You’re about to spend some time in the worlds beer capital, and where there’s beer, there are tasty and yummy foods to go along. The sights in Prague let alone will raise your appetite, the old buildings look like they had been drawn by Disney himself, narrow cobblestone streets, gothic cathedrals, and it is so wonderful. And the choices to eat, endless, taverns, pubs, street carts, restaurants, the choice is just too huge.
Your best bet to get the most of Prague rich cuisine is seeing it and taste it with a local by your side, this way you will have someone to tell you all about Czech kitchen, the history of the food, where to eat and how! Or you can consult online, and wonder round, but this is just too much time consuming and sometimes confusing.
However you do it, there are 10 pieces of food you are obliged to try when in Prague, foods that just have to be eaten, here, in Prague (in other places they do taste differently, perhaps it is the spirit of Prague that’s missing).
- TRDELNÍK – The origin of this pastry is from Transylvania and Slovakia, however, they do prepare them in Prague, and they do it perfectly. Rolled yeast dough rosted on open flame, then brushed with butter and covered with sugar and cinnamon, comes plain (or empty, and this way it is the best), or filled with cream (chocolate or fruit).
- Knedlíky – Traditional Czech dish, dumplings served with meat or other, that can also be prepared as desert when filled with fruit or jam. Be sure to try the variant first, I fell in love the first time I tried it!
- CHLEBÍČKY – Open-faced sandwich with various topping, ranging from ham and tomato to mackerel, and various sauce to go with it. But probably it is best served with Czech steak tartare, dry-aged beef minced and mixed with onions, oil, then covered with fried egg. A must!
- Goulash – Almost always served with dumplings (Knedlíky), and with meat, and the taste and density of goulash varies from one pub to the other, so you have to save space to try at least 5 of them! Basically, this is a soup, but thicker, and much more tasteful.
- Kulajda – another traditional Czech creamy soup, this time made from potatoes with mushrooms and vinegar, and an egg to top it. Just like any other soup, this also has many different flavors and ways to prepare it, so feel free to experiment!
- Párek v rohlíku – a simple roll stuffed with boiled sausage, with ketchup and mustard, lokks like a big hot-dog, but tastes much better. Best to have it on any street cart, where it is fresh and always served with beer.
- Wiener schnitzel – this is served all over Europe, in Austria, Germany, Poland, but as mentioned, has a special taste in Prague. Plus in Prague it is a pork schnitzel, while in Austria is veal, and it is simple tender meat slice covered with bread crumps, fried and served with potato salad. Now the salad is whole lot different story, potatoes with onion, carrot and boiled eggs, mayo and mustard, and with a pinch of strawberries or cranberries! Yummy!
- Fried cheese – traditionally it is a piece of Edamer cheese covered with bread crumps and fried in oil, but a lot of pubs offer different kinds of cheese and mixtures and offer them as specialties, and when you try it, you’ll know why.
- Kolache – dough cookies filled with sweet filling, the perfect Czech desert, and a perfect companion to a cup of coffee. There are small and big variants of the kolache, the smaller ones are kind a more perfect!
- Beer – A national drink, almost every house brews their own beer, and the choice is really enormously huge! Save space in your tummy, beer is both healthy and nutrient rich. Also in every pub in Prague, beer is served with beer snacks, a piece of meat or pickled sausage, with veggies on the side.
One more advice, try to visit a local pub, few kilometers from the tourist crowded center, there you’ll find friendly faces with the best Czech beer and homemade kitchen recepies, worth the trip and the time.
