Now, I’m no connosieur of fine food, but remembered the old warning to beware of steak houses with dim lights, sharp knives and a tableful of steak sauces. This establishment had the location, lighting and simplicity to suggest it had nothing to hide. The sauce was simple deglaze with wine and seasoning. And they brought the wine bottles out. While I don’t know food very well, this transparency combined with a little induction suggested we were getting decent stuff.

It’s fascinating how the same type of analysis that applies to examining information applies to steak houses and applies to Georgia too. If you think of Putin as a maitre d, you wonder why he turns down the lights, shoves the menu at you and pours stuff out of an unmarked bottle into your glass. If he ran a restaurant, I’d hesitate to eat there. Especially if the knives were sharp.