With more than 10 percent of its population claiming Russian or Georgian descent, Fair Lawn has one of the highest concentrations of Russian speakers in New Jersey. They settled here starting in the early 1980s, driven by a desire for better schools and safer housing. Many moved from Brighton Beach, Brooklyn.
At the quaint Georgian restaurant, Shoti Bread House, you’ll find authentic dishes such as khachapuri, bread made with yogurt and filled with cheese, butter and eggs, and khinkali, hand-rolled soup dumplings filled with seasoned ground meat. Our waitress, Taylor, told us that four old Georgian women made the dumplings in the kitchen, blessing them as they finished making them. Shoti was previously a bakery, but it became so popular that owner Lasha Sopromadze turned it into a restaurant several years ago. He also owns a banquet hall next door for parties.
Khachapuri Photo: Shutterstock/New Africa
Broadway Food Palace is a Russian grocery store that sells homemade meats, smoked seafood, and other Russian specialties, as well as baked goods. Taste of Home Russian Food is another grocery store in town selling Russian and Eastern European specialty foods, including caviar, latkes and blintzes. It also delivers Russian meals and caters to spots within 50 miles of Fair Lawn.
In nearby Hawthorne, Vernissage serves Russian and Ukrainian food in a venue that also has live music.
