Food and drink are close to Rosie and The Operators heart when we travel. We love to do a little research into and indulge in the local delicacies and tipples, Polish and Czech Cuisine did not disappoint.
We have learnt not to be shy about asking what the house or regions specialties are, or, pointing to what someone else has just had delivered and asking what that is because it looks so yummy. Back in the day we would try to guess from the menu…in another language normally, what beautiful looking dish with the heavenly smell just walked past us to another table and then try to find and order it….we never seemed to be able to pick them and have learnt it is just easier asking. We have found that most places we have been too are only to happy to share what is special about their country with us.
In this hyper connected day and age google has also been helpful in deciphering ‘strange foreign words’ on a menu or unlocking the ingredients in a dish or drink for us just by inputting a name….this has definitely saved us a few false starts when ordering and has been super helpful here whilst travelling the Czech Republic and Poland…..Google cannot account for some of the dining rooms taste in decoration…..you can tell whats on the menu here…..lol.
Rosie and The Operator are travelling Poland and the Czech Republic in winter. Its dark at four pm, tourist sights have closed for the day, with the dark comes more cold…what to do? Find a place to hole up for a Happy Hour or two before leisurely going off to dinner. Now you are talking said The Operator!
The Czech Republic
Slivovitz – Its all about the Slivovitz here…..oh yes…..the underground plum brandy drink shared between friends. Sure, you can buy a shot off the shelf from a commercial bottle in any bar or cafe and say you tried the drink of the nation.
But it is the unmarked bottles of the clear liquid that everyone brews themselves….and I mean everyone in this country brews their own, that are pulled out from beneath bars, or straight out of the fridge from the hotel check in reception and offered for free after a couple of visits and a sizing up of the recipients. ‘A drink between friends’, they say as glasses are chinked and bottoms raised.
Rosie has to say, this drink is not pleasant….it is a shot of over proof alcohol which is normally distilled at between 50% – 70%. It is made from backyard plums but has no semblance to the flavor of this favored fruit of Rosie’s in the slightest. This drink is not a sipper, it is downed in one. It is generously poured as all drinks are here into an over sized shot glass that actually cannot physically be downed in one swallow so you are forced to tortuously taste the demon liquor on the second gulp. The benefit of this drink, it burns on the way down, warming your insides against the cold and probably acting as a tonic killing off all potentially harmful internal winter bugs.
As Rosie said every man in this country seems to brew their own Slivovitz and proudly boasts to its alcohol content when talking about, or pouring theirs.
Whilst nightly frequenting a particular bar during our longer stay in Cesky Krumlov, Rosie and The Operator briefly acquired honorary’regular’ status. As we fair welled the bartender and owner of our daily hostelry on our last night he solemnly presented us with his icy cold chilled unmarked bottle of Slivovitz and in true Czech unemotive style declared that we must have a drink of the local liquor that he makes himself that he ‘only shares with friends’. Nawwww, that bought a tear to Rosies eye, and another tear after we had clinked glasses, declared Na zdravi and shot the liquid.
Another friend we made was Davi, the owner of the hotel in the pic below on the right, when we checked into in Cesky Krumlov.
On arrival to his beautiful medieval old town hotel and as a ‘reward’ for not being ‘stupid like the Americans that stay’ in the fact that we were able to find their back alley parking lot a couple of hundred of meters away without any help, (other than the really good instructions he had forwarded to us prior), out came his ready chilled home brewed personal supply of Slivovitz as a welcome. The Operator was loving the hospitality…as Rosie was being polite.
The food, the food the food.
Pickled Hemelin Cheese – Rosie has become addicted to this delicacy during her time in the Czech Republic. The Hemelin Cheese imitates Camenbert and is exactly the same consistency with a fine furry delicate coating of mold on the outside. This soft cheese is beautiful to eat just on its own or served with cranberries and toast as a starter to a meal.
Order this cheese pickled and you have elevated it to rock star status! Marinated in oil the ingredients include onion and garlic (which it is served with), bay, peppercorns, allspice, chilli and hot peppers. This cheese is normally served in bars and is a perfect snack to accompany the fine Czech Pils.
Gooey, runny hot baked Pickled Hemelin…….well, Rosie ate alot of cheese.
Pork Crackling – served with onions, horseradish and pickles is another bar top favorite which gets you straight in the mood for some serious eating….and drinking.
Which is good because that is what these neighboring countries are famous for…its meat feasts. Meat, meat and more meat are on the menus of these countries. Rosie’s waist band certainly was a little tighter after 18 days spent in this part of the world. The heavy, delicious cuisine was perfect for the wintry months and just seemed so right.
During summer the salads and lighter meals must come to the fore? Nope, these are the staples all year round. Gulp. Good luck vegetarians and vegans….its potatoes 3 ways for you guys then….hold on, they too are cooked in delicious animal fat.
So the common recipe for dining in the Czech Republic for Rosie and The Operator kind of rolled like this, and, normally involved one or more of the following elements.
Meat – Lots of meat and many different types of meat in the same meal. Bread, Dumplings or Potato. Charcoal Meat Cookers. Medieval/Cellar Basement. Beer
Check out this medieval cellar dining room. The ancient charcoal meat cooker is in the middle of the room and everything on the menu is cooked on it. The photo below is the wood pile for the cooker outside the restaurant door, (yes, the restaurant is right across the road from where we are staying). The cook wore leather gauntlets for protection and the burning charcoal made the room lovely and toasty.
This was our dinner, The Operator had a Mixed Grill – chicken, pork, beef and a baked potato. Rosie had the most delicious, meat falling off the bone from a rib rack from what seemed like a whole pig, it was that big. Rosie was thankful for her elastic band pants at the end of that night, what a great meal in a great atmosphere.
Goulash and Dumplings (Knedliky) – Is on all menus and must be mentioned as far as National Fare goes. Traditionally a thick stew made from beef, the Czechs have busted out of the mould and you can often find pork and the more upmarket Wild Boar on the menu. It is served in either a traditional hollowed out bread bowl or always accompanied with dumplings or Knedliky which is specific to the Czech Republic.
Knedliky (dumplings) are made from flour, eggs and yeast. They are rolled into logs or balls, baked and then sliced. This heavy, bread type consistency is a perfect accompaniment to the delicious goulash gravy and they are never mean on the slices…there is always just enough to absorb every last bit of gravy.
This is our wild boar goulash with cranberries and gingerbread dumplings. It was devine!
Peasant Platters – have I mentioned the Czechs love their meat? This is next level mixed grill – Duck, Rabbit, Venison and Wild Pork – served with dumplings, gravy and red and white cabbage. Devine.
Prague Ham – Street food slow cooked on the bone, over charcoal in the freezing cold. This meat is cut off the bone to order…big slice, small slice….you let them know and then you pay for it by the weight. So tender, so moist so delicious…..quite expensive but a mouthwatering treat.
Poland
Polish hospitality is outstanding and has eclipsed all Rosie and The Operators persieved expectations of them being a reserved, serious peoples. The staff in all of the bars, restaurants and cafes we visited have been outstandingly friendly and forthcoming in all matters of dining, drinking and hospitality recommendations. The Poles are proud of their customs, traditions and country…and rightly so! We have had the best time here and it all started with a drink in a bar.
Rosie and The Operator left the touristy Old Town of Wroclaw and found a local bar on the periphery to sit down and enjoy our first beer in Poland. We chose a seat at the bar, we love to watch the bar people work and be part of the hustle and bustle of those coming and going from the bar where the turn around of patrons is normally quite quick. We like to (hopefully) get lucky and come across a chatty barman…Rosie wasn’t too hopeful as the bar staff were all very young.
It was a dim, old school, kiwi style public bar with high tables and seats with a ring of stools surrounding the oval shaped bar which was half full. Work seemed to have finished for the day and mainly men were coming into have a pint of beer accompanied by a seemingly mandatory shot of Vodka. Rosie likes a beer, just a standard light coloured, easy drinking lager style beer. No wheaty, cloudy dark looking chewy styled fancy craft beers for her. Just plain ale, as it should be.
The young barman comes over and Rosie, in her best (terrible) Polish greets him and asks if he can speak English…Rosie had her fingers crossed. Of course, he says with barely a discernible accent, how may I help you? Now you know this is going to be a big night!
Our Lad (yes, he was old enough to be our son) was so chuffed we had come all the way from New Zealand and were sitting here, in this bar. Next minute we were sampling the local draught beers accompanied by shots of icy cold vodka straight from the freezer, poured over sized because ‘that is how we drink it here’.
Our lad was chuffed that we wanted to sample some of the local fare the pub had to offer. Half of the people drinking at the bar were munching from bowls of what looked like giant gherkins whilst sipping their beer. Rosie was hoping they were pickled and sour of which she was not disappointed! The Lad said they were pickled cucumber….and a standard bar snack. So ordinary that they didn’t even feature on the glowing menu above the bar. Over many more beers and shots of Vodka The Lad kept the dishes coming explaining them as he served them quite excitedly as if we were in a Michelin restaurant…we said to keep everything coming.
Smalec – Much to The Operators horror we were presented with a jar of Pork Lard, yes, straight Pork Fat. Imagine the congealed leavings in the bottom of your Sunday roast pan…that was it. You thickly smear it on bread and garnish with slices of pickled cucumber. It is totally delicious with a beer or two. In some bars our Smalec was a given out as a complimentary bar snack.
Pierogi – Polish Dumplings – your choice of boiled, fried or baked. Traditional fillings include meat or potato and cheese. Normally served with fried onion and garlic sauce. These are a meal on their own and are actually the size of your hand in size. Very filling!
Pickled Herrings- Sledzie Marynowane – exactly that – a beautiful white fish marinated to the point of melting in your mouth with pickley sour goodness. Served with onion that has been pickled in the same juice on bread.
Zubrowka – Bison Grass Vodka – Our Lad pulled out the big guns….and poured us a complimentary shot of this traditional Vodka. Well, The Operator was hooked from that moment on. It is a dry herb infused vodka that is distilled from rye and is bottled at 40%. Its tasting notes are vanilla, coconut, cinnamon, almond and woodruff…..a plant like henna with no aroma and a bitter taste. By that time of the evening Rosie thought it was a delightful drink as well.
With a few more Zubrowka under her belt Rosie paid the bill which The Lad supplied. It seemed shy a few rounds…. but was well less than half the price we would have paid back home in New Zealand.
Mildly staggering home and not feeling the -5 ambient air temperature in the slightest The Operator had an idea, lets go to a bottle store and buy a bottle of Zubrowka to take back to the apartment for a nightcap.
Rosie knew this would was a bad idea, Rosie could tell tomorrow would just be a write off if this plan was realised….but, next minute The Operator, has a brown paper bag in his hand with a bottle of our new found ‘favorite’ spirit in it.
Fate intervened at that very moment whilst crossing the threshold into our apartment. The Operator tripped in the doorway and the new, unopened bottle of Zubrowka left his hands spiraling up into the air and then into freefall. Rosie saw it all happen in slow motion….The Operator bellowed out ‘NNnnnnnooooooo’ as he attempted to dive and catch it. The bottle however, just beyond his grasp, hit the kitchen tiles and smashed into a thousand pieces with a single piece of Bison Grass lying unblemished in a puddle on the floor.
Not to be out done the next day, we put yesterday on repeat, albeight a more restrained version and then went out for a beautiful meal of Beef.
Boiled Beef – You’ve got to give it to the Polish, they take the most unpopular, toughest cuts of meats and through amazing slow cooking turn these cuts into the most delicious meals ever! This mouthwatering dish was served with horseradish sauce, roast potato and fried beetroot. The meat just melted in your mouth.
The restaurant where we had this meal was packed to the brim every night, it had three levels of dining with one being a cosy basement cellar with a small stream and waterfall running through it….I kid you not. Plus, there was traditional dancing and music to enliven the dining experience. All of the Polish songs played sounded so sad, poignant and heart rending. Rosie asked the band if they were sad songs….they laughed, looked surprised, sculled their beer and said no they were not sad songs…we being Polish are naturally just glum people in expressing ourselves….
Warm Alcoholic Beverages – They do this so well and it is so perfect for the temperature, climate and ambiance you drink it in.
Whether it be Mulled Wine on the street where you have approximately 8 minutes to drink it before it looses the perfect internal warming qualities or posher warm aperitifs and cocktails to be leisurely imbibed fireside in a lounge bar or restaurant. Rosie was amazed to learn that any alcoholic beverage can be simply warmed and enjoyed….all wines, liquors and even beers….oh yes, The Operator has tried them all and has been converted.
Rosies favourite Aperol Cocktail – The Petula – Aperol, Rose wine, Rhubarb Syrup, Lemon Juice and Dried Orange. Served in a glass mug at latte sipping temperature.
Rosie hasn’t even mentioned the Christmas Market Street Food, quick bites on the run with a cup of Mulled Wine, perfect for a light, or not so light midday meal or dinner.
Polish Cheese Logs – Cut into slices and lightly fried until just softened and warmed through. They are eaten with a toothpick and dabbed with a smidge of plum or cranberry sauce…or, why not take the whole log home and bake it in your oven and scoop out the gooey goodness with bread. There were all sorts of flavors going on here from smoked cheese to mature to plain.
Meat & Vege – They have it all going on here, whatever takes your fancy.
Bread/Smalec and Meat – Giant slices of bread smeared with Smalec (Pork Lard) and then your topping of choice. Choose from savory mince, onions or slices of cooked sausage or a combo of all of the above.
Rosie and The Operator thought we might have a night cap one evening after a fine meal. We ended up at the top of a staircase looking down into a small cosy, cellar bar that wasn’t too busy like some of the others on the street. Down we went and sat at one of the last corner tables for two in the bar. Oh no groaned The Operator, they are just about to start Karaoke, bugger, we had just bought drinks!
Well, the first couple of songs were actually right up The Operators alley and sung by reasonably good singers. Rosie and The Operator were soon quietly getting into the groove and singing away to the classic rock songs as well. There were some cringe worthy moments, especially when the compare of the evening got up to sing…Rosie has never heard anyone so bad in her life thinking he was so good. The night progressed, the bar filled up, the lights got dimmer, the songs were awesome the music got louder as did Rosie and The Operators joining in from the corner. Next minute it was 2am… time to go home after a brilliant night out, and we didn’t even get to try the Mold Vine.
Yes, as you can tell Rosie and The Operator had a great time eating and drinking on this holiday. That is after all part of what visiting new countries is all about. Great places, great tastes, great people great memories.
