I spent five months living in Batumi in Georgia’s southwestern Ajara region, so I’m particularly excited to be partnering with Ankara Restaurant and Georgian Wine House on a four-course dinner featuring regional dishes from Ajara paired with Georgian wines. The cuisine of this mountainous region is somewhat distinct from that of the rest of Georgia due in large part to its historical ties with Turkey and the Ottoman Empire. Ajara is known for its wide variety of dairy-based dishes, its citrus orchards, and its rocky Black Sea coastline.

A homestyle Ajaran dinner with my Batumi host family in 2013

Ajarans share their Turkish neighbors’ love of stuffed grape leaves, yogurt soups and sauces, and baklava. Their cuisine also reflects the tart, herbal, and nutty Georgian flavor palate, so their cooking includes plenty of walnuts in both sweet and savory dishes, garlic, pomegranate, coriander, blue fenugreek, dried marigold, and mounds of cilantro and other herbs.

Come eat with friends and friendly strangers at an intimate wine dinner at Ankara in Washington, DC:

Ajaran/Turkish Crossroads Dinner Wednesday, February 3, 2016
6:30 – 9:00 pm
Ankara Restaurant
1320 19th St. NW
Washington, DC
$65 per person including four courses, copious wine, tax, and gratuity
Tickets available here

Seats are limited, so get your tickets early! This is an equal opportunity meal for vegetarians.

Vegetables on display for sale at a Batumi market

The Ajaran/Turkish Crossroads dinner is the first in a series of special dinners Ankara is planning to host over the coming months. The March dinner will feature regional dishes and wines rom northern and central Turkey, while the April dinner will see the restaurant transformed into a traditional Turkish meyhane, with roaming musicians and a meal composed of meze, salads and fish dishes paired with regional wines and raki, Turkey’s national anise-flavored spirit.