Mrs.Keenlyside's Profile
Looking for non-restaurant but food related recs for Prague, Vienna, and Budapest.
Before you write off the Naschmarkt in Vienna, I’d say it is worth visiting, especially if you can go on a weekday when it is not overcrowded with people gawking at the food. Depending on where you are from and how much you have travelled, it could be a unique and fun experience.
If you have been to any big city gourmet food emporium, then you have no particular reason to go to Meinl am Graben: it is the Saks Fifth Avenue of supermarkets, and the vast majority of the stuff there is inanely overpriced. That being said, there is a lovely wine bar in the basement.
Meinl is, for me, like going to Dean & De Luca in NYC (or the old Balducci’s, but without the character that place had). No matter what you think of the quality and variety at Naschmarkt, you have to admit that it’s a rather unique experience. It deserves a walk through. You will also find that the prices drop the father you go from the City end (the end closest to the Ringstrasse, by the Secession building) and cross the street in the middle and continue away from the City toward the Kettenbrückengasse U-Bahn station.
I agree with someone’s comment above that you have booked too much time in Budapest. There just isn’t that much to see, the city is largely dirty, very dark after sunset, and still carries a lot of its old Soviet baggage. It’s also not that friendly and you may have trouble getting around if you only speak English.
Prague is the opposite: it is gorgeous beyond belief, the people are lovely and very open to foreigners, and they are very proud of their city: they have worked very hard to make it accessible and clean and safe.
Unfortunately, good, authentic Czech cuisine is hard to find. The majority of places in the city that serve it are geared to tourists and you will find yourself shoveling down overcooked meats swimming in salty gravies, with mushy, greasy dumplings or potato pancakes. You’d do better to try some of the places which serve international cuisine. Kampa Park is really worth it, and the location is magical. I personally like Zahrada v Opere, behind the old State Opera House (not to be confused with the National Opera on the river).
Have a terrific trip!
Oh – Just one little practical reminder: although the Czech Republic and Hungary are now members of the European Union, they have NOT yet adopted the euro as their currency. So you will be dealing with the euro in Austria, the koruny in the Czech Republic, and the forint in Hungary.
Help me recreate a recipe
Adrienne, this sounds fantastic! I am not sure about the Parmesan for the dish I am trying to recreate: I recall the sauce being rather simple and intensely lemony, perfectly offsetting the velvety raw tuna and the astringency of the capers. But your dish – sans tuna and capers – should be very tasty, and I plan to try it as soon as I get a weekend to spend in my own kitchen. (I just wanted to say “thanks” now, as I will be travelling for the next week and won’t have much of a chance to look at the board, and certainly no opportunity to cook!)
Beverage "cycle" for an evening or dinner
Would you care to please share your Side Car recipe? It's the one cocktail I truly love but have never quite mastered. I can't seem to get the right balance. What's your secret?
Help me recreate a recipe
I’m sure all of us here who can cook (as opposed to the visitors who merely reap the rewards of our labours) have had something so spectacular and memorable in a restaurant that we tried to recreate it at home.
At a luncheon a few weeks ago, I had an absolutely exquisite plate of featherweight gnocchi in a light lemon cream sauce with whole caper berries (with stems still attached), topped with slivers of raw tuna.
I have never tried making my own gnocchi, but I’ve been reading-up and the recipe which makes the most sense to me involves baking the potatoes rather than boiling or steaming them, apparently making for lighter gnocchi without the moisture. May I please have your suggestions and comments?
I also need some suggestions for a sauce. A hollandaise seems too heavy. If I get a viable, successful recipe, I’ll be happy to share it!
Thanks!
Mrs. K.
I'm at a total loss
Keep it luxurious but simple so you have time to sit with hubby at table and not be in the kitchen all evening.
If you can get them, start with some oysters and a bottle of Champagne or prosecco (and you know what they say about the aphrodisiacal properties of oysters!). Lacking oysters, maybe some smoked salmon with a nice honey mustard or horseradish cream on the side, or even some caviar with the usual accompaniments.
I heartily recommend something which is terrific, expensive, and not very labour intensive: get the best filet mignon your butcher’s got, or some lobsters. With time at a premium, keep focused on quality of ingredient, and not on complicated preparations. Make it a treat for both of you!
What food to serve at a single malt tasting?
Thanks to all for your suggestions!
Well, living as I do in a landlocked country, scallops were the most tempting advice but the least realistic. Peanut brittle, too (it just doesn’t exist here).
Things got rather last-minute (I yet again managed to underestimate my housecleaning time), so I basically went on a quick spree to the nearest decently-stocked supermarket.
In the end, there really wasn’t anything very adventurous or unusual (and I did make a note to grab a pack of smoked salmon, but totally forgot about it). As best as I can recall there were: Kalamata olives, large green olives, artichoke hearts, cornichons, a sharp cheddar, a pumpkin seed brie, a nutty Bergkäse, smoked ham, a pâté topped with apples and another topped with lingonberries, baguettes, crisp bread, a dense dark bread covered with sesame seeds, cheese sticks, various mustards, and there must have been other things but that’s all I can remember for now.
After the marathon of cleaning and shopping, I needed a jumpstart. I fixed myself a quick Manhattan, and it looked so yummy my guests decided to join me before proceeding on to the whisky. So, a bottle of bourbon later...
The big winner was a 16-year-old Lagavulin. Most of the other less famous, smaller batch scotches lacked character and/or were too alcoholic. Rather a disappointing array, but then I didn’t pay for any of them, so I can’t complain too much!
The pumpkin seed brie went in a snap (I’d never had this combination before and it is heaven! I bought another huge wedge this afternoon), but it turned out that the food was totally secondary. At least I have a much better idea what to do next time (starting with cleaning the house a day earlier).
The other suggestion which I took from a Chowhound was dark chocolate and nobody touched it! So now Mrs. K. has this large slab of extra dark bittersweet Swiss chocolate tempting me every time I walk by the sideboard...
What NOT to do with brown rice....
What’s so difficult about cooking it on the stovetop? I mix a cup of brown rice, two cups of water, a cube of vegetable or chicken stock, a large pinch of red pepper flakes, and two bay leaves in a heavy pot. Bring it to a furious boil over high heat for about a minute or two, then cover and reduce heat and it’ll be done before you know it.
Dining and opera in Vienna
If you’re attending a performance at Wiener Staatsoper or, better yet, Theater an der Wien (the city’s third fulltime opera company as of January 2006), it’s probably cheaper and far more interesting to cross the Ringstrasse and head over to the Sixth District to look for food: the Naschmarkt has some amazing places, and Ra’Mien on Gumpendorferstrasse has some of the best Asian food in the city. If you want to do it up and your budget is unlimited, try Le Ciel on the roof of the Grand Hotel (on the Ringstrasse right near the Staatsoper). The Sacher is more about the interior design, history and notorious Viennese service than it is about the food (heavy, ultra-traditional, and not very good). If you want the best of the new, innovative take on traditional Viennese cooking (there is a school of chefs called Die Junge Wilden – The Young Savages), go to Plachutta Wollzeile (maybe a 20 minute walk from Staatsoper), or, better yet, go to Ruben’s Brasserie and Ruben’s Palais in the Ninth District (in the courtyard of the Palais Liechtenstein). My personal favorite is Collio in Hotel Das Triest, about a ten minute walk from Staatsoper or Theater an der Wien.
Recommended Restaurants for New Years Eve in Vienna
I know it's way too late to offer advice to most of the posters here, but on your next trip to Wien, please follow Sturmi's (and my) advice and go go go to Collio, the superb restaurant in Hotel das Triest! The hotel itself is quite special, too, and don't let the fact that it's not in the First District put you off: you can be anywhere in the city in minutes with the superb public transportation system.
Chowhoundish things in Frankfurt, Germany?
I agree with William: you'll find the most interesting things going on in Saxenhausen.
Bourbon & Tennessee Whiskey Blind Tasting Round Three
Have the likes of Knob Creek and Basil Hayden bit the dust? Since I left America six years ago, it’s been a while since I’ve had access to anything other than the most basic basics. Occasionally a high-end whisky/cocktail bar will have Knob Creek (which I have always adored) but I can’t recall seeing even the corner-liquor-store version of Makers Mark, red "wax" and all.
What is your most useful/best beloved non-mechanical device in your kitchen?
Mrs. K. simply adores her truffle slicer, especially when she finds a way to contrive bringing it to table (fresh shavings over that pasta?) and responding to queries with “How could you have lived without one of these?”
Champagne in the fridge
Danna, you now have the best of gifts: a reason to celebrate something spontaneously! St. Valentine's Day will be here soon enough, but why not pop it open when you find that you are due a return from the IRS, your mother-in-law has decided to postpone her visit, that clunking sound under the hood simply went away and never came back, the cat really isn’t pregnant, or that – hell – it’s Tuesday!
Of course it will keep (on its side), as everyone has suggested, for a few months (bit don’t push it, especially if you are wont to store lots of things containing raw garlic in the fridge). But hopefully you will find some occasion to open it in the near future. Since you missed regular, generic New Year, isn’t Chinese New Year coming up? Dig out your kimono and celebrate!
- Mrs. K.
(Oh dear: kimonos are Japanese, aren't they? Mrs. K. is the last one who'd want to be labelled politicaly incorrect, but dig it out anyway!)
modern cuisine in prague
Are you insane? For that amount of money for dinner in Praha, you should automatically become a partner in the restaurant!
The next time, get thee to:
Zahrada v Opere
Legerova 75
Praha 1
Tel +420 224 239 685
It’s located in the rear of the office building next to the Statní opera (the State Opera, not the Národní divadlo – National Theatre – on the river). The food is modern, the atmosphere cozy, and the prices unbelievable!
The last time I was there, I had a mussel and saffron soup with citrus fruits that was one of the most exquisite things I have ever tasted.
I would think that cocktails, three courses, a bottle of wine, and coffee would run about $70 for two. (Oh – but your dear old dollar is dropping, isn’t it?)
- Mrs. K.
What food to serve at a single malt tasting?
I am hosting some colleagues on Tuesday evening to taste some single malts. I am supplying a comfy place, appropriate glasses, and something to munch on, they are entrusted with bringing the hootch.
This is perhaps the Final Frontier of alcohol which Mrs. K. has not yet mastered (and I’m doin’ my best to catch up). I can’t yet sniff something and tell which Highland or island it came from, but I am, at least, able to differentiate a Lagavullin from a Laphroaig. Give me time.
My question is: what can I serve – foodwise! – that will not get in the way of the tasting, but rather compliment it?
- Mrs. K.
Beverage "cycle" for an evening or dinner
I, too, must question the contributor who states, “Fewer people drink hard alcohol with meals these days; general trend towards temperance.” May I respectfully request on which planet you reside?
OK: that’s my 30-years-in-Manhattan attitude speaking. But I left that behind in 2001 and now live in one of Europe’s grand capitals.
Alcohol is such a part of life here, its consumption is rarely questioned and certainly not guided by a “general trend toward temperance!” It’s not at all unusual to see a bunch of construction workers knocking back the first beer of the day at a morning break.
Anyway, I digress. Before dinner, I always offer some kind of hors d’ouvres or munchies: cheese sticks and an array of olives are de rigueur (and always kept on hand!). Maybe a platter of smoked fish (I am suddenly craving a plate of smoked trout with huge caper berries and lemon wedges), certainly some fruit, cheese, crudités. Depending on how formal the occasion, I will have on hand prosecco or Champagne, a light white wine, and the basic classic cocktails (Manhattan, Bronx, Martini, Negroni, etc.). Anything more complicated and/or involving a blender or cream (White Russians, Frozen Margaritas, Daquiris, etc.) should be reserved for the beach or as dessert!
Wines at table vary with the number and content of courses.
If I start with a soup or consommé, I usually offer a small glass of a nice Madeira.
A fish course takes a white wine, but one judged accordingly by the delicacy and preparation of the fish. A sliver of poached salmon wants something light and astringent; tuna carpaccio wants something bold and “chewy.”
A palette cleanser is a nice idea and fun on special occasions. I especially like a basil and lemon granita, or, after a particularly fishy fish course, a Campari and pink grapefruit sorbet. Graitas are nice and easy, since all you need is some room in your freezer, a metal ice cube tray and a fork. For a very small amount of work, they garner a lovely, usually surprised reception when brought to table.
A main course featuring beef or game must have an appropriate red wine, opened to give it sufficient breathing time and/or decanted. Poultry can go either to red or white – I like a nice light red with a roasted chicken.
Traditionally, a salad is next, and that is the one part of the meal served without alcohol (although there may be some in the dressing)!
Be careful with dessert wines. The best ones are insanely expensive but well worth it. The sugar content in the wine may clash horribly with the sugar or fruit in a dessert. I tend to offer a glass of a rich, sweet Sauternes or Trockenberenausleese before the dessert itself. Then dessert, coffee and tea, and then a selection of brandies, Port, Cognac, etc.
And if anyone is still hanging around after all that, it's time to bring out the best whiskeys (and maybe start thinking about serving breakfast!).
Beer? Maybe with sushi or Mexican food (and then always a Kirin or a Tecate!) or chili (which should be sufficiently hot and spicy that you won’t even notice the taste of the beer – all that matters is the temperature). Or maybe with fried chicken. I believe it was Miss Manners who, when asked which foods are appropriately eaten with the fingers, replied: Asparagus and fried chicken, but no one would ever serve fried chicken at a diner party!
- Mrs. K.
