A little tid-bit of Prague
I’ve been back from Prague for 2 weeks now and I definitely miss it. Walking around the city was great. I don’t think I’ve done that much walking [literally walking across from one corner of our map to the other] since Japan. ♥
Here’s a blog post that Jon wrote about one of our experiences in Prague.
Traveling in Prague recently, visited a wonderful restaurant there, called V Zatisi.
The food and decor were both quite amazing. The room we were seated in featured a wall constructed entirely of books (below left). The lamps were placed on books that stuck out halfway from the pile.
One thing we particularly loved were the oil and vinegar cruets, one of which we ended up bringing home for a small fee (above right). The restaurant offers tasting courses which are very artfully presented. The seared foie gras was particularly heavenly and we would definitely go back for more. Among the things we tried at V Zatisi were small courses of duck, beef, veal, fish and a heck of a good tiramisu for dessert.
Dining in Prague, as we learned during our 10 day stay, is a very unusual experience. Our walking tour guide explained “most of the time, you won’t get good service.” This is apparently a remnant of communist thought where everyone gets the same pay no matter what kind of job they do. Another unfortunate thing is that many restaurants put a “service” or a “couvert” charge on the bill, up to 10%, without so much as a warning or explanation. The wait staff also hovered at the table when payment was due and asked if we were going to leave a tip. This happens especially to tourists, we later learned. Oh well. (Not to say the food wasn’t good in Prague… indeed the food and the beer were fantastic almost everywhere we tried.)
V Zatisi did not suffer from any of this. Service, food and everything was fantastic. The establishment was clearly built for an international audience who expect good service.
After dinner, a walk around the surrounding area at night. Prague is a bit of a photographer’s wonderland at night and there are so many little treasures…
Isn’t the oil and vinegar cruets the cutest thing ever? I’ve seen typical ones in kitchen gadget shops, but nothing this adorable. We might have paid a 100% markup but the glass shop that sold this was across the bridge [maybe a 20 mins walk from where we were], it was already 7pm on a Saturday [nothing is open except restaurants and tourist souvenir shops past 6pm on a Saturday] AND it was our last night and our flight was at 8am! In the end, I’m extremely happy that I bought it.
