Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown (2013–2018): Season 7, Episode 5 - Tblisi, Georgia - full transcript

[gentle music playing]

[people singing

in native language]

♪

To Georgia.

[both] ♪ I took a walk

through this ♪

♪ Beautiful world

♪ Felt the cool rain

♪ On my shoulder

♪ Found something good



in this ♪

♪ Beautiful world

♪ I felt the rain

getting colder ♪

[man] ♪ Sha la, la, la, la

♪ Sha la, la, la, la, la

♪ Sha la, la, la, la

♪ Sha la, la, la,

la, la, la ♪

[solemn music playing]

[Bourdain]

Georgia is probably a place

you don't know much about.

Few Americans, I suspect,



could place it on a map.

It's small compared

to the superpowers around it

but vital.

Its significance far exceeding

its relative size.

For nearly 70 years,

it was a Soviet Republic,

and since independence

in 1991,

Georgia has been on a wild

and often deeply troubled ride

as it struggles to attain

and maintain democracy.

There has been a civil war,

regional strife,

and numerous provocations

and invasions

by Russia.

Geopolitically,

it's located in a hot spot,

a strategic crossroad

surrounded by Russia,

Turkey, Armenia,

oil-producing Azerbaijan,

and, just

a short distance away,

Syria and Iran.

I wanted very much

to see Georgia,

but in November of 2015,

I was having a very tough time

getting there.

The hard realities of a

television production schedule

required me to be

in Georgia's shiny new version

of Vegas on the sea, Batumi,

but here I was,

stuck in Istanbul.

[water rushing]

[Bourdain] Hurricane-like

weather conditions

grounded my flight

on the other side of the sea.

It's an unforgiving medium,

television,

and a first principle

is that one minute,

you're on top of the world,

next minute,

replaced by a younger,

prettier face,

somebody hungrier,

with fire in their belly.

[rock music playing]

[humming]

Ba--live from Batumi.

[Bourdain] I knew

just such a person,

someone who'd been

hungering for my job for ages.

Peter Piper picked a peck

of pickled peppers.

[Bourdain] I'm talking

about Zamir, of course,

only a short flight away

in Moscow and ready

at the drop of a hat

to jump on a plane

and be my eyes

and ears in Batumi.

[clearing throat]

[Bourdain] I may have

misrepresented things

a little bit.

I may have promised him

a recurring role in the show.

But I needed somebody

on the ground,

and I needed him quickly.

This is CNN.

[clearing throat]

[upbeat music playing]

[Gotta] When the producers

of the American

television program

"Parts Unknown"

telephoned me and explained

that I wouldn't have

to pay for anything

I took from the minibar,

I was confident

this was the break

I was waiting for.

Maybe this was

the glorious future for me

and cable news.

[man] Could you go a little bit

to your right, Zamir?

Ri--a little more.

[Gotta] But just when my plan

for becoming next Wolf Blitzer

are about to come true,

Tony arrives.

Smashing my hopes

on the reef of television

broken dreams.

Please, feel at home,

you know.

It's like--it's Georgia now.

It could be another state,

right? Seriously.

Well, how did you get here?

With--via what route?

Luckily, there is a direct

flight, twice a week, though,

-from Moscow to Batumi.

-Two and a half hours,

-that's all?

-[Gotta] Yeah, just--

All right, what are we

drinking, Zamir?

-This is the important question.

-[Gotta] Do you feel like

you're ready

for some tropical feel?

'Cause I have

some surprise of chacha.

-It's like moonshine.

-[Bourdain] Okay, yeah,

I'll have--I'll try that,

'cause apparently,

I'm gonna be--apparently,

I'm gonna be drinking

a lot of it

while I'm in Georgia.

This is,

I understand, a--

It's a part of local

hospitality, I mean, and--

but it's over 40 degrees,

like, alcohol proof.

Welcome to Georgia.

Hope it'll be

an interesting trip for you.

-A lot of things to learn.

-[Bourdain] Thank you.

If we were to go to a casino,

tonight for instance.

-What do you think?

-[Bourdain] What is your game

-of choice? Poker?

-[Gotta] Yes, maybe.

-Or roulette.

-[Bourdain] Blackjack?

-Yeah, blackjack maybe.

-Roulette?

-Craps?

-[Gotta] Yeah, that's quick.

-Baccarat?

-I like that.

James Bond played baccarat.

Not that good at that,

but let's see what they have.

[lively music playing]

[Bourdain] Not much going on

in Batumi off-season,

as it turns out.

The casinos are still going,

for the benefit

mostly of Turkish dudes

hopping across the border

from their country,

where such vices

are frowned upon.

[lively music playing]

Seventeen. Nine,

fourteen, too many.

Sixteen. Nineteen.

Blackjack.

Brutal.

Tough day at the office.

[lively music playing]

[Bourdain] As that, uh, great

philosopher Wesley Snipes

once said,

"Always bet on black."

I'm going all in, Zamir.

Okay.

[Gotta] Come on, black.

Come on, black.

Yes.

[Gotta] It's a good start, Tony.

Let it ride.

[Gotta] Run, rabbit. Run.

-Ouch.

-Shit.

-Shoot me some nightlife.

-Now--

I mean, the loser deserves

some relief, right?

Yeah, nothing like

a loser at a nightclub,

and I emanate loser.

-[Gotta] No, we should--

-So let's go.

-Let's go, yeah.

-[Bourdain] Unsurprisingly,

Zamir and I suck at gambling

with a force equivalent

to a thousand suns.

I should've just

pulled my pants down

and handed over my money

the second we walked in

the door,

but actually, that came later.

[thumping dance music playing]

♪

I'm mesmerized by this bowl

of electronic snakes.

Oh, they're changing colors.

Either that or I have

a brain hemorrhage.

No, they're

changing colors.

[thumping dance music playing]

Everything's fine.

[thumping dance music playing]

Ah. [indistinct]

-Raki?

-[Gotta] Raki? Da, raki.

[Bourdain] Two raki.

[thumping dance music playing]

-Tony, maybe it's time

to think

of New Year resolutions,

once we have

inspiring moment.

[Bourdain laughs]

[Bourdain] Tony, this is an

interesting moment of my life.

I'm trying to get

something going on,

and knowing your creativity

and new opportunities

and this kind...

[upbeat music playing]

[Bourdain] But how--

are you welcome in Turkey?

[Gotta] Yeah.

[upbeat music playing]

[thumping music playing]

[Bourdain] Batumi in daytime

is a strange-looking place,

not exactly forlorn

off-season,

just odd,

a mix of what are

obviously big dreams

and current realities.

What is going on here?

They're building everywhere,

commercial

and residential properties

rising up out of the ground

every few yards.

It goes on and on.

[slow music playing]

[Bourdain] I meet up

with Zamir at Sazandari,

one of the city's older,

more traditional joints.

[slow music playing]

[Gotta] Tony,

how are you feeling?

[Bourdain] Uh, like something

crawled inside my head,

defecated, and then died.

Listen, I think

we are getting old.

Getting?

Though you're looking

very svelte, I have to say.

I'm impressed.

You must be kidding me.

[Bourdain] Uh, you looked good

up on that pole.

Well, listen, if we are

on a blacklist again,

I think that's the end

of my career, but, you know--

It was a brief but magnificent

pole-dancing career,

I can tell you.

You went out

in a flame of glory.

[Gotta] I wasn't prepared

that they are so puritan

kind of, you know, country,

and people are kind of--

you know, I thought

they had some

sense of humor, but...

-Hair of the dog.

-[Gotta] Yeah.

-Mmm.

-Yeah.

Well, so we're eating--

What's khashi?

Well, traditionally,

you know,

Georgia is the man's world.

I mean, men drink,

eat, party,

and the women normally do know

how to make people

healthy and alive

next morning

after heavy drinking.

-So...

-[Bourdain] Right.

[Gotta] Khashi,

it's a kind of broth

and it's made

of beef bones and joints,

-[Bourdain] Uh-huh.

-[Gotta] So the whole idea

is just suck out

whatever alcohol still remain.

[Bourdain]

So it's a hangover soup.

-[Gotta] It's hangover soup.

-[Bourdain] Okay.

[Gotta] Oi-yoi-yoi.

Oh, yeah, there's

tripe in there.

Yeah, a lot of joints.

I don't know.

This is not the first thing

I would think of

for a hangover, actually.

-Oh, really?

Maybe this will help.

[Gotta] It goes well

with garlic. Did you try garlic?

Yeah, I just dumped a whole

bunch of garlic in there.

You think it's marketable

in the States

as a real hangover dish?

You think there should be

a lot of clientele?

[Bourdain] Hmm...

-no.

-No, not really?

[Bourdain] The khashi

is not really working for me

but I absolutely

love the chashushuli,

a stew of slow-cooked veal

with onion and tomato

heavily seasoned

with coriander, fennel,

garlic, and chilies.

It's spicy;

I mean, it's really, like--

It's got some good zing

in there.

-[Gotta] Yeah. Feeling better?

-[Bourdain] I am.

[Gotta] Good.

So, what? Has the club called,

offering you a job?

[Gotta]

Not yet.

I think it's very tough

competition on that front.

To Georgia.

Sakartvelo.

It's a local toast.

[Bourdain] As grateful as I am

for him stepping in

in my time of need,

it's time for Zamir

to head back off to Moscow.

I ain't no fool.

The man clearly wants my job.

[rock music playing]

[Bourdain] Tbilisi in the

eastern part of the country

is Georgia's capital city,

and it's very different

in every respect

from Batumi's off-season

amusement park vibe.

It's an old city,

founded in the fifth century,

but also a very new city,

1.2 million people

building their own world,

freshly emerged from some

very, very dark times.

It's a pretty incredible story.

Strong, rock solid

Orthodox Christian tradition,

a whole hell of a lot of years

under the Soviet boot,

years of totally

Wild West gangsterism,

endemic corruption.

Now it's a very

different story.

Tbilisi is changing fast.

So I don't know

what it says about a place

that since I've arrived

in this country,

I've been in literally

a constant state of--

I'm either drinking

or hung over.

-Yeah, yeah.

-Or both.

Yeah, yeah.

-Is that normal?

-That's normal.

-Yeah, especially for visitors.

-They're friendly here.

But it--but it's a friendly

kidnapping, you know?

Well, I--actually,

I've read accounts of people

who actually were kidnapped

in this country who--

Yeah, it happened once

with the UN monitors.

-They disappeared.

-They came back, like,

10 pounds heavier

and hungover.

[Rimple] They found--

they found them in a cabin

up in the mountains,

partying.

They had bumped

into a wedding party

and were there

for two days.

[Bourdain] So how long

have you lived here?

About 12 years--

12, 13 years.

So you've been hungover

for 12 years.

Yeah, yeah, pretty much.

[Bourdain] Paul Rimple

is an American-born journalist,

and he's seen it all.

He takes me

to Tbilisi's old city

to eat at the Gabriadze Cafe.

When you first arrived,

who was--who was

running things back then?

[Rimple] Eduard Shevardnadze.

[Bourdain] Ah. Those--

so the bad old days?

Yes, and it's

a real mixed legacy

because the nation was still

functioning as an outlaw

-ex-Soviet, you know, nation.

-Right.

And then Saakashvili

just kind of emerged.

-Right.

-And the Rose Revolution

happened, and, you know,

everything changed.

[crowd cheering]

[Bourdain] The country

has run through

a number of heads of state

since the end of Soviet rule.

First was former minister

of foreign affairs

to the Soviet Union

Eduard Shevardnadze,

who was ousted in 2003.

But to get a handle

on Georgia today,

you must understand

the importance

of one man,

Mikheil Saakashvili.

After Shevardnadze,

he was elected

president in 2004

and began to change everything.

Misha, as everybody knew him,

transformed the country

and by making friends

in the West,

and Europe, and the US,

he gained a lot of attention,

both good and bad.

In 2013, though, he was ousted

by the Georgia Dream Party,

who are still in power today.

Most Americans

watching this show

will have a hard time

even locating Georgia on a map.

[Rimple] Yeah.

What do you think

people need to know

about this country?

[Rimple]

Two things in Georgia

that are untouchable.

The church, don't mess

with the church,

and don't mess

with Georgian food.

Don't mess

with Georgian food?

[Rimple] Yeah

[Bourdain] Don't mess

with the church. Okay, I get it.

-Mm-hmm.

But the food, why?

Because, um,

it's tradition.

You don't mess

with tradition.

[Bourdain] I'm quickly finding

that the cuisine here

is really good,

really complex

with sweet-sour notes

that are reminiscent of--

I don't know.

I just know it feels

hauntingly familiar

yet utterly new and delicious.

Salad with orange,

almonds, and honey;

grilled lamb ribs

with pomegranate sauce;

slices of fried eggplant

wrapped around

a walnut filling;

and shkmeruli,

chicken slow-baked in an oven

and then simmered

in garlic and milk.

♪

Mmm, that's good.

[Rimple] And Georgians

will tell you

there's no alcoholics

in Georgia.

No alcoholics.

Right,

and you believe that?

[Rimple] Absolutely not.

How do I get out

of drinking?

How do I avoid

chugging,

uh, chacha?

Say you have

a heart condition.

-[Bourdain] A heart condition?

-Yeah.

[Bourdain] Nothing short

of that will help?

[slow rock music playing]

[Bourdain] There it is,

perched on a hilltop

overlooking the capital

like the lair

of Ernst Stavro Blofeld,

the Bond archvillain.

Helipad, check.

Private zoo, check.

A big, shimmering glass box

owned by Georgia's richest man,

Bidzina Ivanishvili,

known variously

as the good oligarch

and as the mysterious

guiding hand

behind, well, everything.

Seldom seen in public,

Ivanishvili,

after making billions

in Russia,

went into politics

in his homeland,

creating the

Georgia Dream Party

and ultimately becoming

prime minister in 2012.

♪

[Bourdain] Not everybody

is on board however.

The demonstration ended

several minutes ago.

Concrete demands

of the participants were

the Georgian government has

to stop.

Russian gas is expensive.

Russian gas is not stable.

Gazprom is Putin's weapon of

blackmail.

[Bourdain]

Known as the "Angry Bird,"

Tamara Chergoleishvili

at her pro-Western

decidedly anti-Russian

Defend Liberty coalition

are in vocal opposition.

Recently, a move

by the ruling party

to sign a deal

with Russia's Gazprom

for all Georgia's oil needs

has caused dissention.

-[woman]

-[speaks foreign language]

[slow rock music playing]

[Bourdain] We meet

at Sofia Melnikova's,

a much-loved bistro

for the most loved,

perhaps most iconic

Georgian dish,

khinkali.

♪

[Bourdain] I understand

that Georgia is not Tbilisi,

but looking around Tbilisi,

compared to 2008,

life looks good,

there's money in the streets,

shiny new cars.

No, well,

the thing is that yes,

things have changed.

Uh, after the collapse

of the Soviet Union,

Georgia was the country

that suffered the most

among the former

Soviet Republics economically.

I mean, economy

totally collapsed.

Corruption, like,

became, like,

just the normal way

of living.

[Bourdain] Truly a pretty

miraculous transformation,

unlike any place.

Yeah, well,

it happened because,

like, people wanted it.

I mean, and there was--

there was this demand.

That's why revolution

took place.

[Bourdain] Oh, man,

look at that.

Wow, that looks sensational.

-[woman] Yeah.

-[Bourdain] Big, fat,

juicy soup dumplings

filled with spicy,

cumin-jacked minced beef

in hot, rich,

potentially scalding broth.

[woman] You have never

tried that?

[Bourdain] I have never.

No, I'm new to this country.

[woman] Mm, according

to traditions--

-[Bourdain] Yes.

-you are eating it

with fingers.

-[Bourdain] Okay.

-[woman] I mean, that's

the whole thing.

Mmm, so good.

Wow, these are terrific.

I mean, this is not something

very sophisticated to eat.

Mmm. Who cares?

This is a very

religious country.

People identify themselves

closely with Christianity.

It's family-based.

[woman] Exactly.

And there seems

to be a point

beyond which the population

will not go,

and to come around

to comrade Putin,

uh, he seems to understand

this very, very well.

The way Putin

operates is that,

like, first, Putin

emanates strength.

I mean, he's a bad guy.

-I mean, there is a consensus.

-Right.

Like, 80%

of Georgians, like,

believe that Putin

is a very bad guy

-and Russia is a threat.

-[Bourdain] Right, but he's

-on the winning side.

-It's just that--

yeah, exactly,

so he is a winner,

so they don't judge winners.

Then they say,

"Okay, we're bad,

but the West is worse."

I mean, Georgia...

[Bourdain]

But are they wrong?

Of course they are wrong.

♪

[Bourdain] Wherever you find

a traditional, religious,

conservative society,

you find

a countervailing force.

Georgians as a rule,

are passionate about tradition,

about the way things

are supposed to be done.

[heavy metal music playing]

♪ Somebody

♪ Anybody

♪ Somebody

♪ Oh, anybody

♪ Somebody, anybody

[Bourdain]

But that doesn't mean

there aren't rebels here,

people pushing hard

against the status quo,

daring creative souls

like chef Tekuna Gachechiladze.

At Culinarium,

she's taking to extremes

the notion that Georgian food

is in fact a fusion

of all the past influences

of the many forces

who've made their way

and forced their way

through the tiny country.

She's focused

on the next generation.

Something that was

said to me early on,

what I need to know

about Georgians:

don't speak badly

of, uh, religion,

and don't mess

with the food.

[Gachechiladze] For me,

without innovation,

tradition will die because

we can't--we can't eat

the same dishes

what we used to eat

in the beginning

of the century,

because then, the people

did go for the hunt

for two weeks.

[Bourdain] Right.

-And now we are sitting

in front of computer,

and we can't take so much fat.

It needs a lighter

version of it,

and I'm trying

to modernize

Georgian cookings.

I think you're hungry,

so now we have to cook.

This is the queen's soup

with, uh, caramelized onions

and then the Svanuri salt.

Really good.

It's good with a hangover.

Oh, good--that's good

because I have a hangover.

[Gachechiladze]

Eat some more soup. And then--

I could eat this all day.

[Gachechiladze] And then

we're gonna drink chacha,

and you don't gonna

have a hangover at all.

On my way

to a new one.

[Gachechiladze]

This is Georgia, you know.

-You're having hangover.

-I'm learning every day.

You're curing yourself

every day,

and then next day,

you still have a hangover,

and then you're

curing yourself.

Oh, my God.

I mean, I'm an amateur.

I think we have

to do one shot.

It's gonna help you,

and it's gonna help me.

[Bourdain] Why not?

[slow rock music playing]

[Gachechiladze]

And some wild trout tartare.

[Bourdain]

This is delicious.

So when you first started

departing from the classics,

what was the reaction

from people?

[Gachechiladze]

What do you think?

It was big, like,

uh, um, controversial.

Even my grandmother,

she is like,

when I make--

try these new things,

"Why? Why you

have to do this?"

And this is

the very popular dish,

chakapuli, and then

from love of chakapuli,

I'm trying to make people

eat mussels,

because the mussel

is not very popular.

[Bourdain]

Beautiful mussels too.

[Gachechiladze] Yeah,

we have very good mussels.

So we need now

one more shot, so...

[Bourdain] Are there

some Georgian dishes

that should

never change.

I always feeling

very strongly

to preserving

original dishes.

It's good to have

this original version,

-[Bourdain] Right.

-But I'm giving the other option

to do something new.

In my vision,

it's always to have a choice.

[Bourdain] Look, it's a

beautiful city, its--

the countryside is fantastic,

the people are nice,

and the food

is really extraordinary,

really, really, really

something special.

It is. It is.

The drinking, however,

is a problem.

[bluesy rock music playing]

[Bourdain]

Tbilisi is one thing:

an increasingly modern city,

smart cafes,

boutique hotels,

shops, galleries,

the inevitable spoor

of hipsters.

But outside the city,

it's not so different

than it always was.

Agrarian, traditional,

things done the way

they've always been done,

the way it's believed

they should be done,

until you reach

the bizarro world

along the border,

only 90 kilometers

northwest from Tbilisi

in villages like this one,

Khurvaleti

where tiny Georgia's

predicament comes clearly

and brutally into focus.

[speaks foreign language]

[slow music playing]

[speaks foreign language]

[Bourdain] Over there,

the Russian-controlled

breakaway region,

formerly Georgian,

of South Ossetia.

The Russians took it

in a five-day war in 2008.

It's Russia now.

This side of the wire is

at this precise moment,

anyway,

Georgia, but who knows?

The border has been known

to inch forward unpredictably,

often in the dead of night,

to the point

that families have

gone to sleep in Georgia

and woken to find themselves

living in Russia,

swallowed up overnight.

Before 2008,

Khurvaleti was home

to more than 60 families.

Today just nine families

are left hanging on.

[Bit-Suleiman] So that cow

is in South Ossetia.

Both of them.

There was a story,

actually, on that.

An old lady basically woke up,

and her cow appeared to be

on the other side of the fence

because they did it

during the night,

Right.

And so she would woke up

every morning and would milk

cows through the fence

to get her milk.

It can be that bad, yeah.

[Bourdain] Journalist and fixer

Dima Bit-Suleiman

covered the war here

seven years ago

and continues to report

from the region.

[Bit-Suleiman]

So, like, that house--

They had the misfortune

to go to sleep in Georgia

-and wake up in Russia.

-Exactly.

But look at this.

It's through there.

This is where

the Russians live,

and that is the base,

probably communication base,

where they're probably now

watching us,

and the sign says,

"Attention! State border!"

So that's something

that appeared recently.

-Thoughtfully,

in English.

[Bit-Suleiman laughs]

The main problem to me

is that we're, like,

couple of kilometers

away from the highway.

Moving this border

and blocking this highway

would stop all the activity

in the country,

basically.

So right now they--

the Caspian oil and Gas

goes through Georgia

and that's the only route.

-Right.

-Except Russia--

I mean, bypassing Russia.

[Bourdain] There's an

implied threat, you know.

-That's the main thing.

-You're saying,

"If I can do this,

I can certainly go

all the way right down

to the highway,

at which point"--

Basically, there's a pipeline

just here, on those hills.

So this is really

a hand around your throat.

Absolutely, every day.

That's why every 50 meters

or even meter,

which maybe not that important

for the whole country.

Like, short-term

economic point of view,

it doesn't matter, right?

But in terms

of political threat,

every meter is another step

towards a catastrophe.

[upbeat music playing]

[Bourdain]

We're here for a supra

at the home of Ushangi

and Makvala Kokashvili.

A supra is like a feast,

super traditional.

A pig is dispatched and broken

into constituent parts.

The neighbors pitch in,

helping to make

three different varieties

of a traditional cheese-filled

bread known as khachapuri,

variously stuffed here

with potato, beet leaves,

and stewed cabbage.

[Bit-Suleiman]

And there's one thing that

we always do in Georgia.

We eat fresh herbs always,

and this is homemade wine.

[Bourdain] There is, I gather,

a very formal structure

to these toasts.

[Bit-Suleiman] Quite.

For the first

few toast at least

seven-ish,

I would say--

Well, you sort of

lose the plot

after seven, I think.

No.

No, seven is not a lot.

[Bourdain] Here's

how a typical supra works.

It's more formal than it looks.

Custom must be observed,

certain rituals performed.

I want to say a toast for

families.

[Bourdain] Proceedings

are led by the tamada,

or toastmaster

often the head of the house,

the big cheese, the dude,

but always the guy

with the best rhetorical skills

and the guy best able

to stay sober

while all around him are, well,

not, because there's a lot

of drinking in a supra.

It's required.

In this case,

our hosts have called upon Igor

their next-door neighbor.

We live in a village close to

the border.

And so we know the price

of peace.

With this drink, may God

bless peace.

[Bourdain] After each toast,

your glass of wine

or chacha, God forbid,

must and I mean must--

be drained completely

and refilled to the rim.

We must always remember

and glorify our ancestry.

[Bourdain] You're toasting

some pretty heartfelt,

serious shit here,

so hang in there

and show some respect.

Let's remember them and drink to

those who have passed away.

[Bourdain] Which is tough,

because the drink receptacles

can grow larger

as the toast progress

to, like, this horn

for instance...

A toast for peace.

[Bourdain] Which is used

because you can't,

even if you wanted to,

put it down

anything less than empty

'cause it'll, like, pour

all over the table.

So drink up.

Then there's a mug and so on.

Let us always see the peaceful,

united country.

A toast for Georgia.

To Georgia.

Then it's time for the food.

Roast stuffed goose...

-Wow, look at that.

-[man speaks foreign language]

[Bourdain] And shashlik,

grilled kebabs of pork

with a sour plum sauce.

There's also korma,

a slow-cooked stew

of the pig's heart and liver

with onions,

bay leaves, and parsley.

It's good bread.

[woman speaks foreign language]

[man] "If we have a choice,

we prefer West to Russia

"because the future

for our children

is much better there."

But they're still here.

[speaks foreign language]

[speaks foreign language]

"Let them be.

We're not afraid."

[women speaking

foreign language]

[Bit-Suleiman] "They're here,

but we sleep peacefully--

-[speaks foreign language]

-[Bit-Suleiman] --without fear."

And he says

"If they can, we'll be here.

We'll meet them here."

[man speaks foreign language]

[Bit-Suleiman] "It's been

six year we couldn't go

to the--to the graves."

I'm a grown man. I'm not afraid

of anything, and I never cry,

but that day, six years, when I

could no longer visit my

father's grave...

...I cried.

A toast for our children.

[slow rock music playing]

May God give them a long

life and health.

A toast for your child.

May God raise her

healthy and to be as you wish.

[Bourdain] I don't

think I can do this.

When toasting little ones, you

must drink the whole glass.

[laughter]

You have to drink it all.

Working on it.

I'll get there.

I'll get there.

The wine region of Georgia

is called Kakheti,

a beautiful area

east of Tbilisi

made up of foothills

and valleys

below the Caucasus Mountains.

In the hilltop village

of Sighnaghi,

there's a well-known restaurant

called Pheasant's Tears.

The chef is a local guy,

Gia Rokashvili,

who works with

what's in the area,

nothing too fancy

but always soulful

and delicious

and always served

with local wines.

I like to show off

my country.

You know, I want

to sometimes scream

"Look, this is my country.

Come and visit."

And maybe it's part

of my culture,

part of my personality.

Yeah, we are just proud

of our country.

[Bourdain] Now, you should

know this about me

and the people I work with.

We don't like working

with officials.

We avoid tourist boards,

official advisers,

government employees.

We certainly don't hang out

with ministers

of the countries

we're shooting in,

who always, always

have an agenda

and always want to skew

our perspective on our subject.

But Keti Bochorishvili

is an exception.

She is the deputy minister

of economy,

a remarkable woman

more remarkable for the fact

that she's a unique holdover

from the previous

administration.

She goes on and on,

never stopping in her efforts

to convince the world

that Georgia--

Georgia--is the place to be.

And if you spend any time with

this ferociously smart woman

and her friend gallery owner

Tamuna Gvaberidze,

you will understand

and forgive us all,

all of us on the crew,

for becoming

completely beguiled.

I like the food already.

Love the food.

[Bochorishvili] Okay, good.

Food, you like.

I hope wine, you like.

And then if you like skiing,

then that's the place.

[Gvaberidze] And you have

to dance also, Georgian dances.

Really? I'm a really,

really appalling dancer.

No, no, no,

you will do that.

Now I'm frightened.

Two, three glasses

of chacha,

and you are ready to dance.

Enough chacha,

anything is possible.

[woman] I'm gonna toast.

Uh, let's toast

for the--

I'm continuously

thinking right now

to achieve our

goals and dreams.

To dreams.

The ladies convinced us

to make the 90-minute drive

to this village

and this restaurant,

and, well,

I'm quite happy they did.

By the time I've had some more

of that delicious

and lethal chacha

and many glasses

of delicious Georgian wine,

after boiled beets

in a wild plum sauce

and freshly foraged mushrooms

with chili pepper

and mint and tarragon;

baby lamb stewed

in its own fat with cumin,

then cooked together

with wild rice, biryani-style;

and delicious,

delicious tonis puri,

bread straight out

of the outdoor

tandoor-like clay oven--

after all this,

I am convinced.

I am co-opted.

I am recruited.

Count me as a useful idiot,

a witting agent

of the Georgian

ministry of tourism,

for I may as well be.

[woman] But I have to underline

also that Georgian people

are very optimistic,

uh, very cheerful.

Uh, they always see,

you know,

future in a very--

uh, and that drives the--

you know, drives them.

[Bourdain] Optimism, not a lot

of it in this world right now.

[woman] Mm-hmm.

[Bourdain] I visit

a lot of countries.

People are unusually helpful

and friendly here.

Um...

how shall I put this?

People are really

good-looking here.

Okay, look at us.

[laughter]

[Bourdain] It is a--it's a sort

of thing you notice.

[Gvaberidze] Do you know

how you look like?

No.

The director, American.

-David Lynch. Yes.

-Oh, David Lynch, really?

[laughter]

He has better hair.

I'm so happy that he says that

he likes Georgia, really. I...

Why would I not?

You're becoming a Georgian.

Be careful, yeah.

[Gvaberidze]

We are all humans,

and we all love each other,

so we can sit around a table,

and we can just

love each other,

and especially

with the help of wine,

we can love more.

[woman] You know, Georgians

also like to drink for peace

because peace was so important

in our lives, so...

[Gvaberidze] I think we need

to change the words.

-To freedom?

-To freedom.

Now it's your turn

to say the toast.

[Bourdain]

To this extraordinary place

that has managed,

against all odds,

to endure all these years

against so many powerful forces.

[slow music playing]

[Bourdain]

In the Tskneti neighborhood,

just up the hill

from downtown Tbilisi

is where Giorgi Gelovani

is hosting a dinner.

The food's being prepared

by Meriko Gubeladze,

the chef of the city's beloved

Black Lion brasserie,

and it is going to be epic.

[man] How do you find this?

[Bourdain]

Well, it's really good.

-Not too salty for you?

-[Bourdain] No, no.

We love salty cheese.

So do I. Okay.

[man] It's great

for your hangover.

They say that about

a lot of things here, I notice.

A variety

of Georgian appetizers

served pre-dinner,

kind of like meze:

spinach with walnuts

and wild capers,

pickled carrots,

cheese curd with

roasted hazelnuts and mint,

roasted eggplant

seasoned with coriander.

This thing,

this thing is amazing:

Kharsho,

a stewed chicken cooked slow

with ajika chili sauce,

onions,

and the oft-used

Georgian spices

marigold flower powder

and blue fenugreek.

A lot of what we've been talking

about since we got here is,

will Georgia

continue to look West,

or will it, as the Russians

would prefer,

look to the East?

[Gelovani] It's not that way for

the last 200 years or something.

Throughout the existence

of Georgia,

even though we were surrounded

and our immediate neighbors

were Turkish,

Persian, Arab, or whoever else--

or Russian,

okay, the--

so the bias has always

been towards Europe

rather than with the East.

We believe that we're a part

of that culture,

however distant

we might have actually been.

By regional standards--

People don't lower

their voices here

when they give their opinion,

more or less.

-Okay, it is as--

-[man] We never did.

[laughs]

[woman] Honestly speaking,

I think we've done

better than many

of the Soviet Republics.

So what will it be like

in 10 years?

I mean, are you optimistic?

-[man] Absolutely.

-[man 2] I'm always optimistic.

-Optimistic?

-Mildly optimistic.

-Not so optimistic.

-Not so, yeah.

If--I would say if Georgia

is still independent,

I'm very optimistic.

-Right.

-[man] Right.

Oh, the next one

is absolutely here,

and the next one is supposed

to be for the children, right?

-Come on.

-To life.

Or to life.

[man] Or life, yeah.

[Bourdain] To dreamers.

Dreamers.

[all singing

in foreign language]

♪

[Bourdain] Polyphonic songs

are pure Georgia...

Eerily reminiscent, though,

of mariachi music.

[all singing

in foreign language]

They're about

pre-Christian things,

things that have

always been here

since the beginning,

like wind and forests

and forest spirits

and lost love.

[all singing

in foreign language]

[Bourdain]

Hauntingly beautiful

and otherworldly

kind of like Georgia.

[all singing

in foreign language]