Upon the recommendations of our friends, Roman and Laurel, as well as our B&B host, the lovely Veronika, we chose to have traditional Czech food on our first night in Prague.
Some may say that the food from Czech Republic is similar to German food, and I suppose to some extent, this is true. The basics– beer, cheese, bread, potatoes, and sausages are there, yes. But the food and beer in Prague, at least at a restaurant called Lokal, is beyond the basics. It is exceptional.
We had a creamy, tank beer that was so fresh and served blessedly cold, dumplings like my Mom used to make, and the most buttery potatoes. I chose a simple chicken breast, and Benjamin opted for the pork schnitzel. Both were cooked simply and perfectly.
The atmosphere was also perfect. We sat in the front of the restaurant as the outside seating was full, and I am so glad we did. Our table faced the beer tanks, and we were definitely nestled among the local cast of characters. A man to my left had a golden lab dog sleeping beneath his table. He was watching the TV intently. There was something on that looked like the Olympics, and a Czech runner was taking the lead. When she won, this man stood up, raised his beer, and cheered. He also yelled at anyone who blocked his view of the TV, even though his table was right next to the hostess stand, where people had to wait to be seated. I love an ornery old man when he’s this colorful.
A man to my right had a T-shirt on that said something about poetry or the Czech ‘poezie’ (of course he did; I am a poet magnet, ha ha). He and his lady friend looked like bikers. They were sun weathered, and their eyes were bright, like they laughed easily. When I was little, I told my Mom that I wanted to join “a really nice motorcycle gang.” Of course she was not surprised. The best dancing I have ever done to Cajun music and blues has been in biker bars both in the Midwest and the South. I am still comforted by folks who love the road.
And a few words about words in the Czech language…wow, is it ever a pretty, pretty tongue! Reader friends, if you want to hear something lovely, go to Google translate and type from English to Czech the following: red wine, please. You ears will be soothed, I promise. I continue to think of German as a nice language, and I still maintain that unlike what many people think, German is not harsh or “ugly.” But while German sounds lilty and cute with everyone saying “Genau” and “Tschuss,” Czech rolls off the tongue as pretty as Spanish. My whole body relaxed in Lokal as the people spoke to one another. Czech also sounds a lot like Polish, so somewhere in me, perhaps in a childhood memory eavesdropping on my Grandpa and Grandma, I heard the familiar. Complete, corny Romantic that I am, I felt a little teary as I listened to the crowd and ate food that tasted like home.
But I will not end on the nostalgic. Instead, with the amusing, I shall close. In Lokal, when you order a beer, the waitress gives you a piece of paper for your tab. On the paper, you see a checklist where she ticks the number of beers you consume. The total on this piece of paper is somewhere around 100. Pivo z tanku, prosim, ano, ano, ano!
