No. 21: Chicken Tabaka at KeBeer
Who flattened my chicken and why?
Chicken tabaka is one of the stunning achievements of Georgian cooking. Not that Georgia! Georgia in the Caucusus Mountains, where Caucasians were invented.
The entire small chicken has had some strategic bones removed, so that when it gets flattened, it stays flattened. The perfectly fried bird is then deposited (somewhat counter-intuitively) in a light herby broth, and strewn with enough garlic to give you bad breath for a year.
You may be thinking, "This looks suspiciously like a traditional Tuscan dish -- chicken under a brick." You're right, it does. But this poultry has been fried rather than roasted, though the effect is somewhat the same. And both can be dubbed "road kill chicken."
Get chicken tabaka at a dozen places in Brighton Beach, most conveniently at KeBeer, a Russian-German indoor beer garden, where you won't have to put up with the hideous Casio ensemble featured at most Russian restaurants in that delectable neighborhood.
KeBeer
1003 Brighton Beach Avenue
Brighton Beach, Brooklyn
718-934-9005
100 Days/100 Dishes is an almost-random alphabetical collection of delicious dishes from around the five boroughs. See the entire series so far.
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