The train screeched to a halt at Liberty Square in Tbilisi, Georgia. Pressed up against the sliding doors by the swaying masses of humanity stuffed inside, Tricia and I almost fell out of the train when the doors opened.
Recovering our balance, we waddled with the crowd as it sandwiched onto the escalator leading to the surface. The cacophony of voices around us were speaking a mix of Georgian and Russian.
The Soviet Era
The Tbilisi metro rail was built during the Soviet era. The vintage steps of the station escalators often stretch deep into the ground.
After being crammed underneath the surface with hundreds of others, Tricia and I were ready to get back into the open air.
As we reached the top of the escalator, we muscled our way through the glass doors of the metro station and stepped out onto the street.
Suddenly, we discovered that we had not escaped the crowd. Instead, we now found ourselves surrounded by thousands, maybe even tens of thousands of people.
“Oh no,” I said to myself.
A warning issued by the U.S. State Department the day before had advised us to avoid a large demonstration in Tbilisi at 15:00.
I looked at my watch: 15:01.
Bad Timing
Unfortunately, due to traffic, our errands had taken longer than expected. As a result, we now found ourselves in the thick of it.
Squinting in the low afternoon sun, our eyes began to adjust to make out the golden statue of Saint George towering over the center of the square.
The famous scene of George slaying a dragon to save a princess was an apt metaphor for the moment: I was trying to slay a dragon to save my princess.
The dragon was gluten — that indomitable protein that makes its way into almost every food on the face of the earth, but is most common in wheat, barley, and rye.
Slaying The Dragon
Here in Georgia, finding gluten-free food was proving difficult.
Make no mistake, Georgian food is delicious. Its cheesy khachapuri, stuffed khinkali, and wheat-filled churchkelas are all mouth-watering and appealing. However, for those that are gluten-sensitive, these tasty treats can be devastating to one’s gastrointestinal tract.
That’s why we decided to visit an artisanal shop known for its gluten-free options: Café Namu. However, the restaurant was on the other side of the Liberty Square and its thousands of demonstrators.
There was no turning back — we began wading through the crowd.
An Epic Heist
Liberty Square, in addition to its statue of Saint George, is a historic spot in Tbilisi. It was here in 1907 that one of the most brazen armed heists in history took place.
Lenin and Stalin robbed a stage coach owned by the State Bank of the Russian Empire. While they made off with around $4 million in today’s dollars, the robbery left 40 people dead and caused widespread consternation.
With that dark event in my mind, I kept my eyes peeled for any horse-drawn stagecoaches that might be carrying loot. Fortunately, we didn’t see any and managed to navigate to the other side.
We were getting closer to the gluten-free restaurant. But now, as hunger settled in, our ascent up the hilly, tree-lined street began to slow.
The signs in shop windows began to blur into a continuous advertisement for glutenous khachapuri and khinkali.
Discovery
We passed a car with a giant kvevri on its roof. This large clay jar is famous throughout Georgia and is used to ferment large quantities of wine.
A glass of wine was sounding pretty good at that moment.
Suddenly, Tricia pointed across the street.
“There!”
I struggled to see what she was looking at. My eyes widened as I realized that she had discovered our gluten-free destination, Café Namu.
We quickly crossed the street and entered.
Inside, the chaos of the crowd outside melted away.
We were greeted with the rhythms of smooth jazz and the smell of fresh ground coffee.
Tasty Tranquility
Cozying up to our comfortable table, we decided to try lunch. I ordered an Indian Bowl of cauliflower rice, veggies, cashew-curry, cheese, and lentils. Tricia ordered a Thai Bowl with zucchini, rice noodles, veggies, and an almond-chili sauce.
Tricia also ordered a Lavender Latte — which was incredible. I had a cappuccino.
The desserts at the café are also amazing. We tried a strawberry mousse cake and a chocolate brownie — all gluten-free.
We even had a chance to chat with the owner, Ana (Anuki), who had just successfully defended her thesis for a PhD in Psychology. She had studied the culinary arts in the USA and spoke perfect English.
After finishing up and saying our goodbyes, we reentered the chaos of the street. We even managed to avoid a gaggle of burly fellows engaged in a full-fledged, bare-knuckle brawl.
We made it back to our apartment safe and sound.
Needless to say that finding gluten-free food on the road can be a challenge. Fortunately, Café Namu was there to save the day.
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