Toné Café, Brooklyn

Toné Café takes its name from the circular, brick-lined kiln—the toné—that bakes its boat-shaped pieces of shoti bread. The crispy, yet chewy Georgian staple is typically served with every meal, and Toné Café's professional shoti bakers have brought the tradition to New York City. As they create their dough masterpieces over the cauldron-shaped hearths, chefs grill pork kebabs, slow-simmer bowls of savory red-bean stew, and roast chicken to tender perfection in clay pots. They introduce guests to the signature dishes of Georgia and the Caucasus Mountains, such as mtsvadi—succulent lamb kebabs sizzled over charcoal fires—and khachapuri—shoti filled with melted white cheese, topped with an egg, and floated to the table by a river of butter.