Georgian Fare Inspires Menu For Restaurant

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Chef/restaurant owner: Laura Dewell.

Restaurant: Pirosmani, 2220 Queen Anne Ave. North; 285-3360; open Tuesdays through Saturdays, dinner only.

A faraway romance: It happened in once-Soviet Georgia, where Seattleite Dewell lived for a year and married a Georgian. A honeymoon high in a Caucasus Mountains village, visits to "incredible" Georgian markets, and long, lively dinners in Georgian homes helped inspire Dewell to start her Georgian-style restaurant, Pirosmani, in Seattle.

Wide world of food: Dewell picked up a sense of this early, while growing up in Everett. Her parents often took their children to Seatttle-area restaurants featuring international cuisines. They also loved to travel and entertain, further expanding their children's world view.

Psyching things out: Dewell earned a degree in child psychology at the University of Oregon, but knew even before finishing that she didn't want to be a psychologist. Creative impulse: The kitchen beckoned. Influenced by her upbringing, years of reading top-notch food writers and her own creative bent, Dewell decided to become a chef. She started by catering her parents' parties and a friend's wedding.

Foot in the Door: Soon she was a prep cook at Seattle's Pink Door restaurant. There followed two years of culinary school in San Franciscothen work at Fullers restaurant in Seattle.

Goodwill Games: A 1988 planning session for the 1990 games in Seattle brought Soviet officials who ate at Fullers and invited Dewell and two other chefs to visit and cook in the former Soviet Union. During her two-weeks there, Dewell was invited to return to Georgia, and she later did, staying a year.

A tutor of English: That was Dewell part of the time. She met and married a Georgian interpreter, returning to Seattle with him in 1990. The marriage has since ended, but from it Dewell has a daughter, Salome, 3.

To market, to market: Georgia's bountiful outdoor markets, piled with peppers, citrus fruits, figs and much more, left a lasting impression on Dewell. So did the many dinners to which she was invited - festive meals that could go on for hours, with toast after toast, animated talk and endless food.

Seasonings: As Dewell learned,Georgians love basil, tarragon, Italian parsley, cilantro, garlic and onions. Grains and beans are important, and cooks often use fruit in meat dishes, such as lamb and plums with tarragon. Dewell's restaurant - in which she has two financial partners - reflects these tastes.

Beyond Georgia: Besides Georgian fare, Pirosmani features foods of a wide Mediterranean region. Housed in a stately turn-of-the century Queen Anne home, it was named by Bon Appetit as one of the country's best new restaurants of 1993.

A struggle: This describes the financial challenge of running a small restaurant, Dewell says - despite Pirosmani's favorable recognition. She adds: "It's impossible to pay (her employees) what they deserve."

New generation: That would be little Salome, who, like her mother, already has a taste for international foods, especially Thai and Mexican.