The main dish is called khach'ap'uri. It's a boat-shaped loaf of bread stuffed with a heaping pile of cheese. The cheese boats come in a collection of flavors like traditional or walnut brie.
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You can also try Georgia's oversized version of a soup dumpling, known as khink'ali, and buy whole loaves of bread (somi) to take home. They're baked fresh at 9am daily and best piping hot out of the oven.
Saami Somi is the project of siblings, Michael and Donna Kolodesh. Their parents are from Georgia's capital city of Tbilisi. They grew up in Northeast Philadelphia in a household filled with Georgian traditions and culture.
They traveled to The Republic of Georgia, pre-pandemic, after learning that their grandmother's Tbilisi apartment was being renovated because her street had been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site.
That trip sparked a cultural journey for the siblings and the decision to open Saami Somi.
Both architectural designers, they created a space that blends their Georgian background with their Philadelphia upbringing.
Georgia's language is one of the oldest in the world and there's a mural on the floor with phrases in both English and Georgian language and a poster on the wall with the Georgian alphabet.
The pantry section features home goods from Philadelphia makers alongside gems from Georgia like preserves, compote, Georgian sodas and mineral water, stuffed grape leaves and eggplant caviar.
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The siblings took their grandmother's Georgian street food recipes and gave them to Ukrainian chef, Lor Kats.
Lor added his sourdough starter to the mix along with the traditional Ukrainian Borodinsky bread-a rye spiced with coriander and caraway.
There are appetizers, known as supra bites. Supra is a Georgian celebratory feast so the siblings selected their favorite Supra bites for the Saami Somi menu.
And there's a proper way to eat Georgian foods.
The dumpling you pick up by the dough nub that essentially serves as a handle.
You eat the filling, and slurp out the soup but you don't eat the nub.
Traditionally, whoever has the most nubs at the end of the night is the 'winner'.
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The cheese boats, once baked, are topped with an egg yolk and a pat of butter.
You vigorously mix until you get a creamy fondue-like sauce, and if you do it right-you'll get a "really long luxurious pull" up to 3 feet long!
Once you mix and stretch the cheesy sauce, you rip and dip-turning your bread boat into an edible bowl.
Saami Somi| Instagram
51 N. 12th Street (Reading Terminal Market), Philadelphia, Pa. 19107