A Culinary Tour through Europe: Destination Prague (Praha)

I needed a shower after traveling for fifteen hours. Sleeping on a plane isn?t something that comes lightly to me, so not only did I need a shower but sleep was nagging on my frayed nerves. The good news is that we landed safely in Prague with all of our luggage. That?s a modern day miracle going through JFK.

After checking into a very nice Imperial Hotel, the first order of business while we waited for our room to be cleaned was to get some chow. This trip will be laden with eating experiences, but I didn?t expect them to start so soon after we arrived.

The main dining room at the Imperial Hotel is absolutely stunning. It is a masterwork of tile, with ornate tile mosaics on the ceiling, a unique tile fresco and massive pillars with some of the most detailed tile work I have ever seen. My father ordered a cappuccino and I ordered an espresso crema. If you have never had an espresso crema, it is a real treat. Espresso at the bottom and a sweet cold milk foam on top. Worth the order.

Master tile work from floor to ceiling at the Imperial Hotel in Prague. Photo from TripAdvisor

My father ordered the omelette, which I thought was a risk at a hotel restaurant. My experience in the past has been that omelettes often are flavorless and runny out of a commercial kitchen. His was cooked perfectly, lightly browned and fluffy. I ordered three soft boiled eggs with chives and shaved parmesan. It arrived in a modern looking glass and was wonderful.

The last time I visited Prague was twelve years ago. After college it seemed appropriate to take a couple weeks to travel through Europe to expand my horizons a little bit. On that trip we arrived in Prague after sleeping on an overnight train. Seems to be a theme for me: upon arrival in Prague I need a shower and a nap. My memories of Prague from the first trip are of mixed emotion. I remember being impressed by the buildings and architecture and general at atmosphere of the city. I also remember being somewhat intimidated by the soldiers in the streets. The final memory was of terrible, bland food and we did eat in some restuarants that were recommended for good local fare.

Well, this first day of our trip would come to show that Prague has certainly come a long way in the last twelve years. The city has fully embraced capitalism with trinket and jewelry shops around every corner. The amount of advertising and signage on the street has exploded and the population is very trendy walking through the city.

That pan has to be six feet around. Awesome taters with bacon and onions. Photo by Scott Groth

Like many foreign cities, we found a square with street food offerings. We agreed that we would not pass up trying food at kiosks like these while traveling on this trip. I?m glad that we decided to give this particular area a shot. I could see a cheese stand with smoked and dried meats, what looked like a cinnamon dessert stand, a couple sausage stands and two places that caught my eye in particular. One had a HUGE cauldron of new potatoes with bacon and onions cooking over an open fire. Awesome! The other had at least eight whole hams rotating on several spits over open flames. What an incredible stop. The potatoes were delicious, mostly because I belive they were cooked in lard with bacon. The ham was incredible. The natural bark that formed gave each bit a smoky sweetness that made the tender ham just sing in your mouth.

Check out the machinery used to cook these eight HUGE hams. Photo by Scott Groth

The bark on the ham was incredible with the meat being tender and juicy. Great street food. Photo by Scott Groth

We shopped for a while and then headed back to the hotel to meet with the Executive Chef named Michael Pesenika. Chef Michael is about 28 years old and runs a good sized commercial kitchen. Everyone in the kitchen was in their mid-to-late twenties. The kitchen has a separate pastry area and bakery with four full time chefs working in those areas. There are two lines in the kitchen with all electric appliances. The kitchen was a real sight to behold.

After speaking with Chef Michael for about a half hour, it was time for them to begin prepping for the dinner push. With more than 300 plates moving out of their restaurant, all 10 cooks are busy people. Chef Michael told us on our way out that he would prepare for us a special tasting menu. We thanked him profusely for his time and headed back to the room for some much needed rest.

About a half hour before dinner we went to the bar to get a couple beers. Prague is known for it?s excellent pilsner and they delivered. Most places around Prague, you will find that the beer is cheaper than buying water. This is my kind of town. Great beer that is cheaper than water- who knew?

At dinner, we were seated at a wonderful table next to massive street side windows. The restaurant was transformed from earlier in the day with polished crystal glasses, crisp white linens and stark white china. Our server arrived and let us know that we would be enjoying the Chef?s tasting menu this evening. To that, we ordered a bottle of Chateau Mont-Redon 2006 Chateauneuf du Pape. Great little bottle of wine. The waiter agreed with our choice and the service began.

Before we jump in, I have to say that the pictures from dinner were all out of focus. I’m not sure what happened, but there was not one that was able to be salvaged. Let your imagination do the work.

The first course was a perfect starter. Pigeon terrine with a micro green salad, brined lentils and spiced chutney. The terrine was mouth watering. It looked as though it included the kidney and liver of the pigeon, along with pine nuts. It was wrapped in pancetta and when paired with the lentils and chutney really was a delightful bite of food. I?ve never eaten pigeon, but if it is prepared like this, I?ll order it again. What a wonderful way to start a meal.

We moved into our next offering of smoked beef tongue in aspic over an apple and cabbage slaw with smoked, salted walnuts. Again, a dish with a protein I had yet to try in my lifetime. I found the flavors of this dish extremely pleasing, but the consistency of the tongue needed something a little more crisp than the slaw it was served with. The slaw on its own was refreshing and the walnuts were exceptional. I will try to work smoked walnuts into one of my dishes some day. Of the six courses we enjoyed, this course could have used some additional work.

Out next was a gnocchi dish. When I saw what was being served, my expectation level rose significantly. Prague is potato country, so this should be exceptional. The three pillow-like gnocchi were stuffed with a black truffle and cheese mixture. They were served with paper thin slices of fresh truffle, a light-as-air champagne foam and some parsley oil. The aroma this dish emanated was intoxicating. The depth of flavor was intense with the champagne foam marrying with the truffle. I thought that for sure, this would be the best dish of the night. I couldn?t have been more wrong.

During our kitchen tour, Chef Michael explained that he was the proud owner of one of the three sous vide machines in Prague. It looked exactly like the model that was used so heavily by the Voltaggio brothers in the last Top Chef series. I didn?t think much of it until we received our next course.

For our fourth course, we were given a piece of sous vide Chilean sea bass on a bed of braised cabbage and mirepoix with some fresh chive. The fish was finished in a brown butter sauce. This might very well be the best piece of fish that I have ever eaten, or at least in my top five of all time. I?ve eaten in some excellent fish restaurants on both the East and West coasts of the US, as well as in tropical locations and France. This was a standout with the fish literally melting in your mouth with a wonderful nuttiness from the brown butter sauce. The chive offered just enough brightness and balance to the dish. Absolutely wonderful.

Our waiter assured us that if we were happy with the fish, we would be ecstatic with our next dish. A local specialty, we were brought braised beef cheek over pureed potatoes with some shaved root vegetables and a 48 hour reduction sauce. The richness of this dish and the depth of the sauce were almost shocking to the palate. I was on sensory overload. The beef cheek was perfectly braised, juicy and exuded a beef flavor that pleased every part of the carnivore inside me. The potato puree was infused with butter and what tasted like roasted garlic. With a piece of cheek, some potato puree and carrot on the fork, it was just plain fantastic.

Between the beef course and dessert, Chef Michael visited the table. We discussed all the dishes and gave him thorough accolades for his efforts in the kitchen. He said that our last course was going to be something very special, the ?Chocolate Bomba?you know? Bomba? Boom!? Although the language barrier sometimes makes it difficult to communcate, we both got the picture of what he was saying. We finished off our wine and moved into a delightful Sauternes which they agreed to sell by the glass for us.

Dessert was something truly special. A delight for all the senses. An orb of chocolate resembling a small ostrich egg was delivered to each of us. It was dark chocolate, dusted with some cocoa powder. On the side was a miniature carafe with scalded cream. The server took the carafe and poured the cream over the egg, which started to melt from the top. Inside was a yellow lemon mascarpone surrounded by a vanilla gelato. It looked as if it was an egg which was just cracked. Truly an inspired, playful and creative dish. Our table was silent throughout this entire course. The plates were clean and we were fully satisfied.

The meal ended with a proper digestif. We asked our serve to bring a local favorite, which he smiled and said that would be no problem. It was a plum digestif called Slivovice which rounded the meal out properly.

What a first day in Prague. Excellent food from every direction. So different from twelve years ago when I first visited. The bar has definitely been set high for our culinary tour through Europe. A big thank you to Chef Michael for such a wonderful meal- it won’t soon be forgotten.