Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Excuse me, is that your GOAT...eating your purse?


We met great friends recently at one of our fave Georgian restaurants in Moscow called Khachapuri.  (Side note...Khachapuri is a type of melt-in-your mouth bread served with melted cheese and egg poured in the middle.  Safe to say all Georgian food is packed with flavor - delicious sauces, lots of nuts = heaven!).  


Khachapuri - all world!

We arrived at the bustling restaurant and began the 5 minute minimum required undressing process...the removal of layer, upon layer of cold-blocking accoutrement.  During this exercise I happened to glance down and notice a medium sized dog (caught him from the rear view) wandering about the restaurant.  This was strange, I thought, as we’ve been to this lovely restaurant many times and never caught a glimpse of a dog roaming about.  Unlike most of Europe, dogs are not so welcomed in eating establishments in Russia.  

And then I did a double take...................this was no dog....................this was a goat...............yes, a GOAT!!!

Now this restaurant is no road-side, throw your peanut shells on the floor, bare lightbulb from the ceiling kind of joint.  It is a well-lit, cozy, more of an “upscale” kind of place.  Never have we seen a goat here, nor a dog, not even a mouse.  And this was no ordinary goat....he was dressed to the nines wearing a very stylish, expensive, Burberry winter coat - apparently custom made as it fit him to a tee with zipper up the back and red trimmed side pockets.  The side pockets were for.....carrying a spare tin can?  He was also sporting a diaper, (bonus for everybody!), and of course a hoop earring.  It was the most bizarre -- and perhaps intriguing thing we’ve ever seen.  My first thought - where is sanitation control?  We’re about to order a couple rounds of food, drinks, dessert...are we supposed to share with the goat?  Then I quickly remembered we’re in Moscow where anything and everything goes.  The goat stays.


"Ummmm...tasty shirt..."

Throughout the night, the goat meandered about the restaurant - sniffing around, grazing on dropped crumbs and munching on the contents of open purses on the backs of chairs (not kidding).
Our friends arrived before us and witnessed the goat’s exclamation when the live piano player stopped playing to take a break:  “BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!”.  His version of “ENCORE!”?
As the night went on, the little fella came to grow on us.  He had obviously passed obedience school with flying colors as he was quite polite and mingled nicely with the crowd.  He was also down right cute and appeared to have just had a bath - well manicured hooves, nicely combed fur.  Fresh from the salon!  

Hi little fella...

Towards the end of the night I felt my paper napkin disappearing only to realize the goat needed a snack. Our friend, Margo, tried to feed him some lamb, which he balked at.  Must have been an acquaintance. “No thanks....that’s my friend, Bob.”