Banana Sculptor Errors; Georgian Food

[Bapopik at AOL.COM]

   Greetings again from Tblisi.
   I typed for half an hour, then AOL had me sign on again, then I pressed "send," then my letter was destroyed.  Thanks, AOL!  I'll do a mini version of the same letter.

IVAN--Georgian term for Russians, like "Yankee" or "Uncle Sam."
POOTIE-POOT--Bush's nickname for Vladimir Putin, now on drudgereport.com.

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"BANANA SCULPTOR" ERRORS

   Just between us:
   I brought the book along to show other tourists, but it has lots of little errors.  Names were spelled correctly and the full "Big Apple" quotation was given and I didn't have to wait eight years, so the book is still miles ahead of William Safire and the NEW YORK TIMES.  My interview was almost two years ago.

1.  I found "Great White Way" with the 1926 "Big Apple," not the 1924 one.
2.  I proposed a "Big Apple" street sign in 1992; Letterman didn't move to that corner until 1994.
3.  "Big Apple Boulevard" passed the community board and was objected by no one.  It was only later, when government wizards then told me that "Boulevard" couldn't be used, that they had to do the whole thing over, taking another year.
4.  "Big Apple Corner" was dedicated in May 1997, on the anniversary of the May 1921 "Big Apple" use, not on Dear Abby's column's ninth anniversary.
5.  I subsequently found other "Windy City" citations.
6.  It's the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, not the American Hot Dog Council.
7.  That Council officially surrendered last year.  Its web site mentions the work of Barry Popick.
8.  "Scofflaw" was from a contest to chastise illegal drinking.  It was not from "a Prohibition-era drinking contest."

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GEORGIA:
A SOVEREIGN COUNTRY OF THE CAUCASUS
by Roger Rosen
Odyssey Publications, Hong Kong
350 pages, paperback, $19.95
1991, 1999

   MIR Travel gave me this book with my tour package.  Food & Drink is nicely illustrated on pages 77-85.  OED largely ignores these:

Pg. 77:adzika.  This spicy condiment...
Pg. 78:
hadrijani.  Babay eggplants...
basturma.
bazhi.  A sauce of ground walnuts...
chadi.  Cornbread.
chakhokhbili.  Chicken...stew...
chanakhi.  Whole tomatoes baked in a clay pot...
churchkela.  A candy made from boiled grape skins and walnuts, sometimes combined with raisins.  Never found in restaurants, but sold in village markets or along country roads.  (I had some.  OED must add this--ed.)
Pg. 79:
ghomi (pronounced _rhomi_).  The Georgian equivalent of an Italian polenta.
gozinaki.  A sweet of boiled honey and sugar poured over a bed of walnuts.
khachapuri...A cheese pie made from dough, _suluguni_ cheese (resembles mozzarella), and sometimes egg.  (Another national dish OED must add--ed.)
kharcho.  A meat and rice soup...
khashi.  A soup of tripe and cow trotters and lots of garlic.
Khinkali.  Bell-shaped meat dumplings...
Pg. 81:
lobio.  Kidney beans...
matsoni.  Georgian yogurt.
mtsvadi (shashlik).
nadugi.  Curd mixed with mint.
pkhali.  ...minced spinach mixed with ground walnuts.
puri.  The bread...
satsivi.  Chunks of turkey...
tkhemali.  A spicy, tart green plum sauce.