The Yerevan Screen Scene & The Restaurant With 3 Things To Eat

I am a big fan of the Yerevan Metro. It's safe, clean, fast and cool (literally; most certainly NOT figuratively). Of course, it only covers part of the city, so I'm fortunate in that I live near one. And, yes, one is disallowed from taking photos or video in there. The way I figure it, only Yerevan has a subway system, and it's this big state secret, vital to our national security, so I guess that's why. I'd heard that just about every capital in Europe, and all big cities in the Americas and Asia also have metros, but that's probably just a nasty rumour, started by some jealous Turk, am I right ? However - if I may emphasise this - when the famous "H.A.Y.Q." shot part of their famous "Kami Pchi" video in the metro, with cameras, to boot, I expect they had little obstacles to overcome. But that's another story...

Anyway, anyway, it has been a while now since the metro started to feature big, flat-panel screens at their stations. Not kidding. They're like the ones one would have as part of a mid-range home theatre system, and I say that because they're of some company called "Nash", of which I haven't really heard. They're just hanging around there, biding their time peacefully, two or three per station, one at each platform, plus another at the corridor, if necessary...

Until today.

Yes, sir, I actually saw a couple of them working at Yeritasardakan this morning, playing scenes from nature. Flowers. Trees. Breezy, light music to go with it. Very classy, and extremely out of place.

So, what is it with this screen fad ? I'd noticed the trend at two high-end supermarkets, where, again, random images would flash by. You'd see a cow grazing peacefully, and then you're supposed to go over to the butcher's section without a twinge in your heart ? "Yes, I'd like to purchase rumps from one of those darling pigs I just saw over on that fancy 'Nash' TV. Two please." :-P

Oh, and another one of those supermarkets would play this looong advertisement for... Aerolíneas Argentinas. Again, not kidding. It's sub-titled in English, and it's actually a very nice commercial, but, until we have a direct Buenos Aires-Yerevan flight, I really fail to see the point of being subjected to that...

Right...

Moving along... So, I get a tip-off (from none other than the blogmaster himself, Raffi K.) that there's a good khinkali joint in town. This is a Georgian kind of food, a meat dumpling, sort of like a large ravioli or manti. Anyway, I had the opportunity today to go and check it out with a couple of friends. So, in we go, down we are seated, and the guy comes over and says, "Whad'll ya have ?". Hmm... Something isn't quite right, here. There seems to be a step missing... Oh yeah, the menu! "Whaddaya have ?", says I. "Khinkali, mushroom soup and crêpes."


Hmm...


Khinkali, mushroom soup and crêpes.

Is that all ? That is indeed all. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we have a highly specialised restaurant in the centre of town, that offers less items on its menu than the letters in the word "menu"... Quite frankly, they had two kinds of khinkali, and three kinds of crêpes, so, perhaps, technically, they can go beyond three. Oh, and there were drinks, too, of course. And sour cream.

Plus - and here's where it gets even more intriguing - besides the box of tissues and the ash tray, each table featured a little bowl of croutons and one of chickpeas. Again - NOT kidding. :-) The croutons are understandable. After all, they go along with one-third of what's on the menu, and so, chances are, one out of every three customers might order it, and there are four chairs to a table. So, by the laws of probability, the croutons are okay. The chickpeas, however, escape me.

The khinkalis were tasty, though, and not too expensive, so, at the end of the day, I'm not complaining. On my way back home, however, the screens at the metro were off once again. Dark as night, awaiting the dawn of a new Yerevan day...