(via cestr.ambi.cz)
I think the highlight of the trip for everyone will be the Taste of Prague tour. This is the second time I've had amazing luck reading TripAdvisor reviews (we adored our Astral Tour of Stonehenge in England). Jan was absolutely delightful and charming. He must be about 36. He, Mom, Dad and Alex bonded over "Breaking Bad." First he took us to a place called Sisters, where we tasted "Cheblicky," which are open-face sandwiches. We each had a slice of bread with ham, potato salad, cornichon and hard-boiled egg. Very traditional home-style food, Jan said. I was a good girl and ate my pickles. And they were actually good. Sisters was started by the former food editor of the Czech edition of Elle magazine.
Across the way was a butcher shop called Nase Maso opened by the sous chef of La Degustation. (That is a famous Michelin-starred restaurant here--it is featured in the Anthony Bourdain episode on Prague.) There, we tasted a ham and the most incredible meatloaf.
Following that, Jan took us to Vinograf for Czech wine. They have an extensive wine industry here, but when the CZ joined the EU, the Czechs signed an agreement (sort of a non-complete clause with France) not to export their wine. That's why you haven't heard of it. I had a Riesling and a Chardonnay.
Following that, Jan took us to Cestr, which is located on the patio/on the ground floor of the complex that used to house the Communists and then Radio Free Europe (before threats from Al Qaeda moved them to a fortified compound). There we had nibbles of a ridiculous amount of food--Pilsner Urquell, bread, escargot (very big in the CZ--who knew?), fried cheese, schnitzel, roast chicken with stuffing, new potatoes with curd, two types of beef, spinach, carrots, steak tartare ... everyone was very good and ate everything. (Only Dad had to be prompted to try the spinach.) We also had shots of beer there.
We finished up at the Cafe Savoy, also featured in the Anthony Bourdain episode. It's been around since the 1800s, although it closed down during the Communist era. Two choux pastries, an apple strudel and an evergreen-smelling digestif. It sounds quite disgusting to list all of the food out, but spread over four hours, it was really quite enjoyable.
The best part, though, was talking to Jan. He told us about his family's experiences crossing the border from Slovakia to the Ukraine, as well as what happened at school once it was realized that the Communists were actually gone. His teachers decided that it was time for sex ed, so they showed his class "Blue Lagoon" with Brooke Shields. We asked him a lot of questions about Czech TV and culture. Jan also showed us some fascinating video footage of commercials and athletic events from the Communist era. All in all, it was truly an unforgettable evening ... one I'm sure we will be reminiscing about for the rest of our lives.
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