Foodies Tour

Yup! Pounding the Prague cobbles again!

This time on a Foodies Tour run by “Taste of Prague”.  We walked nearly as far as yesturday’s morning tour, but, somehow stopping off for food and drink every now and then made it easier on the feet!  We used other modes of transport too - a metro trip + a tram ride.

We went to 6 different locations, six totally different types of food, 4 different beers, a couple of different wines, a couple of spirits!  

We had the classic Prague ham-potato salad and créme fresh and goat cheese „chlebicek“, the open-faced sandwiches and Kliment brut cider at Mysak cafe (Vodickova 31 street).

First to Mysak for an appetiser: open sandwiches (chlebicek), (ham-potato salad & creme fresh and goat cheese) washed down with a glass of very dry cider.  (Kliment brut) Everyone had finished their food before I got to take a picture!  It was a darned swish cafe in an historic building.  The cafe existed during the Communist era, closed for a long time, but has now been reopened as a tribute to the family who ran the cafe then.

Then our guide took us into an old building that still has ancient elevators: the ones that have no doors, just move continuously and you have to hop in and out, like cable car.  Pretty cool.  Here comes Mandy getting ready to jump out ... ...

We were led through a maze of shop galleries hidden in the heart of a block of buildings - till we happened upon this upside down statue!  David Cerny is the artist - renowned in the Czech Republic for his bizarre works.

Then on to a Prague institution - Kantyna restaurant located at Politickych veznu 5 street.  Referred to by our tour leader as a “Shrine to Meat”.  Here you first choose your raw meat, then its cooked for you, and you stand at a long marble bench to each it - washed down with beer of course.

We tried beef steak tartare, potato pancake, grilled beef sausage, pulled pork, pickled vegetables and Pilsner Urquell dark beers at the Kantyna restaurant located at Politickych veznu 5 street. 

The main meal was in a new rather elegant restaurant where we had SVICKOVA.  Which I didn’t take a photo of, but it was a slow-cooked roast beef in an incredibly rich creamy, slightly sweet gravy, (made out of celery, parsnips and carrots served with slices of bread dumplings.  Topped off with whipped cream, lemon and cranberry sauce.  Stick to the ribs stuff!  Rather bland modern decor and rather unappetising looking food: but very traditional.  Rather sweet, and a few in the group didn’t enjoy it.

We washed this down with a  2016 Blaufränkisch (a Pinot Noir style) by Stavek winery at the Café Restaurant Kaprova 8 at Kaprova street. 

Time for dessert?  No.  More beer and savouries.

At a very “old school pub/cafe” similar in style and decor to those used during the Communist era.

We had Pilsner Urquell lagers, fried cheese and pickled cheese at the Lokal pub at Dlouha 33. 

This is the pickled cheese, topped with a strong garlic cream and a long green capsicum.  Not many people liked it but strangely enough I went back for seconds.

So - now its time for dessert right?

Wrong again!

Street food.  And to a famous Deli/pork butcher where we stood outside the shop eating meat loaf sandwiches (Alan’s favourite food of the day) Apparently when the head butcher is working a shift he is so well loved here women stand in long queues to be served by him!

We tried the meatloaf at the Nase maso butcher shop. We also had the Charles IV ale, craft beer by Albrecht brewery. Nase maso is located at Dlouha 39 street.  

To finish off (in the pouring rain) we moved away from the Old Town and crowds, to a suburban area and some Nouveau cuisine.  Czech cuisine with a modern twist.  This was for dessert and coffee preceded by gin & tonic!

This is  Eska restaurant (Pernerova 49) where we started with burnt potato in ash with potato espuma, (reminiscent of a camp fire potato) with the Zufanek OMG gin and tonic. 

We also had coffee with zemlovka: bread pudding with apples in an espuma of vanilla and rum (amazing! Eaten before we could take a photo!) and "kremrole": rolled pastry filled with whipped egg whites and sugar.

Not a bad way to spend a rainy day.

Our guide emailed us the complete details of all the food we ate the next day AND even sent us the recipes for some of the dishes!

Home by 5pm, recovered by 7.30pm, then out (in the cool damp evening air) to check out the Bohemia Jazz Festival in the Old Town Square thats on this week.  Great atmosphere, though we seemed to be there “in between acts” hearing only a little music, so we hung around for a little while absorbing the sights.  We’ve been to the square before - famous for its Astrological Clock and picturesque buildings.  The clock is under renovation so we never saw the real thing, instead they have a life size screen showing a video of its “on the hour” movement.  

It’s amazing how much better the buildings look out of the glare of the midday sun.  These pics were taken at about 9pm.