Food & Drink

A new era for Erhartova Cukrárna

Guest Writer — Wed, 30 May 2012 10:31:45 +0000

Prague’s Vinohrady neighborhood has recently gotten a little sweeter with the opening of a second location for one of the city’s most famous sweet shops (cukrárna), a few weeks ago.

Dobrá chuť!

Guest Writer — Thu, 24 May 2012 10:29:03 +0000

Noshing your way around the gardens below Prague Castle; trying tidbits of food from the country’s best restaurants – add it to your to-do list for this weekend. The Prague Food Festival, now in its sixth year, runs May 25-27, offering 50 gourmet stalls, three tasting tents and space for 500 seats, all in the beautiful Royal Gardens of Prague Castle.

Il Convento needs to mature

Dana a Alena — Wed, 09 May 2012 07:35:32 +0000

December saw the official reopening of the former cloister wine bar, an event participated in by Cardinal Vlk amongst others. The establishment is now run by Coloseum Restaurants. Regulars of the original wine bar may be in for a surprise.

Coffee and a kaleidoscope of cakes

Dana a Alena — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 13:49:17 +0000

In Prague’s Náměstí Míru, one finds a café that’s been around for about a year and a half, and perfectly suited for when there’s only time for a small, quick snack. That café is called Deserterie, and serves not only desserts, but also soups and a variety of savory bites.

Sansho: Awesome. Which doesn’t equate to enthusiasm

Dana a Alena — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 05:58:28 +0000

The Anglo-Asian restaurant Sansho has already had a monument to its fame raised in the media, and for good reason. We visited it with one thing in mind: either to 1) festoon the monument with yet more flowers, or 2) furnish it with a more accurate inscription.

Bundles of blessings: Ukrainian Easter baskets

Guest Writer — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 15:57:50 +0000

For most Czechs, Easter is largely a secular event. Boys and men whip women and girls with willow pomlázka, receiving painted eggs or shots of alcohol in return. For many among the Czech Republic’s large Ukrainian community, Easter – or Pascha as they know it – is a more solemn occasion.

Mazanec and beránek: timeless Czech Easter traditions

Guest Writer — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 15:20:08 +0000

Baked goods in some form or other are staples of Easter traditions across Europe. The Hungarians have fonott kalacs; Italians have colomba pasquale, and the English have their hot-cross buns.

Czech food finds a lone outpost in Manhattan

Raymond Johnston — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:33:14 +0000

New York is known as a melting pot of cultures, especially when it comes to food. Almost any downtown street has an Indian, Thai, French or Italian eatery. Conspicuous by its absence is Czech food.

Czech Christmas tradition takes the biscuit

Guest Writer — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 12:20:10 +0000

It’s a common scene during advent in the Czech Republic. Dough is made, rolled and cut into shapes or pressed into molds. Walnuts are crushed for filling and melted chocolate is drizzled on top. As one tray is removed from the oven and set out to cool, another is slid into its place.

Carp in doubt at Czech Christmas tables, but salad still reigns

Guest Writer — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 17:41:36 +0000

Carp is undoubtedly an important symbol of Christmas in the Czech Republic. Its scaly form appears in seasonal advertising or as inspiration for festive gingerbread, and some people put a scale in their wallets to bring them good fortune over the following year. The media often runs articles on the year’s expected price for carp, which incidentally, it’s expected to be low.

Prague tapas newcomer Kofein shines with great service, quality food

Guest Writer — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 16:18:16 +0000

It says a lot about the much-deplored poor state of customer service in the Czech capital that the single-most impressive aspect of Vinohrady’s tapas restaurant Kofein is the friendliness with which an order of a tap water carafe is received. The staff even hands out refills with a cheer that rivals American wait-staff, and I mean that as a compliment.

‘The Tavern’ to bring burgers and more to Vinohrady

Guest Writer — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:07:25 +0000

Prague fans of authentic American fast-food have been keeping their eyes open for events put on by Lokal Burger, a husband-and-wife operation that hosts burger nights at bars or cooks their patties up at markets and other events around town. The business quickly became a not-so-secret insider’s tip, with a rapidly growing online following on sites like Facebook and Twitter.

Knedlík: Ode to the Czech dumpling

Guest Writer — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 14:01:57 +0000

A country’s national dish is a source of pride. Italians with their pasta, Japanese with their sushi … and the Czechs with their knedlíky, or dumplings. This sometimes soggy, occasionally unappetizing looking side dish accompanies many traditional Czech dishes like svíčková (beef with dumplings and a cream sauce) or vepřo knedlo zelo; roasted pork, dumplings and sauerkraut.

In vino (Bohemicus) veritas. But is Beaujolais better?

Guest Writer — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 17:35:15 +0000

Ultimately, it’s a matter of taste, yet remains an endless topic of discussion in local wine-tasting circles: Beaujolais Nouveau or Svatomartinské — is the French wine truly superior to the Czech equivalent, or have we just been conditioned to accept it? For Jaroslav Buchta, co-owner of vinařství Buchtovi, a family-owned winery in Velké Pavlovice, the choice is clear: He will be hosting a Svatomartinské event on Nov. 12.

Czech ‘veggie month’ spotlights a meat-free lifestyle

Guest Writer — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 14:54:34 +0000

Times for vegetarians in the Czech Republic are gradually changing for the better, no doubt. Just ten years ago when Tereza Vandrovcová, a sociologist and founder of the volunteer-run animal-rights initiative Veggie Parade that is coordinating Veggie Month, went meatless, she didn’t have much more to go on than potatoes and carrots.

Although vegetarians are no longer looked at as roots-munching occult crazies, Vandrovcová says that Czechs are notably less informed about a plant-based diet than western Europeans are.