Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Golden Hill’s Kafe Sobaka: What size borscht? Communist or Socialist?

Mark Djugashvili’s latest Georgian eatery has a funny take on East Meets West.

The happy hour deals (5-7pm daily) at Mark Djugashvili’s latest Georgian eatery, Kafe Sobaka (2469 Broadway, Golden Hill, 619-297-4007) are in the drinks. Beers and vodkas $3 each.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/mar/21/42308/

But if you look carefully at his wild and crazy menu, there are four prices for every dish. Communist, Socialist, Imperialist and Anarchist.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/mar/21/42316/

Best deal: Every Communist size dish costs $2.87. But don’t expect them to be grand. The Socialist-size is like a half-plate, and usually six, seven dollars.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/mar/21/42312/

Most delicious value for $7.50 (Socialist size!) is the kuchmachi - scrumptious chicken livers fried with oven-roasted garlic and other goodies.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/mar/21/42317/

The restaurant hasn’t been open long, but it’s Djugashvili’s ninth, since he left the publishing world and set up his first, a hot dog cart, at 4th and B.

But come here for the atmosphere. Candles, music, Georgian wines and Russian beers. It feels Georgian. (“The French sip wine, we Georgians gulp it. We love camaraderie,” he says.)

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/mar/21/42310/

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/mar/21/42313/

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/mar/21/42314/

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/mar/21/42315/

The Baltika Russian beer comes in 9 – that’s nine – categories, starting from zero alcohol up to Baltika-9, which is 8 percent alcohol. And a nice drink. Specially at three bucks in HH.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/mar/21/42311/

Dish I most want to try: Chanakhi, their lamb stew. Except you’ve got to pay Imperialist prices: $15.50.

But, says everyone I’ve talked to, it’s worth it to run with the capitalist running dogs just for this specialty.

Also desperate to taste: bottle of Georgian red wine. Djugashvili says they’ve been making wine back there for 7,000 years. And the rule is, once you open a bottle you finish it. The problem: Bottles cost $30-$40.

But what does “Kafe Sobaka” actually mean?

“‘Old Dog Café,’” says Djugashvili. “Because that’s what I am now.”

Full report in upcoming Tin Fork.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Coyote tracks in frail San Diego avocado grove

Second place winner in Reader neighborhood writing contest
Next Article

Taco Taco Poway still has 99-cent fish tacos

Tacotopia prizewinner is well known among Powegians

The happy hour deals (5-7pm daily) at Mark Djugashvili’s latest Georgian eatery, Kafe Sobaka (2469 Broadway, Golden Hill, 619-297-4007) are in the drinks. Beers and vodkas $3 each.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/mar/21/42308/

But if you look carefully at his wild and crazy menu, there are four prices for every dish. Communist, Socialist, Imperialist and Anarchist.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/mar/21/42316/

Best deal: Every Communist size dish costs $2.87. But don’t expect them to be grand. The Socialist-size is like a half-plate, and usually six, seven dollars.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/mar/21/42312/

Most delicious value for $7.50 (Socialist size!) is the kuchmachi - scrumptious chicken livers fried with oven-roasted garlic and other goodies.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/mar/21/42317/

The restaurant hasn’t been open long, but it’s Djugashvili’s ninth, since he left the publishing world and set up his first, a hot dog cart, at 4th and B.

But come here for the atmosphere. Candles, music, Georgian wines and Russian beers. It feels Georgian. (“The French sip wine, we Georgians gulp it. We love camaraderie,” he says.)

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/mar/21/42310/

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/mar/21/42313/

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/mar/21/42314/

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/mar/21/42315/

The Baltika Russian beer comes in 9 – that’s nine – categories, starting from zero alcohol up to Baltika-9, which is 8 percent alcohol. And a nice drink. Specially at three bucks in HH.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/mar/21/42311/

Dish I most want to try: Chanakhi, their lamb stew. Except you’ve got to pay Imperialist prices: $15.50.

But, says everyone I’ve talked to, it’s worth it to run with the capitalist running dogs just for this specialty.

Also desperate to taste: bottle of Georgian red wine. Djugashvili says they’ve been making wine back there for 7,000 years. And the rule is, once you open a bottle you finish it. The problem: Bottles cost $30-$40.

But what does “Kafe Sobaka” actually mean?

“‘Old Dog Café,’” says Djugashvili. “Because that’s what I am now.”

Full report in upcoming Tin Fork.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.