Food |

Veg/Veggie/Vegan/Vegetarian

Was one of your New Year’s resolutions to cut out meat? Are you feeling sad for all the animals being killed just because of pleasure on your plate? This month I will show where to feast meat-free (and animal by-product free) and not just because of Lent.

My favorite place is called Pastva restaurant&café, probably because it’s located right in front of my house. They have unique daily menus, consisting of a choice of three meals and a soup. The food I ate there was always delicious and full of new tastes. Price range is also very friendly and as a plus, they also have delicious organic lemonades. The place is quite small, so it can be difficult to find a seat during lunch hour, especially when you are a bigger group of people, but it is really worth waiting a while for a table.

If you are in the city centre desperately looking for something nutritious and all you see around are fast foods, look no further! There is a chain of vegan and vegetarian restaurants called Loving hut and Dhaba beas, respectively. In terms of taste, you could find better spots, but if you are vegan you can eat fine there for nice price, right in the city centre. If I were you I would mark those restaurant spots on your map, to always know where the nearest is. They often serve food as a buffet, so you can pick just the stuff you like. The best part: free water, no paying extra for still drinks!

Now moving on to hipster town: Have you heard of Krymská Street? No? Krymská is the most hip street Prague (it’s common knowledge, no one knows why). And what kind of a hip street would it be without a vegan restaurant? Plevel restaurant has even been awarded an exceptional star from one of the most famous Czech chefs, Zdeněk Pohlreich. Their speciality is fruit/veg smoothies and also innovate every day, with unique daily menus.

Now for the Sun of all stars: Etnosvět.
This restaurant gem is pricier than most of the restaurants that I previously mentioned. I strongly recommend having a reservation as the restaurant is quite small, and frequently filled. This place is also family friendly, so an ideal location for a celebration. Their menu is a fusion of the world’s most famous cuisines and the best meal I had there so far was their creamy Thai curry. It is not on their current menu, but maybe you’ll luck out and find it on one of their their daily menus.

Hello Steak, Nice to MEAT You!

My fellow gourmands, this time, I must apologize to all the vegetarians among you, but you might want to avert your eyes. I previously talked about finding food for a fair price and will do so again today; you‘ll just need to dig a little deeper in your pockets. So let’s talk steak.

I don’t think that it needs mentioning that the best is to look for places where you can choose your cut, where they follow your wishes and make you feel divine. One of those places is Naše Maso (“our meat”) which is a small butcher‘s shop where you can find EVERYTHING, and if they do not have what you are looking for at that moment, they will do their best accommodate you and order it. I cannot recall any better customer service at a butcher‘s shop than here.

image credits / www.michaelatomiskova.com

For a fee you can have your cut of meat prepared right there and you can likewise enjoy a burger or pastrami from their daily menu. The only disadvantage is that they do not have many places for seating and the place always seems to be at peak capacity. Yet they have a solution for that too. Every evening, after they close the shop, they have something called “večeře u řezníka” (dinner at the butcher‘s), where for 1000 CZK (excluding drinks) you can sample some of their best dishes. There are only 6 seats at the table available and I recommend reserving with a bunch of your closest friends for maximum enjoyment.

Furthermore, when speaking of Naše maso, we should note it is a member of the Ambiente group, which has a diverse repertoire of restaurants, all of which have the same amazing standard in meat. For steaks I recommend the specialized Čestr (abbreviation for Czech mottled cattle) or Brasilero which offers Churrasco rodízio, both of which are members of this group.

Moving on to their biggest rival and, in my opinion, the second best choice is The Real Meat Society. The meat here is more accessible with slightly friendlier prices. They also have their own signature butcher‘s shop with a “restaurant” called Maso a Kobliha (“Meat and doughnut”), however, with stronger stress on the doughnut! Don’t get me wrong, their meat is beyond delicious, but their lamb is preferable to their good old beef steak.

Last but not least, we have George Prime Steak. Personally, this is a one time experience unless you you have a soft spot for snobbery and the expensive atmosphere. They claim to give you the best dry-aged steak in Prague, but it‘s up to you if you to believe them. Their prices are definitely worth the glory served on your plate, and if you are celebrating a life milestone, this is the place to go. However, that does not necessarily mean comparable steaks cannot be achieved at home.

image credits / http://georgeprimesteak.com

Though you can have a steak in almost any restaurant in Prague, if you are a true bon vivant, you’ll appreciate a little hint where to find something refreshingly different to the usual beef on your plate.

5 Home style cooking places in Prague you need to go right now

We all know those expensive restaurants all around the world that offer something “special”. Consider, for instance, molecular cuisine: no one is exactly sure what you are eating and you end up with a slice of bread with a tiny bit of infused butter that will mesmerize your taste buds but you will also have to dig deep into your pocket. So are there places where you can eat well, not spend a fortune and still truly enjoy that little something on your plate? The answer is YES! Fortunately, trends in modern cuisine are changing and places offering “home style cooking” are on the rise.

Let’s start with the basics: soups

With the onset of low temperatures and rainy days, sometimes associated with depression resulting from short days with little sunlight, many of us start craving soups. Well, at least in my case. The soup restaurant Polévkárna paní Mančo is one of the places to visit if you’re a soup lover. Their daily menu includes thick soups as well as broths to warm you up and keep you well hydrated. Each soup is special and cooked with love, which is something I found very refreshing.

12605349_1077064305647890_5631943039440221394_o — photo: www.polevkarnamanco.cz

Bistros Home Kitchen also offer very good soups. There are four of them in Prague and they change their soup menu every week. You can either order a small soup as a starter before the main course or a big one, which will do as a whole lunch. From time to time, they also offer the typical Czech meal called “Buchtičky se šodó” (small cakes with custard), which I highly recommend.

20140712-20140712-_mg_9100 — photo: www.homekitchen.cz

Moving on to restaurants…

The beautiful restaurant Osteria da Clara, though a bit further from the city centre, is definitely worth the short tram ride. There are very few places that offer authentic Italian cuisine. Don’t get discouraged by their website because none of us is perfect and I value that they know what they’re doing in the kitchen rather than their IT skills. In my experience, they have fresh fish on to menu at least three times a week and you can also treat yourself to great spaghetti, delicious soups or the finest panna cotta. Unsurprisingly, they also serve great wine and coffee.

…And finishing off by desserts and coffee

My favourite cafe in Prague is the newly opened Kavárna co hledá jméno (“café looking for a name”). Located in a reconstructed factory building, the place has a unique atmosphere. I wouldn’t really recommend going there to work unless you’re a Mac owner as it seems to be some kind of a secret code to fit in. Be that as it may, their coffee is absolutely fantastic and they offer a different kind every week.

You may also enrich your experience by homemade desserts. I personally recommend trying their carrot cake. It’s pure heaven. And speaking of “pure things”, you might also want to visit Puro Gelato, ice cream parlour specialized in gelato. There are two parlours in Prague: in Výtoň and in Kaprova Street in the very centre of the city. Apart from awesome gelatos, they also offer mind-blowing waffles, genuine Italian espresso and other tasty desserts.

18609341471_71bf089098_c — photo: www.veronikad.com

I hope I have inspired you to try out home style cooking in Prague and I am looking forward to sharing our experience.

Pastrami – the NYC delicacy finally in Prague

The meat product pastrami, which has been popular in snack bars all over the world for years, has finally reached Prague.

History

Pastrami is a meat delicacy that has its origin in Romanian and Turkish cuisines. The word “pastrami” is derived from the Romanian verb “a pǎstra”, which means “preserve”. Carpathian villagers have been preserving meat by smoking since a long time ago. The Turkish meal called “pastirma” might be another predecessor of this dish but in this case the meat was dried, not smoked. However, pastrami is much more often associated with Jewish cuisine as it has become a popular kosher meal. It was introduced to the United States together with the two million Jewish immigrants who came to the country in the 1930s. They opened snack bars and specialised shops called “deli”, where pastrami and other delicacies are still sold today. Such places have always held the community together and reminded the people of their home through traditional cuisine but at the same time, they have always been opened to everyone. The family businesses are passed from one generation to another. Click on the link to learn more about one such traditional “deli” on Manhattan – Katz’s Delicatessen, http://katzsdelicatessen.com/, VIDEO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEHrI0FGOOQ

Preparation

Pastrami is made from beef brisket or short ribs. Pastrami from lamb, poultry and fish is also popular, while pork is rather rare. Preparing pastrami is quite a time-consuming and demanding process. Well rested meat (if beef is used) must be brined for at least 7 to 10 days, depending on the thickness and weight of the meat. Cooks are very protective of their original brine recipes. The cured meat is cooked at low temperature and then in steam in order to get rid of the unnecessary salt and finally, the meat is smoked. Pastrami is traditionally served with rye bread, mustard and pickles (cucumbers, sweet pepper, cabbage…). In pastrami delis, sandwiches with a thick layer of meat and vegetables, dressings and other ingredients are extremely popular.

Where can I get pastrami in Prague?

There are several places in Prague, where pastrami sandwiches are served from time to time, for example at the deli Lahůdkářství Sváček, http://www.lahudkarstvisvacek.cz/ or Naše maso, http://nasemaso.ambi.cz/cz/. The only specialised deli offering a wide range of pastrami sandwiches and other delicacies in Prague is La Bibiche, https://www.facebook.com/labibicheprague. The nice small bistro in the quarter Vinohrady on 21, Francouzská Street has been opened for already two years. They offer the usual pastrami dishes with coriander and ginger mustard, cabbage and cucumbers. Apart from these sandwiches, their daily menu includes warm pastrami meals (with jalapenos, homemade truffle mayonnaise, omelettes and others), seasonal pastrami, pastrami wraps and croissants. La Bibiche is not only about meat, they also have soups, salads, homemade pies and lemonades, beers from small breweries, special wines and choice coffee espressos on their menu. The bistro also offers various vegetarian meals.

La Bibiche, 21, Francouzská Street, Prague 2 (TRAM stop Jana Masaryka), MON- FRI 9:30 am – 7:00 pm, tel. 728 796 707, labibicheprague@gmail.com, https://www.facebook.com/labibicheprague