Prague post-prandial part deux

Before Boulder, it’s back to Bohemia...While I enthusiastically partook in the Czech tradition of high-quality, flavorful, totally cheap beer, nary a dumpling or over-boiled vegetable crossed my plate. Other than a cup of “Czech soup” (don’t ask, garlic galore and weird bread crumbs floating in some sort of oily liquid – it was a desperate situation of near starvation) my meals in the capital were wonderful.

Four standouts off the beaten tourist path: Cervena Tabulka (www.cervenatabulka.cz), Mozaika (www.restaurantmozaika.cz), L’Ardoise (www.lardoise.cz) and Pasticka “Kvelb & Pub” (www.Pasticka.cz). C’mon, how could you not want to go somewhere called a “kvelb”? Must ask Nico what that means. Anyway, let’s get to the burger from Mozaika. Mozaika is a “fusion” restaurant, though I’ve started to hate that word too. Where is all this hate coming from, hmm? Anyway, a Czech chef and owner with an international bent. A nice vibe, smiley service AND super juicy burger on a spinach roll, sautéed onions, mushrooms, and cheese along with a pile of perfectly crunchy fries. Yum. Also worth noting was the “tuna au roast beef”. It would take much too long to explain the name, but the dish is a riff on tartare and delicious. Just for kicks had a glass of Moravian Muller-Thurgau that was unremarkable, but the burger, mmmn.

Next up - Pasticka. Ok, felt like a cool underground Czech pub – and I have the overwhelming urge to call it a rathskeller. Don’t know if I’ve ever used that word before, much less in a sentence, but there you go. From an online source since I’m too lazy to walk across the room and get my dictionary: rathskeller - a tavern below street level featuring beer; originally a German restaurant in the basement of city hall. Not too far off, though the Czechs might take offense at being confused with Germans. Let’s ignore that for now. The food was hearty and fairly traditional I guess as there were meats in sauces. They were tasty though, and I loved the ambiance. Do skip the pickled brie in oil, onion and garlic unless you feel a need to ward off vampire hordes.

L’Ardoise, run by charming French film industry veteran, Alex, was the site of my most gastronomic meal: foie gras ravioli, sea bass on a bed of sautéed vegetables, cheese bien sûr, and a bottle of Châteauneuf du Pape. We had sorbet for dessert - I mean come on - and closed the meal in Eastern European fashion with shots of chilled vodka, offered by our host. (I was forewarned!) Then there was the added bonus of chatting with French film star Hippolyte Girardot. Oh just google him.

Lastly, I vaguely recall the Cervena Tabulka as a lovely place. However, we went there for a quick appetizer and glass of wine before a concert and after I had been awake and traveling for a zillion hours so please forgive me if I skip the details. Just trust me.

How did I not gain 10 pounds with all this eating? Oh right, it was the dancing past dawn every night….

Next time, my dinner of more than 30 wines. If you can’t wait – hahaha – check out what a professional had to say about it: http://www.foodandwine.com/blogs/tasting-room/2008/6/17/Aspen-Recap-The-Schoenfeld-Dinner

Prague, post-prandial, part one

It’s been just over a month since I jetted off to Praha and my memory might be a bit hazy, but I promised to blog about the surprisingly excellent meals I had there. I’d headed east expecting grey skies — the weather report went from bad to worse in the days leading up to my trip — and grey food, unidentifiable meats in sauce, dumplings, lots of potatoes, and over-cooked vegetables. That’s what I experienced on my first trip to the Czech Republic in 2003. (I had gone there for a conference to meet with other PR teams from Sopexa -my former employer).

This time, I endured a SEVEN-hour layover in Heathrow’s infamous terminal 5 because of a missed connection or connections – there were two options - following delays at JFK due to a fire at the fuel farm! Can’t make this stuff up. I spent most of that time huddled in a big comfy chair in a lovely café drinking ridiculously expensive café au lait and mineral water, trying not to fall asleep at the table and crackberrying everyone I could to relieve the boredom. I finally got the hell out of Heathrow and managed a quick nap on the BA flight, gobbling up a ploughman’s sandwich on the plane. It was actually quite tasty though I was fairly starving and mildly delirious by that point, so my normally exquisite judgment may have been impaired.

I arrived in Prague at 6 pm local time, a mere 18 hours after my supposed departure from NYC. Rain that had soaked the city all day stopped just before my plane touched down and hints of sun peaked from out of the clouds welcoming me, along with N’s smiling face. I made it! Even if I really saw more of Prague by night, sun, blue skies and warm breezes made an umbrella obsolete right up until the morning of my departure when rain lashed against the window of my taxi to the airport.

But this was supposed to be about the FOOD, notably a fantastic burger, foie gras ravioli, and of course, great beer. Yes, I drank lots of cheap, excellent beer, moi. It’s the freakin’ Pilsner homeland after all! But thanks to Nico who does marketing for food and wine among other things and is almost as big a foodie as I am (please let’s come up with an alternative to that word, I’ve begun to HATE it), Prague was a delicious destination. Go right ahead and make loud groaning noises at that line!

But as now I have to go stare at my closet and figure out what to throw on my body tomorrow, stay tuned for part deux, including our dinner with French actor Hyppolite Girardot, chilled vodka shots – the Eastern European digestif of choice, and breakfast at 3 pm. Na zdraví. Cheers!