Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
caramelised onions and herbs, and č
esnečka
(garlic soup), a powerfully pungent
broth that is curiously addictive.
Other common appetisers include
Pražská šunka
(Prague ham), for which the capit-
al is famous. It is cured in brine and smoked; the best stuff is š
unka od kosti
(ham off
the bone).
What roast beef and Yorkshire pudding is to the English,
vepřová pečeně s knedlíky
a kyselé zelí
(roast pork with dumplings and sauerkraut) is to the Czechs; it's a dish so
ubiquitous that it is often abbreviated to
vepřo-knedlo-zelo.
The pork is rubbed with
salt and caraway seeds, and roasted long and slow - good roast pork should fall apart,
meltingly tender, at the first touch of a fork or finger.
The dumplings should be light and fluffy.
Houskové knedlíky
(bread dumplings) are
made from flour, yeast, egg yolk and milk, and are left to rise like bread before being
cooked in boiling water and then sliced. The best
knedlíky
are homemade, but the
ones you'll find in most pubs and restaurants will be factory-produced. Alternatively,
you may be served
bramborové knedlíky
(potato dumplings); if you thought bread
dumplings were filling, just wait until you try these stodge-bombs.
Other staples of Czech restaurant menus include
svíčková na smetaně
(slices of
marinated roast beef served with a sour-cream sauce garnished with lemon and cran-
berries);
guláš
(a casserole of beef or pork in a tomato, onion and paprika gravy); and
vepřový řízek
(Wiener schnitzel; a thin fillet of pork coated in breadcrumbs and fried,
served with potato salad or
hranolky
- French fries).
Poultry is another popular main course, either roasted or served as
kuře na paprice
(chicken in spicy paprika-cream sauce).
Kachna
(duck),
husa
(goose) and
krůta
(tur-
key) usually come roasted, with gravy, dumplings and sauerkraut. A few restaurants
specialise in game; the most common are
jelení
(venison),
bažant
(pheasant),
zajíc
(hare) and
kanec
(boar) - fried or roasted and served in a mushroom sauce or as
guláš
.
Seafood is found only in a handful of expensive restaurants, but freshwater fish -
usually
kapr
(carp) or
pstruh
(trout) - are plentiful. Š
tika
(pike) and ú
hoř
(eel) are
found on more specialised menus. Note that the price of fish on the menu is some-
times not for the whole fish but per 100g. Ask how much the trout weighs before you
order it!
The classic Czech dessert is
ovocné knedlíky
(fruit dumplings), but once again the
best are to be found at domestic dinner tables rather than in restaurants. Large, round
