt that he wiped in the inside. Fish is fresh, almost as a salmon kind of taste to it.

Yeah! I think it is a trout. There's herbs I think this one is tarragon. You can chase with herbs. Wonderful.

You go for that. Jacob Really? Smoky again. and then those Armenian spices for marinade and then just caked on there with that smoke in that fire crystal says it's really good with this sour plum sauce. I'm going to scoop some of that onto the chicken, the shower Plum the coriander in there, the tartness.

Then they have this huge plate of pickled vegetables as well. These little pickled chilies are what I'm after. Ah okay. crispy, juicy, all that brininess comes out.

Oh it is a little bit spicy when you keep on chewing. And this massive tray of Armenian dolma. So it's rice mixed with minced meat, some spices. There's grape leaves, there's cabbage, there's tomato, eggplant, and peppers.

Let me grab in for one of these wrapped in the the cabbage with tomato sauce as well. Oh wow, that's awesome. Really good. Oh man, it's just so juicy.

When I took the bite down, the tomato juice just like splurts out of it. Thank you Another toast. Yes Yes! So for your beautiful family, this is the toast. Thank you thank you Samuel so toasting is toasty.

very common. Yeah those things in the light situation. Oh what a culture? Yeah um some of these amazing green onions. I'm gonna go in for one of these eggplants.

Wow! Doma is absolutely incredible. I can play with it. Whoa. the salad was hiding.

We have found that the Cucumbers there's tomatoes in here, onions, the red leaf basil I mean the vegetables here are just so good, so refreshing, so crisp. and I just love how along with all the meats that such a balance. So many different vegetables and herbs. Well these are some of the roasted Peppers that they grilled over the fire.

um The Armenian very thin bread. oh water though. just incredible meal. This is the the new standard of a barbecue.

Yes oh um oh one thing I forgot to try that cheese. Wow. hard and salty, really good. and then what I saw is very common after a meal.

I actually for a meal is to just come here Water's Edge and just kind of lay and relax in the the shrubs and the herbs. Oh what a meal! What a family! What an experience an Armenian food experience in Georgia Oh man, it's just like a a nest. You could just take a nap after that meal that Feast oh my God Ah let's take a nap after that meal. Are you sleeping already? Micah And so that's gonna be it for this another amazing day in Georgia And the family.

They run a guest house. They have a restaurant it's called family Corner. It's completely family run and you can just tell that it's completely out of passion. They love what they do.

They love their Hospitality serving others serving Armenian Food grilling, preparing food and just being friendly and kind and just truly shines. I mean I Didn't know what to expect but it was just what an incredible experience. Delicious food, amazing people again I Want to say a huge thank you to Christo from Culinary? Backstreets Also again a big shout out to Culinary! Backstreets They offer tours Food Tours that focus on authentic food as well as experiences as well as connecting with people who love food. and they offer tours in 15 different cities around the world.

I'll have their Link in the description box below, but if you do use code, you can type in a code migrationology 10 to get 10 off any of their tours and thank you again to Culinary Backstreets for arranging this. We'll be traveling around Georgia eating some delicious food going to Villages Cooking eating I Can't wait to share with you more food so stay tuned for lots more videos. And I'll have more videos in the description box that you can check out as well, but that's going to be it for this video today. I Want to say a huge thank you for watching? Please remember to give this video a thumbs up! Leave a comment below I'd love to hear from you and if you're not already subscribed, make sure you subscribe for lots more food and travel videos.

Thanks again for watching goodbye from Georgia and I will see you on the next video.