Friday, October 22, 2010

PRAHA


“Welcome to the Czech Republic” or “Vítejte na Česká Republika“

Well, that’s what we would have heard if we had arrived by plane. Instead, we went by train, through the German and Czech countryside’s to reach Prague, the heart of the Czech Republic. We weren’t greeted with a welcome at all in fact, just some angry train employee, yelling at us furiously in a foreign tongue which we promptly translated to –“What the hell are you doing on the train still? Get off NOW” message. Didn’t help that we had traveled to a country where neither of us knew any language (now that I’m gone I still couldn’t say hello, thank you, or please) nor the fact that we hadn’t slept much the night before after venturing out to the beer gardens one last time. Either way, we were in the Czech Republic, welcome at that moment or not.

For me, traveling to Prague was full of unknowns. It was a city or a country not touched upon in any of my history classes. Sure I learned about the Soviet Union and some about communism, but very little about this Eastern Europe foreign land. In learning about countries in school, I find that you often learn a little bit about what they eat-or often what they are not eating that they used to in times of desperation and starvation.  I have had for some time some interest in visiting this Bohemian land and was very interested in learning its culture, history, and its edibles.  I had a feeling it would be some like German food we had been eating for the last three days in Munich. And with three nights in Prague, I was willing and wanting to find out. 
Well, that quest kind of failed. Not entirely as I ate pretty well in Prague, but as a major metropolitan city, international foods tend to dominate the scene.  To find real Czech food, it normally meant that you ventured into a very touristy restaurant, or as Lexi put it, “their version of a TGI Fridays “ (which they awkwardly had several of around the city). That meal went undocumented but was very good. Lexi had a potato soup in a bread bowl and I had a Pilsner beef goulash with bread dumplings and potato pancakes. We later found out that the restaurant we did go to (though a chain and everywhere) is where you can really find the best Czech food. And at about 300 Koruna’s, it was one of our cheapest meals yet and we even HAD beer with it!

I actually found that the greatest divulge into Czech cuisines was in a little Spice and Cheese Fair in the center of Old Town Prague and in their grocery store itself, even if the store was the British chain TESCO.
 



The Market, Svatky koreni a syru, or Holidays of spices and cheese, was similar to the market we went to in Germany. Except no goods, no children’s rides, just food :)
 

Entrance to the market

After perusing the stands for what we wanted to eat, seeing dough fried and slathered in cheese,
 

To large pieces of ham, rotating on a spit, 

 
We decided on the longest line in the bunch to get some sausages. I can tell you one thing, the Czech, just as the Germans, seem to love their sausages.  After waiting in line and it became our turn, we had the choice to pick out of three-though the three are no where listed on the menu, all it said was “Sausage 60kc” hmmm….We picked a lighter one and a darker one and slathered with mustard to enjoy.


Though it was 6 Degrees Celsius out, the “dog” was warm and delicious, and I repeatedly went back to the stand to lather the spicy mustard on. Not a bad lunch! But naturally, we sought out some desert.

Caitlin and Albert  were kind enough to introduce me via Skype to one of their friends who lives and owns a bakery in Prague, luckily for Lexi and I, very near the very square we were standing in. We made the short walk to The Bakeshop and ordered a delightful piece of chocolate cheesecake, something both of us had been craving and missing.
YUM
 Along with the cake we ordered a cappuccino, as the place is rumored to be Tom Cruise’s favorite coffee in town when he is town filming, which he was at the time we were there for Mission Impossible: 4.
 

It was a fabulous way to end the afternoon.



That night for dinner, Lexi and I decided to cook for ourselves .So we braved the Czexh version of the TESCO, and the first dilemma was trying to find the correct change to get a grocery cart. Luckily the security guard stepped in and gave us a plastic coin instead. Next dilemma, try to figure out what the heck everything was. We stuck to foods we knew and found some delicious stuff.


Some sausage?
Sliced meats?
Milk?
HEINZ ketchup??
 No we settled on some veggies, eggs and potatoes, what we COULD recognize.

Our cart
We even got come Moravian wine!

What a wonderful adventure in Prague. Now I'm BACK in Italy, for Terre Madre with my Dad, stay tuned!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Munchin' in München

Munich was such a fun city to be in for a few days despite the fact it was FREEZING. Something a California girl cannot get used to overnight. We arrived at 6:30 in the morning on a overnight train to dark skies and frosty air. I was forever grateful that I broke down and bought mittens and a hat two nights earlier in Bologna. We checked into the hostel and went on a free tour of the city. Free but again, FREEZING. And I noticed that the tour guide kept referring everything to beer. Maybe because it was mostly 20 somethings in the group or maybe it was was the fact that it was so cold, people needed a few beers just to warm up! He did mention that tax-wise, beer is considered a food, NOT an alcoholic drink. I think they're up to something with that one...

Either way, I was really excited to try out some local food, and there's not a  better place to do so then in a Beer Hall! Our first stop was the Augustiner Beer Hall in the pedestrian area of the city, not a far walk from the city center, Marienplatz.

Inside the Hall
Also inside the Hall
We of course, ordered some beer! This Augustiner brew is the Augustiner Edelstoff. Rumored to be what the current Pope drinks according to our tour guide. Either way, it is really good. 
For food, we each got a soup to start. Mine was a traditional Munich Beef Liver Meatball in a beef broth. Interesting but very good.
 For dinner, we ordered a Red Sausage, with a Potato and Vegetable side....

 And 'Spicy' Chicken Sausages also with Potatoes and Vegetables.
Yes, the pile of mush on the RIGHT side is considered to be vegetables in Munich
Dinner was fabulous and we were stuffed and warmed to the brim to make our chilling walk back to the hostel.

Lexi and I managed to stumble up on the The Auer Dult two afternoons after our Augustiner night. It happens three times a year and vendors bring in their goods. Also set up are children rides. Since this was the fall fair, all of the booths were decorated in lovely autumn themes. We started to search for some yummy food and found this stand. Un-able to read any of the German menu, we ordered by pointing to the large cast iron pans inside to get some grub.
The biggest cast iron pans I have ever seen
What we ordered was called  Schufrundein and Kasespatzle in Rostzmeibech.
The Schufrundein is on the left and the Kasespatzle in Rostzmeibech is on the right. Pretty much it summed up to large potato gnocchi-like guys with sauerkraut on the left and potato cheese nips with onions on the right. It also means GOOD.
Potatoy-Cheesy-Sauerkrauty GOOD and a bonus, you can eat the bowl! Tasted kinda like an ice cream cone...
We then moved on to find desert and found these AWESOME sweet pretzel type items, called Baumstriezel. We have found them in Prague too and seem to be pretty popular all around this part of Europe. Basically, they roll out a dough into long strips then wrap that around a buttered wooded skewer. They stick that in the oven that you see below and it spins it to cook it evenly.
Moving them around the oven

Rolling the dough

The end result-we got a cinnamon sugar one but they roll it in many different things when it is pulled out of the oven
In Prague we have seen them being cooked over coals, which gives it a different, more crispy texture. The one we ate pictured here was soft and chewy-just barely cooked dough. The grey on top of the bag is steam coming off in the cold Autumn day! I found a video on youtube of a guy making them here.

On a side note, also in the fair was loads of ceramics, antiques, random household goods, and clothing. My favorite clothing stand? This SUSPENDER making station. Can't we have these at home?
They had them in all different colors and sizes, looks like ribbon in the picture but its all stretchy suspender materials. So cool.

We spent our last night in the Hofbräuhaus München. One of the world's most famous beer gardens.
Kegs and kegs, bottles and bottles
Since it was our last night, we decided to be truly German and order a whole Liter of their original stuff. That plus a pork dinner (pictures to dark to see) and we were full. But very fully satisfied.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Markets


The past week has been extraordinarily busy. Traveling picked up pace as we moved through Bologna, Venice AND Munich. Now, I am sitting in Prague with some spare moments to re-gather my thoughts before I head back to Italy to meet up with my Dad for Terre Madre in Turin. Looking very much forward to that!

In Bologna and Venice I spent most of the time walking around and seeing the sites. In my food-obsessed mind however, I am always drawn to the nearest market or the next menu on the street, just to see what they are serving. In Bologna, we found markets that are set up year round, a whole street of permanent vendors selling their goods-a bread shop, cheese shop, wine shop, produce stand. Incredible.
I think any kind of meat you could want

Meat, cheese, pasta=my perfect store

Veggies

Pasta, Cheese Store

BEAUTIFUL tortelloni
 From Bologna, we traveled to Venice. I was sadly very disappointed in the food we had to eat there. We had been doing SO well on a traveler's budget and having some fantastic food. Searched long and hard in Venice, and never really seem to move much past the 'tourist trap' food. Partially because I didn't research, partially because I was only there for one night. We did however come across some pretty cool markets-particularly a fish market and produce market.
Scallops


Rows upon rows

Fuji apples from Italy

Beautiful lettuces

Peppers

You could smell these mushrooms from two stands over-they were amazing and I wish I had a kitchen to cook with them!

My favorite market was this floating market out at Murano. He had everything they we selling on the main island in Venice but off his boat. So nifty.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

THE steak of steaks....

In Florence, they are known for their Bistecca a la Fiorentina, a steak, similar to a porterhouse in the United States. On almost any menu you can kind it for a huge price tag. The trick is to ask a local and see where they would eat it. The steak is supposed to be as thick as two fingers, and we were told be from a 'teenager' cow-not veal but not beef. When we met up with our couchsurfing host, we asked him to suggest a place. I had eaten at a place with my Dad and he told me it was good there, but he told us to wait a second and he would make some calls. Ten minutes alter we were informed we would eat at his friend's restaurant and he would prepare the meal for us. No better way than that!

The Restaurant, Il Vecchio e Il Mare, is situated just on the outskirts of the downtown area. The son, Pasquale and his father own and operate the restaurant. They have a pizza chef from Naples and serve mostly seafood since they are also from Southern Italy. We never saw a menu and had everything ordered but goodness it was good. I actually don't even think they have Bistecca a la Fiorentina on the menu but had ordered it just for us. Earlier that day, Lexi and I hiked to the top of the Duomo (463 steps!) so we felt as if we could indulge a bit in dinner. Boy, did we!

First at our table was some lovely focaccia bread from their pizza maker in house. 

In Italy, focaccia is different then home. It is what they make their pizzas on most of the time. This particular one was light and fluffy, warm and delicious!
The pizza maker and his oven
Next, we received some Fried Porchini Mushrooms, a yummy start to the meal.


You can find a similar recipe here
For much of the meal, Pasquale, the son, sat and ate with us at the table. He was also quite a good Chianti pourer!

After we ate the mushrooms came the main event. THE steak. We each had our own, ranging from about a half a kilo to a kilo. It is cooked till just brown on each side and only flipped once. The result is a very pink, tender and delicious piece of meat.

I managed to get through a large portion of mine. So so good! We thought we were full to the brim until this little gem came out of the kitchen.

Chocolate souffle with a cream sauce. Served with some amazing dessert wine it was a perfect way to end this amazing feast.