Prague's Small Bites

Nothing like meat on a spit to attract attention. This blog highlights several small items I tried while in Prague. In at least two historic centers, there are numerous food vendors selling Prague ham on a spit, Halušky, Trdelnik, and more. Be aware that the most advertised are per 100 grams.

These are the perfect sandwiches for carb watching Americans. The forefront features two Chlebiceks, which are open faced sandwiches. You take a slice of bread, lovingly spread potato salad, then add meats, cheeses, and other garnish. So good! My friend also ordered the Vetrnik lurking in the background. Vetrnik translates to vane, like a weather vane. I'm not sure how the translation relates to the dessert, but I strongly recommend trying one.

After trekking all day around Prague, we had to have my friend's favorite dessert, Hořické trubičky. One order gets you two feather light rolls filled with slightly sweet cream and a side of dipping chocolate. These rolled wafers will slightly absorb your bite then you'll crunch through into the light, fantastic cream. I can't get over the cream. I'm used to sugar sweet things, but this tasted real. Sugar did not mask the flavor. (Apologies for the awful picture, but it was cold and my camera lens fogged up inside).

Have I mentioned my ice cream obsession? So it's cold out, there's snow on the ground, and I'm resigned to not warming up after walking outside for so long. I hoped eating something cold might trigger a warming response. Have I mentioned my ginger obsession too? Meet Angelato's ginger and mango ice cream. So good. Dense, flavorful. Parmesan is April's flavor of the month.

Czech cuisine makes good power food before 3 hour workshops. This meal is from Lavicka Zahradni Restaurace. I ordered potato salad and beef sirloin in cream sauce with cranberries (referred to as candle sauce) and Carlsbad dumplings. Potato salad is a traditional Czech celebration food. It's often a special treat during Christmas and each person swears their recipe is the best. Studded with cubed peas and carrots, this was potato salad at its finest. The sirloin shredded easily, the sauce was divine, and the dumplings(!). I thoroughly enjoyed this meal and strongly recommend visiting this restaurant.

Beas was another restaurant I visited twice. Their specialty is vegetarian indian food offered buffet style. You pay by the weight and it's 50% off 1 hour before closing time. They offer naan, curries, rice, samosas, pudding, fruits and more. My personal highlights were the samosas, the dhal, and halvah. There is so much variety and everything is guaranteed fresh and boasts healthy origins.

My favorite Prague restaurant was Baku Fast Food, located 100 or so meters near me. The link takes you to the flagship restaurant, but Baku Fast Food is located on Dlouha. I first stopped here urgently needing a midnight snack, so I ordered pohaca and baklava. The baklava was thickly spiced with slight bitter notes, thick honey. It wasn't a dainty baklava. These are housemade, so they are slightly inconsistent day by day. The pohaca had great layered texture, some black sesame sprinkled on top, with a buttery burnt bottom and surprising feta inside.

They specialize in Azerbaijani cuisine and offer several entrees and durum. The above picture features (from left to right) baklava, sekerpare, and bülbül yuvası. On my last visit, I made sure I was hungry enough to eat their durum. That was also quite good.

I hope you enjoyed this small taste of Prague. I'll leave you with one final image, the carob and yogurt section at a local Bio store. Prague features several bio stores boasting a wide variety of carob products including carob coated Brazil nuts, dried cranberries, hazelnuts, banana chips, raisins, peanuts, and almonds. I was in heaven.

Lokal - Prague, Czech Republic

My friends speak very highly of their Prague experiences, so I looked forward to spending time there. I visited Prague for 8 days in March. During my visit, I planned classes for my 16 teaching hours, wandered the city, and was introduced to Czech cuisine. Let's begin the journey.

This is Day 1 Picture 1. Immediately after dumping my luggage at an apartment, my host and I trekked to Lokal on Dlouha, a restaurant specializing in local Czech cuisine. While I viewed the menu, my friend gave me various advice for future Prague dining adventures. Advice ranged from beware the Ementhaler, restaurants near tour attractions, and menus boasting too many specialties. Look for small menus and the Ambiente restaurants.

Pictured above is the Butcher's sausage from Přeštice pig with housemade mustard and grated horseradish, and fried cheese with housemade tartar sauce. That sausage was fantastic. I would make a slice, dip it into the mustard and then the horseradish. It was the perfect combination of juicy and savory meat, mild mustard and biting horseradish. The cheese was a bold choice due to my allergens, but it was quality. I enjoyed it in small doses with dabs of tartar sauce.

I also came here a second time, hoping to try more traditional dishes. Next on my list was a neck of pork schnitzel fried in lard with potato dumplings. I keep forgetting that Czech dumplings are never what I picture. They're rather flat ovals rather than my imagined spheres. The schnitzel was pounded flat which is an apt description of its flavor. The lemon added some zest, but I found it to be an uninspiring dish. I enjoy the potato dumplings, though they were a bit mild.

Lokal offers a daily rotating menu with regular staples. Prices are quite reasonable too. If you look at the menu, I'll point out that 1 USD = approx 20 CZK. I've heard their soups are quite nice and naturally, I'd recommend the sausages. Otherwise, beware the slow service. They're great at seating you, taking your order, and delivering your food. When it comes to receiving your bill, best of luck. Bring a book or a movie. You might be there a long time.