28.7.2022
... it is the name of an American romantic comedy about how Tuscany can heal the pain of a broken heart and bring joy back to life. Although I did not need to heal a broken heart, I was attracted to experience the Tuscan sweet life and doing nothing in the Italian way, so I chose Tuscany as this summer family vacation destination. After overcoming more than 1200 km, which separate us, happy inhabitants of cold Orava region, from this Italian region glorified by all travel agencies, I found that the Tuscan sun can be damn hot. The temperature during the whole week did not drop below 40 during the day and below 30 at night, so we really fondly remembered our 20-degree Orava summer. More than that, there was no air conditioning in our holiday home, and its stones sucked this divine warmth really intensely. Our house was part of a holiday complex, where they cared about sustainable tourism and friendly approach to nature, which is undoubtedly a noble goal, but we found out that to do without some of the achievements of modern times is not quite an obvious matter for us. In addition to the missing air conditioning, our teenagers lacked a proper telephone signal, which was a necessary condition for data and thus access to the internet. None of the holiday homes had a TV or radio, wifi was available only at the reception and its close surrounding was therefore systematically occupied mainly by teenagers and not only by ours. A diverse mix of languages was found among them, as confirmed by the registration numbers of vehicles parked in front of individual houses, most of which were Dutch, German, Danish, Swedish, French and Swiss. However, the above mentioned "annoyances" were several times compensated by divine tranquility and calmness, the wonderful aroma of pine trees, eucalyptus trees, rhododendrons and other experiences, among which the gastronomic ones undoubtedly played a role. Like the main heroine of the aforementioned film, I somehow often had the urge to buy a house there and say goodbye to the cold ordinariness of Orava days, because in Tuscany every day, even a moment, is special. It is due to the climate (when you get used to it), general well-being, people and, of course, food. And this time, Italy prepared some really juicy gastronomic lessons for me.
The morning in Italy begins with a coffee, which you drink standing at the bar or thoroughly enjoy with milk and a sweet croissant at the table under the umbrella on the terrace of a cafe. I couldn't wait to taste the famous Italian coffee, so I got my first Italian gastronomic lesson at the very first Italian gas station, which, according to a thoroughly prepared travel plan, we got to at the ideal morning hour. Forget about espresso / ristreto / lungho / macchiato / latte and co. of which our prestigious and even ordinary cafes are proud to serve. The lady at the checkout was really uncompromising and divided my pre – prepared special types of coffee that I wanted to taste, into only these two categories: coffee and cappuccino-that is, without milk or with milk. It was gratifying that the coffee was not made by any coffee machine, but by a nice barista and on a proper machine, so the coffee and cappuccino were express and excellently prepared and their taste was above reproach. The coffee was strong and the foam thick, served in proper cups and no paper cups (no "to go"), because coffee plays too important role in the life of Italians to be skimped while walking or driving. In our holiday complex, the cafe/bar was held by a nice elderly gentleman who also distinguished only coffee and cappuccino, similarly to the service in any other cafe which we sat in during our visits to small, but authentic little towns of central Tuscany. It was impossible not to notice the jeers that tourists earned when they ordered cappuccino after lunch or, God forbid, after dinner. Cappuccino is drunk only in the morning in Italy. And I must admit that it is perfectly prepared for you both at the gas station, and in the most out-of-the-way cafe in an even more out-of-the-way town Querceto, where we were led by about a meter wide road with sharp turns in a worrying climb and where, in addition to that cafe and church, there was only an abandoned castle and a couple of houses with breathtaking views of the Tuscan countryside with typical slender trees, vineyards, pine trees and endless fields with grain. In addition to the perfect coffee, we also got a cookie that the owner's mom baked that day and that he was happy to share with us. And I am incredibly grateful to him for that, because it perfectly complemented the perfectly foamed delicious cappuccino, which we enjoyed in the shade of the trees in the empty square with the sound of cicadas – simply pure well-being.
Traditionally, however, in Italy, with morning coffee, people take "cornetto" – at first glance, a classic sweet croissant, which, however, differs from the French one not only by a different dough, but also by a specific, and in Italy omnipresent citrus flavor. Apricot and Nutella filling is popular, which, since it originates in Italy, tastes really exceptional here. We found out that in Slovakia we probably get only some kind of third-class substitutes, because Nutella in Italy does not contain any artificial fats, nor artificial sweeteners or preservatives, only quality hazelnuts, cocoa, sugar and vegetable oil. After finding out that Nutella is not Nutella everywhere, we bought a couple of large packs of this delicacy in stock to bring home. For italian breakfast, I got to like cereal cornetto with honey, which also has a citrus flavor, or any form of salty sandwiches (panini) filled most often with ham and cheese. I could write several blogs or even books about Italian ham and cheese, so I will only briefly state that Italian prosciutto cotto or crudo in combination with mozzarella is simply everything a gourmet in Italy can wish for with breakfast pastries. However, I want to mention the abundance of baked goods that you can come across in Italy, which basically differ only in shape, like pasta. Panino, filone, pagnotta, ciambella, rosetta, treccia are basically different shapes of white bread, which is similar to our rolls and which you have to weight, not ask by pieces, and the bread itself, which can be rye, white, wholemeal, with a special place of Tuscan bread, which is dense, heavy and unsalted, baked in wood ovens similar to pizza and with which you would smash someone's head after a few days when it hardens to stone. A propos... pizza.
The Italian one has really a lot of forms and flavors, but what you will definitely not find in Italy is pizza Hawaii or pizza with corn, both so popular in Slovakia.... On the other hand, pizza Americana with sausages and french fries is always included in the menu which is for me completely incomprehensible regarding the refined Italian tastes. It was this mix of Italian and American culture that satisfied my teenager, who, in addition to wifi, also lacked traditional fast food. Whatever pizza we chose, we were always pleasantly surprised by, besides its great taste, its price which was often lower than in Slovak pizzerias, and we were also pleasantly surprised by its less famous derivatives such as schiacciata (cut baked pizza dough filled most often with ham and mozzarella or grilled vegetables), focaccia (salty sourdough cake) and donzelle, which we immediately fell in love with. They are fried small pieces of pizza dough and resembled to our donuts, just in a salty version, or minilangos, with the difference that they were not served with ketchup and cheese, but with quality Tuscan Ham...
As the day draws to its end, an important part of the day is approaching for Italians – dinner. One of the other lessons I learned in Tuscany was that if you don't prepare it yourself at home, it's more than important to book a table in advance, because after 19:00, when the vast majority of restaurants open, you won't be able to find a place so easily without booking.... Therefore, as soon as we arrived in our holiday centre, we had ourselves written down in a huge reservation book, which was somewhat reminiscent of the lexicon of spells from the Czech film comedy "Dívka na koštěti". However, a simple task at first glance was not quite easy, because in order to complete this mission, my son was chosen, speaking perfectly English, but not a word in Italian, and so after playing for a moment spelling game with a waiter who spoke perfectly Italian, but not a word in English, my son was given the right to write our name himself in this important book, which you can find at the entrance of any restaurant. In Italy, you will not only come across classic pizzerias and restaurants, but it is also worth trying osteria and trattoria, which, although they have a smaller menu and are less formal, are also less expensive and, in addition, they offer quality home cuisine. Since " osteria "was available in our holiday centre as well, I was very looking forward to tasting the original and authentic Italian cuisine on the first evening. Due to the relatively early afternoon hour, we made waiting for dinner more pleasant with a few drinks, which, combined with a sleepless night in the car, made us almost miss the reservation and it would have been a shame. The local cuisine was really exquisite. We voted for proven classics – caprese, pizza margherita and a selection of classic Italian desserts (tiramisu, crostata with ricotta and chocolate semifredo) – everything was delicious, prepared on site from local ingredients. The only thing that surprised us a little was the draft Cola, which at first resembled more beer in taste and this assumption was gradually confirmed, as something resembling syrup with cola flavor was falling on the bottom of the glass, so we learned that the Italians are not such masters in the draft and in the future it will be safer to try rather their verified wines and liqueurs. The next evening we disregarded booking a table in one of the many beach restaurants in Cecina Mare, where we went to have a field day at the sea, and so, tired after fooling around in the sea and after more than an hour of searching for free restaurant table, we finally sat down at the last free table in a restaurant well away from the beach. But here we left nothing to chance and had the tried and tested Italian Holy Trinity – prosecco, pizza, tiramisu. Over the next few days, we took care of the reservation and then we just gently changed the menu, when we tried the indispensable aperol spritz, pasta, fried arancini or mini mozzarella and pizza in all possible ways. The end of the day belonged, of course, to ice cream – an original Italian "gelato". Coffee, pistachio, stracciatella, cream, caramel, and even saffron – all perfectly smooth, creamy, thick. Choosing from a number of different flavors and ice cream shops was not easy, so every day needed to try a different "gelateria" and other flavors. Similarly to the coffee, you won't get bad ice dream in Italy and thanks to the generosity of portions (2 to 3 every evening) I really enjoyed this summer delicacy to my heart's content.
At the end, I can conclude that Under the Tuscan Sun it tastes and tastes great, as well as everything smells and looks great there and so I nod to agreement to the travel guides that, if you are a gourmet, Tuscany is the right place where your gourmet senses will enjoy themselves.
17.4.2022
In recent weeks and even months, bad news have been streaming from every side. A man has really something to do in order not to succumb to sadness and black thoughts. When the next bad news hit you, I have a tip for you to bring joy back to life and escape the blackness of the world for a while. Go to Brno! After long weeks of lockdowns and quarantines, I went with my family on a small trip to this Moravian metropolis. When I saw the disgusted faces of my teenagers and the restrained face of my husband in the morning, it was clear that either a total fiasco awaits us and we will return even more disgusted, or a miracle will happen. Nevertheless, since I still believe in fairy-tale miracles, I decided to go for an adventure with them with an uncertain ending. Although I was hoping for a happy end, I could not anticipate that all four of us would return from there charged with positive energy and full of zest for life, planning another trip to this city, where people just do not deal with bad things and live the moment fully and without scruples.
What is Brno's miracle of beautiful life based on? On a simple approach to life, where no one is pretending anything or being anyone else, where people are open and honest with themselves and others, and where they do best so that they and those around them have a good time. The first time we realised to be weirdoes was just behind the borders, because we had respirators on our faces, which was pointed out by a nice lady saying that no one cares about them anymore there and that we should take them off. The truth is true, obviously no one cared about the epidemic anymore, because only opening hours and TripAdvisor recommendations encouraging you to visit the place were posted on the doors of shops, cafes and restaurants, which was a pleasant change comparing to our Slovak doors pasted with measures that were in force in the first wave, regularly supplemented with their new updates, while all previous ones remained in force on the doors. And so it may happen to you in a Slovak cafe that on the door you are required to keep the distance of two meters, to wear a mask and a respirator FFP2, too, a valid covidpass with a second and on another paper with a third dose of vaccine and admission is allowed in the OTP mode or the base mode at the same time. You can't even see inside through those measure papers, so it's easy for you not to notice that they're not actually open yet (or no longer). All commercial and catering establishments were open in Brno and were full of people who were happy to stop for a little Saturday shopping and a cup of coffee which they really care about here. Being in Brno and not having coffee equals a mortal sin even for those who don't believe in God and don't drink coffee. You need to enter the cafe at least to enjoy the relaxed atmosphere and well-being at every table. You will also get an incredibly relaxed and nice service, speaking, of course, and almost automatically in English with a unique and very nice Czech accent, for who nothing is a problem, even if you would like a Martian – I'm sure they will get some. Each cafe has its own charm, something that is different from others and since I, dazed by their comfort could not get enough, we went from door to door and one cup of coffee followed another. We enjoyed Cafe Placzek with a unique egg breakfast prepared in all possible ways and original Czech buns and "kremrolas", Kafec with the best waffles, SKOG Urban Hub in the spirit of Scandinavian hygge, Mymika (We love coffee) with healthy and yet great desserts and sandwiches. I slept a little worse that night, but every cup of coffee was worth it. Quality – that's what Brno is all about. Precisely and professionally prepared, delicious, fragrant and original in a way - in short, perfect coffee. If you have a cake with it - you will not regret it, although I, having the third coffee in a row, with forethought and fear of glycemic shock, preferred to pack the cakes with which, of course, was no problem anywhere. So I brought home a full trunk of boxes with the best cakes I've ever got in a cafe. "Homemade" - this is the second mantra of Brno. Homemade, original, without cheap substitutes in the form of hydrogenated fats or artificial whipped cream – cakes were light, fluffy, with smooth creams, original and traditional flavors and quality Belgian chocolate, which carried you to the sweet Heaven. I especially recommend stopping by for a good coffee and a cookie in the original cafe on Zelny square Momenta where they will prepare breakfast for you throughout the day, so that you can sleep peacefully even after a hard-to-sleep night, where they will bring you whatever coffee you can think of (they also have original filtered Vietnamese coffee on the menu) and the smell of which will drag you on for a little break so insistently that you will forget about the amazing homemade vegetables and fruits that local farmers and growers offer on this square and you will prefer to anchor at the table of this cafe. Being there and not having any of the cakes from their menu would be as serious faux-pas as slapping the British queen on the ass. Their cakes would succeed even at the royal court, and this is especially true of their cookies, which they have on the menu and which would not be ashamed even at the royal afternoon tea. They are so buttery, crunchy and brutally good that they also deserved their own shop and so a little behind the Zelný square you can buy, in the biscuitshop Momenta, biscuits with 15 different flavors, from which you will not be able to choose as much as I didn't, so I had to have some packed from each of them and enjoy their fantastic taste for a few more days after returning home.
But do not think that Brno is a dream destination only for sweet lovers and coffee drinkers. Evidently, beer lovers will also get their money's worth here, and if you like experiments, come to visit Brno before Easter and enjoy Easter green beer from the legendary local brewery Starobrno at the local Easter markets. Quality beer is another Brno's phenomenon and this 13-degree green one has proved to be worth its great reputation. Especially if you had it with a good piece of Moravian potato cake or french fries from Faency Fries, which are not only the best in town, but guaranteed to be the best you've eaten in your life. If you order one of their own sauces, or flamed cheddar, you are sure that you will shamelessly lick yourself and pour in the bliss. Not to pour down this goodness with beer in one of the many breweries would undoubtedly be another sin, and the sins must only be avoided.
As the people say, it is not just food that makes us alive. Fortunately, Brno offers also countless possibilities for mental food. Museums, galleries, interactive exhibitions and original installations attract you literally at every corner, but we decided to develop our intellect and visit the Scientific Center for the laymen Vida!. Initially, I wanted only my teenagers to go there, but I let myself be tempted and just a few minutes after entering you could see me, a distinguished lady of middle age, with enthusiastic sparkles in her eyes, pushing buttons at all the exhibits, waiting to see what it will do. I turned into an enthusiastic kid, and my son into a distinguished young gentleman who patiently explained to his mother, by the principle of what physical law the exhibit called "hydrogen bomb" made boom. In short, Brno excited us all and was able to dispel the gloom from our heads for a while and cover up the bleakness of everyday sad news.
Just a few days before, I visited with a similar purpose the surroundings of Banská Štiavnica with the intention to relax my body and soul – but it was a different coffee and not nearly as good as that of Brno. I found out that neither here they are dealing with the things, but in this case they should start to deal with them urgently. Our pride, a city inscribed on the UNESCO world heritage list, was crumbling before my eyes. Falling plaster on historic buildings, closed museums - or rather, open only on certain days of the week, unfortunately other than the day I was there, bankrupt cafes and shops, abandoned houses and yards... The gloominess of the place was slightly saved by an original restaurant Divná pani (Strange lady), whose offer is, however, so strangely original and incredibly expensive that I remained hungry. They saved me at the pizzeria Svätá Barborka where they cook a really good tomato soup and bake pizza with more than a generous dose of cheese and garlic, and in which they used to go down the shaft in a mine. Mining is inextricably linked with this city, and you will come across its heritage at every step, unfortunately I was discouraged to visit the famous Kammerhof with the exposition of mining, which made this city famous, right by the entrance door, which gave the impression that behind it I would meet face to face with some dangerous squatters. But even if I had overcome my unfounded fear, I would not have gotten in, because the museum was closed. I managed to get at least into the exposition of the New Castle about the anti-Turkish battles in Slovakia, which, however, has survived to this day in the exact form as it was created in the 70's of the last century, even with the appropriate ravages of time. Life-size sculptures of Turks, the main attraction of this exposition, lack some limbs, but if you stand up correctly, you can make a photo in which you will cover the missing limbs of the Turks. People who visit this city usually overflow with delight, so I did not give up and looked for its reasons, unfortunately, except for the beautiful Calvary and a small young brewery Erb I didn't find much there.
What you will not find in Banská Štiavnica, you will find a little further in Sklené Teplice, a nice small village with unique and beautifully preserved historical baths, where you will literally evaporate any black thoughts from your brain, especially if you visit the local" parenica " – a cave steam bath with a temperature of 42 degrees. The hot healing steaming is followed by a 20-minute contemplation in a warm blanket in a dark cave with meditation music in the background. The beneficial effects of thermal water, which is one of the last not treated by any chemistry, you will also enjoy in the mining thermal bath with a replica of Botticeli's Birth of Venus on the ceiling or in the bath of Maria Theresa in oriental style with a beautiful stained glass. Patients with nervous, muscular and skeletal problems are treated here. However, I also recommend visiting the spa pastry shop "Kursalon" with great Italian Carrare coffee and cakes from the home local bakery. The cafe will enchant you with its architecture, but also with a homely atmosphere and a terrace overlooking a quiet park. If you are not for a coffee, have a 18-degree Erb beer from the already mentioned Banskoštiavnická brewery, which will be skillfully tapped by a tattooed, but otherwise incredibly servile waiter with surprisingly effective, but kind methods of persuading hesitating customers.
If the world ever seems more black than pink to you, try the proven therapy by Brno or another place where serious things, at least at first glance and for a while, are not dealt with and that is enough for you to take a deep breath and gain strength to face all the annoyances around us. It seems like the world is going crazy, so go crazy with it for a while, so that you can help those to whom it shows its averted and dark face...
2.11.2020
"Bucket list". Behind this strange English phrase is hidden a list of things you would like to do before you leave this world forever. Although at first glance, it seems strange to associate a bucket and death, the expression arose quite logically in the times of the Wild West settlement, when many people ended their earthly pilgrimage on the gallows. When hanging, they stood on an ordinary bucket, which, after executing the sentence, naturally rolled over as if the convict had kicked it. Well, since those were uncertain times, when it was difficult to predict how long you would stay here, people began to make a list of things that they would like to arrange before they die, that is, before they kick that bucket. Gradually, from a purely practical list of things, it became a list of what you would like to experience and try before you are 30 / 40 / 50 / ... years old. Sometimes even terminally ill patients write it in order to fully live the time they have until their life journey in this world ends. Fortunately, neither illness nor the threat of gallows inspired me to write my "bucket list", but it was one student during on-line education as a part of the task which they were supposed to develop on the topic of top 10 travel destinations and experiences that they would like to go through someday. And I realized that I also had such top 10 gourmet experiences that I am about to try and when circumstances allow, I will try to really implement them. Perhaps they will inspire you as well ...
1. Try an original Viennese schnitzel in Vienna. It is said that the best are in the restaurant "Figlmuller " or in a traditional inn "Zum Renner“. Both of these restaurants have great references, because they prepare a variety of cutlets from different types of meat, but for me they will only have to prepare veal schnitzel, thinly beaten, fried in butter and in the size of a large plate. In addition, potato salad in the Viennese way-that is, without mayonnaise. And when I'm in Vienna, I'll go for the original Sacher Cake for an afternoon snack and buy a full bag of amazing nougat in the pastry shop "Demel" for my son. Actually, I would rather go there with him, not to look stupid alone on the attraction "Time Travel" designed especially for children, where you can reveal ancient history in a fun and interactive, modern way and brush up your knowledge from boring history textbooks, because one lives not only on schnitzels:)
2. Have Spanish churros with hot chocolate and whipped cream at Madrid's Plaza Mayor in the chocolate shop "Chocolateria San Ginés“. Although I have tried several times to make this typical Spanish sweet dish at home, the result was deplorable every time. It is actually a fried choux pastry, well-known in our country as "veterník" and "venček". Instead of thin crispy rolls, however, I usually came out with greasy chewy rolls, which would be a shame to soak in any chocolate and therefore they went directly to the trash. However, I would like to experience the feeling of soaking crispy churros in thick hot chocolate with whipped cream in a sun-drenched square full of people enjoying a lazy Spanish afternoon or an early summer evening. „Chocolateria San Ginés" has been fulfilling similar dreams for many Spanish people since 1894, and even their website triggers in me the process of drooling and the desire to visit this place. Hopefully they will survive this year's lock-downs also thanks to their online shop and home delivery, which I sincerely envy to the Madridians at the time of the curfew.
3. Visit Hungarian Streetfood park in Budapest and enjoy the original Hungarian langos with a thick layer of ketchup and cheese. After the fat calorie charge, I would like to have another Hungarian calorie charge – this time in the form of sugars in one of the Budapest cafes and taste original Hungarian desserts such as Dobosh's or Esterhazy's cake, or gerbeau cake in the café of the same name. It seems to me like a great plan for the advent time, when I would also enjoy the cheerful atmosphere of Budapest's Christmas markets, for which we will probably have to wait for a while.
4. Visit the Austrian Chocolate Factory Zotter in Riegersburg. Their filled chocolate bars are a guarantee of great pleasure for me and although their e-shop is also available for us - Slovaks, I would like to take a guided tour joined with the tasting and to end it with the purchase of chocolate stocks for several months ahead:) What has impressed me about this chocolate shop are certainly their original flavors and packaging, but also their eco-friendly, i.e. bio and fair approach to production and distribution. In addition, they also think about those who suffer from intolerance to lactose, gluten, or who can not eat sugar and vegans as well and offer the same quality chocolate pleasure also for them. But I think I will have to deal with one huge problem during this visit – how to resist the temptation to try all 144 flavors of richly stuffed chocolate bars dipped in their amazing chocolate:)))
5. To attend the Canadian maple syrup celebration. Maple syrup has been gradually settling in our region thanks to globalization, and it's good because this food has great properties that many may not even know about when enjoying pancakes generously topped with sweet maple syrup. Maple syrup contains effective antioxidants, phytohormones and abscisic acid which contribute to the regulation of diabetes. Interestingly, according to some studies, maple syrup is more effective in slowing the growth of cancer cells and preventing their formation than other known antioxidant foods (broccoli, blueberries and tomatoes). A cup of maple syrup contains even more calcium than the same amount of milk and more potassium than a banana. Maple syrup is also an excellent source of magnesium, phosphorus, zinc and iron, so it's no wonder Canadians have reason to celebrate it. In Canada, they keep the tradition of celebrating the sugar season, the essence and purpose of which is to taste maple syrup in combination with cones, pancakes and cucumbers in dill pickle, because, according to them, it is these sweet and sour tastes that perfectly complement each other. Maple syrup festivals take place in spring in March and April, when fresh sap begins to flow again in the trees after winter. Celebrations tend to be assompanied with Chariot rides and demonstrations of traditional crafts. There are also competitions in the preparation of traditional tourtière, which is a typical Canadian meat pudding - a meat mixture baked in a shortcrust pastry. It is also known that winner of this prestigious competition will have the interest and respect of all neighbors ensured for a whole year, and I can't wait to taste it, me too.
6. Enjoy the view of the Norwegian fjords wrapped in a blanket with cinnamon rolls and a cup of warm coffee, in short, to experience "hygge" first-hand in the cradle of its birth (I know it comes from Denmark, but the fjords are not so far away). Hygge is actually a way of life where you create a sense of satisfaction and well-being in your home and inside thanks to little something. This can be achieved by lighting candles, turning off the cell phone, comfort (hence the blanket) and taste pleasure. In addition to the traditional Scandinavian cinnamon rolls, I would like to try other Nordic desserts, which clearly include Oscar almond cake and chocolate kladdkaka. This is exactly how I imagine returning from a walk in cold and damp weather - to put yourself in comfort and warmth and replenish energy with something sweet-good:) The fact is that since I live in Orava, I actually do not even have to travel for harsh weather and I can prepare a great kladdkaka myself (unlike churros), but the Orava dam will not replace fjords....
7. Have a French "Coq au vin" with a glass of red wine and a fresh baguette in Lyon. Although I have visited France dozen of times and I have spent several long stays there, I have not tasted this dish yet – the most typical for this country, also called the country of the Gallic cock. The mistake was probably due to the regions that I have visited and which have other" their " traditional specialties, and therefore the next trip to France I have to plan to the capital of the region Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes – Lyon, because it is Lyon that is famous for its specific restaurants – "bouchons", where they serve traditional French dishes in the best quality. Lyon is considered to be a mecca for Michelin-starred chefs and restaurants. The famous Alain Ducasse, the first holder of three Michelin stars in three different restaurants, also has its background here. In addition to the fact that in "bouchons" you will get excellent food, you will experience there an inimitable atmosphere of passion for gastronomy and the French "savoir-vivre" (the art of living), which is worth learning a little and bringing at home.
8. Have English tea at five o'clock at London's Claridge's hotel. It is a dream that I have been dreaming since my first stay in England in 2014, when for the first time I had the opportunity to taste and enjoy with pleasure an English snack in the form of small pieces of sandwiches with various spreads, "scones" with strawberry jam and thick clotted cream and, of course, black tea with milk. All this accompanied with live piano music in the city of York in the famous teahouse "Bettys" where everything is as in the year of its creation (1919) as if the time stopped here. London Claridge's hotel belongs, like London Savoy hotel or Connaught, among the most luxurious hotels ever, and such a snack comes out there at 50-75 pounds, but the atmosphere must be downright royal, not to mention the first-class quality of food and drink consumed. However, given my teacher's salary, I will probably have my tea in a different London district than Mayfair, for example Soho, where nothing is impossible and the same applies to the Tea House "Soho's Secret Tea Room“, which, as the name suggests, is secretly tucked away in an inconspicuous alley and even more inconspicuous building. However, it is no secret that their sandwiches and especially scones are the best in London, so it is worth a little wander looking for this "secret" place.
9. Enjoy original Belgian fries in Brussels, those that are roasted twice in beef lard, made of carefully selected varieties of potatoes and the price of which is more favorable than that of the defrost McDonald's French fries marked by the globalisation. Such French fries can be found at Place Eugène Flagey in a small stall "Frit Flagey", right at the metro station. You will definitely not miss the small stand, because of long lines of fritoholics (lovers of fries) formed in front of it, what we, Slovaks, will probably not mind after the last experience with waiting patiently in lines for antigen tests. Although there is a long-standing dispute between the Belgians and the French over the primacy in the "invention" of french fries, the right ones are still the Belgian ones for me, because since the end of the 17th century, when the preparation of the first french fries in the Belgian city of Namur dates back, the Belgians have thoroughly perfected their preparation thanks to the extraordinary popularity which the fries enjoy much more in Belgium than in France. I have one more reason to taste original french fries just in Belgium, because Belgium is, and this time without any doubts, a country of another gourmet miracle and temptation which are chocolate pralines. Their softness and incredible variety of creamy original flavors will simply draw you into small or even the largest chocolate boutiques in the streets of Brussels. The most famous are Leonidas, Godiva, Neuhaus and Côte d'Or, whose products can also be found in our shops, but it is worth visiting, and especially tasting, also the small craft workshops that smell of chocolate far away, attract by a carefully arranged window from the outside and enchant with their personal attitude and enthusiasm for their work inside. It really doesn't make sense to return from Brussels without an elevated cholesterol level and a box of high-quality pralines:) I completely understand why one of the most famous detectives, Hercule Poirot, so proudly claims his Belgian nationality!
10. à propos - Poirot. He stands behind my last great desire - enjoy a luxurious dinner on the Orient Express on the way from Vienna to Paris. This desire is from the world of utopia, but no one has forbidden us to dream, even though they have already forbidden us this and that. I would not have guessed that one day there might be a ban on pouring and whipping at Easter, visiting the cemetery at All-Saints Day, having lunch in a restaurant or walking your dog (and cat) at a distance of more than 100 m from the house. Given the absurdity of the times in which we are currently living, I do not see anything absurd in the fact that one day, in an elegant robe, I would sit in the compartment of this luxurious train with a glass of properly cooled champagne and let myself be carried away by the monotony of the train which began its history in 1883 and received the nickname "train of the kings - king of the trains". Undoubtedly, Agatha Christie also contributed to his immortal and eternal fame thanks to her detective novel "Murder On The Orient Express", which got several film adaptations. Although I know its plot by heart, I always watch these films to see again the legendary spaces of the iconic train, in which the travel has never been (and still is not) a cheapo and for everyone. A one-way trip by Orient Express from Vienna to Paris costs 2450.- EUR! In addition, you (again) have to stand in line and wait for a vacant seat, sometimes even a few years, as it only runs on this route twice a year. If I ever managed to do it, I would then have my favorite Tarte Tatin apple pie in Paris with a large portion of whipped cream in a luxurious Parisian teahouse "Angelina" in the even more luxurious Rivoli Street and on the way back, I would pack a box of luxury pralines from Pierre Hermé, which would make the endless journey back by an uncomfortable Flixbus with stops at even more uncomfortable motorway rest areas at least somehow bearable.
Well, these are places and tastes that I would like to experience on my own taste buds before I kick my bucket... What about you?
26.09.2019
For beer lovers, it certainly sounds like a great idea, but it's also a good idea for those who don't like this drink that much. Pilsen offers something for all tastes and not just those on the tongue. Why should a Slovak family go to this city, almost on the border with Germany, and take a difficult journey along the Czech D1, still at the stage of repairs and restrictions, so that you are forced to move slowly most of the way at eighty km/h and somehow survive the disgusting toilets at gas stations and shabby rest areas? There are several reasons for this.
ZOO with kangaroos and hundreds of other animals hanging around you, multi-genre music festivals in the amphitheater next door (which explains the obvious deafness of otherwise lovable kangaroos), Techmania - an interactive modern science center where your children will forget that they don't like physics, chemistry and biology, a long "puppeteer" tradition brilliantly presented in the puppet museum, a posh Old Town with beautiful buildings with admirable facades such as the Theater of J. K. Tyl or playfully colourful buildings on the Republic Square, St. Bartholomew Cathedral with a tower and 299 wooden, at the end quite steep stairs, but from which there is a wonderful view of the whole city, expositions of industrial architecture in the premises of Pilsner Prazdroj plants with degustation at the end and the Brewery museum, sightseeing tours of modern design presented in preserved authentic apartments and interiors designed by famous Adlof Loos...
After such a load of experiences, you get not only thirsty, but also hungry and so it is good to know where to go to meet these basic human needs. Of course, you will find in this city classic pubs where they tap the original Pilsner beer and offer classics of Czech cuisine, but it is also worth mentioning two establishments where although you will certainly not get the beer, but your taste buds will cheer up and your digestion will not experience a calorie shock. Both are slightly touched by a foreign accent at its best.
The first such a stop is Pizzeria da Pietro in Smetanové sady (Smetana orchards), which are worth stopping by themselves. I recommend sitting on the terrace of this pizzeria and you will be one foot in this pleasant park, although the typically Italian interior of the pizzeria will take you to Naples, where both the owner and the boss come from and it is pretty obvious. Tanned skin, lively gesticulation, uncompromisingly mafiosolike strictness towards subordinates, but fervently friendly towards guests. If there is said that pizza originated in the vicinity of Naples and is guaranteed to be the birthplace of the famous Margherita pizza, then in Pilsen you have the opportunity to taste the most original of all Italian pizzas, because a trained team of chefs, under the constant control and strict eye of the Neapolitan boss, bakes real pizza gems. We bet on the classics - Margherita and Quattro formaggi. The dough is shaped like a bowl - as thin as a sheet of paper in the middle and raised, crispy and beautifully fluffy at the edges. In the middle, the filling from the highest quality ingredients imported directly from Italy - on Margherita only peeled tomatoes, a couple of mozzarella slices garnished with a couple of basil leaves. No dried oregano, no garlic, no so-called "olive" oil, no grated eidam, no ketchup, no thick overflavored tomato puree. On Quattro formaggi, only four types of Italian cheese, beautifully baked and, after cutting, flowing out like lava from Vesuvius. Perfect! The pizza, which tastes exactly like the originals of the ingrediences that are on it, is light as a feather and therefore you can indulge without any remorse in another Neapolitan classic - tiramisu. Great Italian coffee is absorbed in sponge dough, cream, just slightly sweetened, is whipped from mascarpone and yolks and sprinkled with a thick layer of cocoa. And when I say thick, I mean extra thick, and therefore be careful when consuming it. As my son verified, one deep breath at the wrong moment and you have cocoa in your lungs and your co-diners all over them as you are trying to get cocoa out of them. It was comical to watch the son dusting brown powder out of his mouth. But, as we found out later, malicious joy does not pay off, because when our son stopped spewing out the cocoa, a naughty wind took care of a similar pastime, thanks to which a brown tow of cocoa powder rose from the other glass of tiramisu, just as generously sprinkled with cocoa, and covered our faces and shirts with a delicate brown layer and our skin began to resemble the tanned skin of the Neapolitan pizzeria boss. And so we agreed that the next time we will have, an otherwise perfect, tiramisu only inside the restaurant.
To the inside of another gastro stop, located just a few steps from the aforementioned pizzeria, is not so easy to get. They are still full, but people are willing to wait even a few long minutes to grab a seat and in nice weather, willing and incredibly helpful waitresses also serve people who have sat just on benches in the park or simply on the grass of Smetana orchards. We decided to explore why Pilsners and tourists go so crazy about the place where they do not tap famous Pilsner beer. In fact, it is a French bistro "Le Frenchie", where you will not doubt the French influence for a moment. The interior, atmosphere, menu and especially the taste - all this is truly French in the best sense of the word. The number one attraction are the savory "quiche" pies with a variety of cheese, ham and vegetable fillings, which are sold out as soon as they are brought. And the second hit, which accompanies perhaps every order, are "madeleines" - a typical French small sponge vanilla pastry. It is definitely worth waiting in line even for lovers of simple French confectionery, because fruit, nut and chocolate cakes not only look tempting, but also taste perfect, judging by the expressions of the guests' faces. If you do not have enough time to wait, the staff will gladly prepare your order and pack it for you, without losing any pleasure. Even the take-away cappuccino has a right whipped foam on it, at that with a beautifully "painted" heart. Cordiality, smile, friendliness and honesty in taste - these are perhaps the main reasons why people like to visit this place. They feel at home here, even without a pint of cold Pilsner beer:)
10.01.2019
When you feel after the Christmas holidays that your sugar level has dropped to an acceptable standard and the weight shows a satisfactory value, and when the crazy winter weather allows you, go to Budapest to taste the best that Hungarian pastry art has to offer. Go to the 160-year-old Gerbeaud pastry shop in the heart of Budapest, where you will not only taste the perfect version of the famous Dobos cake, but also experience the nobility of the past times of luxury and nonchalance.
"Gerbeaud Cukraszda" was founded by Henrik Kugler in 1858 and, in addition to offering great and very quickly popular desserts to his clients, he was the first one to offer take-away sales - that is, the opportunity to enjoy his cakes at home. Until now, you can still have great and delicious desserts packed in the iconic blue-brown box and even save a few forints, because packed cakes are almost half cheaper. Later, Henrik Kugler, not having his own descendants and followers of his business, accepted as a business partner talented Italian Finaz from Genoa, renamed Emil Gerbeaud, and the business began to flourish to unprecedented proportions. We owe to Emil the invention of chocolate in the shape of cat tongues, still so popular in our country. But especially a fantastic dessert full of nuts, apricot jam and crispy chocolate - Gerbeaud cake. It is here that you can enjoy the original and compare it with the failures of our pastry shops, or be inspired to bake your own version - the internet is just messing around with recipes for Gerbeaud slices. The basis is made of several layers of yeast dough, a lot of apricot jam and even more walnuts, all topped with yummy chocolate. If you already sit in this famous pastry shop, you must not miss the second dessert, which Hungarian VIPs come there for, made from peanut butter, mousse praliné and apricot, or a sophisticated cake created on the occasion of last year's 160th anniversary "Gerbeaud 160 cake", the basis of which consists of quality dark chocolate and pecans and walnuts.
If you belong to the conservative foodies, have a classic Dobos cake, which, compared to the fakes in Slovak pastry shops, will surprise you with the lightness of chocolate cream, the suppleness of fine dough and the crunchiness of caramel on the top. If you are more liberal in eating habits, have a plate full of Hungarian sausages for breakfast, or visit this pastry shop for "langos" which is served here as an appetizer before a lunch consisting of goulash or fish soup and pork or Viennese schnitzel, or have some cosmopolitan drink mixed in. All, of course, in top home-made quality. Briefly, "Gerbeaud" simply belongs to every gourmet's visiting itinerary of the Hungarian capital city, whatever his/her tongue prefers. This "whatever" will not only be got there, but it will be served with Hungarian generosity and in a grandiose style.
29.10.2018
I can do with Vienna at any time of the year or weather. I enjoy its elegance, I like to look at beautiful and decently well-tended old Viennese women and I wish that someday I would be such an elegant granny, me too. I love the art that is pouring on you from every side in classical or modern form, as well as the Viennese shop windows, which, given the prices, are not worth entering, and yet they excite me with thoughtful and refined decoration not only in the pre-Christmas period.
On my last visit I had the opportunity to experience again the luxury and nobility in the pastry shop "Gerstner", whose interior will remind you of a palace of the aristocracy and a gallery with rare exhibits, and whose service will allow you to feel like a direct descendant of the famous Habsburgs. Even if you stay on a less luxurious ground floor with a shop with sweet treats and souvenirs, you will have a more than pleasant experience with a great cake (for example, Klimt cake, decorated with a copy of Klimt's famous paintings and stuffed with light chocolate filling and perfect nougat in connection with walnut cake) and a view of a busy street teeming with elegant ladies and gentlemen on the backdrop of the Vienna Opera.
If aristocratic manners are not to your liking, come to visit a completely different world of the legendary café "Hawelka". The shabby interior, the paint-peeled furniture, the ordinariness of the dishes, the casualness of the service and the old art posters enhance the authenticity of the early 20th century, when this café was founded by a descendant of a Czech shoemaker and his wife Josephine. Her buns stuffed with plum jam are still a legend today, as are the curd strudel and especially the great coffee that they have been roasting themselves until now. Newspapers on wooden holders, pleasant warmth and darkness entice you to sit a little longer, and the service respects this. It is breathtaking to observe regulars who come for their regular cup of coffee or a light lunch, as well as American tourists with a guide in hand, which "definitely recommends them a visit" to this famous café. It is even more amusing to observe the contemptuous smile of a regular when American women order "plum donuts" and a large cappuccino instead of "kleine brauner" or the typical Viennese "melange". Fortunately, the American women took a quick photo and moved away, and the tranquility of the old café was not disturbed for a while by any tourist tracing his list of places to visit in one day in Vienna in haste. And I, as an undercover tourist, enjoyed coffee with whipped cream and a piece of perfect apple strudel in peace. The extraordinary atmosphere of the old days completely absorbed me, and only the inexorably passing minutes forced me to get up and let myself be absorbed again by the hustle and bustle of this beautiful and old big city, in which you will experience the nobility of the Empress and the kind simplicity of sincere and ordinary people.
27.8.2018
Ever before, pilgrims and travelers relied on the mercy of local residents, who either wined and dined them or slammed the door in front of their noses. Not everyone had confidence in the travelers who begged for a slice of bread and water. Fortunately, today, travelers do not have to rely solely on the hospitality of the locals, but to a much greater extent they rely on gas stations and highway rest areas, which today offer not only bread and water, but their assortment sometimes equates to larger supermarkets.
This summer, my family and I traveled more than 7000 km, the vast majority of which by car, and gas stations became our second home and dining room at the same time. I look forward and literally enjoy it when, during a night drive, I turn from a half-empty highway to an illuminated rest area, where the night darkness turns into day and quietly sleeping fellow travelers into a sociable debate of other travelers who enjoy packed schnitzels or sandwiches, drink coffee from a vacuum bottle or just walk a little to stretch the stiff limbs. The truth is that even in these places you can get to know the local gastronomy and even find there ready-made gastronomic treasures starting with coffee and continuing with brutally tasty baguettes. You should definitely stop at the rest area with the logo "Brioche Dorée" , where you can satisfy a small or big hunger - I will never resist an American or Parisian baguette and apple cake, but you will also find other goodies there - salty quiche with various fillings and great cookies. All this in a cost-effective breakfast or lunch menu with a drink of your choice.
The foreign trend of quality food at gas stations has slowly arrived in Slovakia, too. A great example is the Slovnaft petrol stations network which have been all gradually renovated and supplemented by an interesting gastro offer under the brand Fresh Corner. I like their baguettes without mayonnaise - only butter, quality ham, tomato and lettuce leaves and they have them even in the cereal version. I can make their cappuccino at any time of the day, especially thanks to such thick foam that you can cut it and great freshly ground coffee beans. And their butter croissants taste so good that sometimes, instead of Lidl or Kaufland supermarkets, I go there for breakfast without refueling or traveling anywhere. Another bonus is a corner where traditional Slovak and regional food is offered. A similar philosophy of quality and gastronomically interesting food is pursued by Shell or OMV petrol stations, but it is necessary to avoid the first Slovak OMV petrol station after crossing the Austrian-Slovak border, where you will meet grumpy service, stale pastries, really disgusting coffee, even more repulsive toilets and lots of truckers and strange individuals, especially at night.
The fact that also drivers need to eat well was already understood by Mr André Michelin (founder of the famous tire manufacturer), who in 1900, for the first time, for cyclists and chauffeurs published a guide to restaurants near the roads where they can eat well and cheaply, and which he updated every year. Today, this famous red book with the famous tire figure, called Bibendum in France, is synonymous with high gastronomy. To be listed in it and possibly awarded by at least one of the three stars is the dream of every chef. You can buy it at any French gas station and this summer I also invested 25 euro in this iconic book which, this year, has 1877 pages and lists the highest quality and gastronomically most interesting restaurants and hotels by region. For each restaurant, there is a short description of their cuisine and recommended food, GPS, price range, opening hours and, using special symbols, also equipment and services, or tourist attractions in the vicinity. The book also includes detailed road maps, city plans - an invaluable tool for drivers whose navigation failed or who are caught off guard by traffic reorganization (see previous post), as well as blank pages for their own observations and notes that you can send to the publisher to review them next year. The guide does not only list restaurant establishments awarded with prestigious stars, but also small bistros and traditional inns that captivated Michelin inspectors with quality cuisine, service or originality, or an interesting ratio of quality and price. In short, you cannot do without this book on French roads, it is really a guide to places where we, hungry wayfarers, could enjoy the food ....
21.8. 2018
These were exactly the two questions that I was thinking about during my last visit to Moravia. A carefully planned one - day gastronomic trip to three Moravian cities of Olomouc, Kroměříž and Luhačovice began to turn into a fierce search of the first destination of our trip - Olomouc just when we reached Velké Meziříčí. Not that we did have functional navigation (even a few), not that Olomouc was almost a hundred thousand city, which you can not just overlook on the map, but part of the road was closed and Olomouc was crossed out on all road signs and signs with a distinctive orange colour. However, the Czech road menders forgot to use the same distinctive orange colour (or any colour) to indicate the detour. After asking pleadingly hundreds of questions and studying maps, we got to Olomouc through various (in other circumstances certainly sympathetic) little towns. However, the mania of closing roads and streets without indicating a detour did not bypass this city either, so in the end we simply parked the car in the first free place and left it with navigation, which was recalculating to death, to rest for a while.
Our first stop was to be one of the "Fancy Fries" shops - supposedly selling the best French fries in Bohemia. Originally, they began to make them in Ostrava, but gradually they were demanded also in other Czech cities, so you can taste them in Olomouc, Brno, Liberec and Prague, too. What makes them special? Everything! They are handmade from quality fresh and the best Czech varieties of potatoes, twice baked in quality vegetable oil, supplemented with fantastic homemade sauces and served in original cones. The result is fantastic, even so fantastic that while eating them we forgot about the famous Olomouc astronomical clock, which is set off only once a day, at noon. And we, with fries in hands, sitting with our backs to the clock, did not even turn around at the ringing of the midday bells and did not even think about it, because all our senses perceived only the delicacy of potatoes and the perfection of plum sauce and flamed cheddar. After awaking, of course, we watched the astronomical clock, and although the figures were motionless, it was worth stopping. Likewise many other Olomouc sights. This city is famous for its numerous churches (in particular, St. Wenceslas Cathedral), fountains, paved streets, beautiful baroque buildings and ... turtles. Large bronze statues of turtles can be found near the town hall, in several fountains, on magnets and souvenirs, so the question "why" arose there. Perhaps this is related to the Zoo, which you can also visit in Olomouc, you will say, but our friend Google told us that turtle mania had originated in 2002 at the opening of the newest, seventh in a row, fountain in the Upper square, whose author, like the authors of those older ones, was inspired by ancient mythology and the legend about Greek poet Arion. The bronze statue of the turtle at the fountain has become Olomouc's most photographed monument and its popularity has been properly used in marketing. It has even outshone the famous Olomouc cheese, whose popularity I do not understand at all, because its nasty smell is unbearable. Not everyone can process the smell, like my son, who, entering the store with this Olomouc symbol, immediately put himself in reverse and backed out of the store as quickly as possible. However, if you overcome the vomitive reflex, in the shop you will find not only the famous "tvarúžky", but also hundreds of products from them. We even came across a cheese sweet shop, but we did not have time to enter it due to the lost time in search of a way to Olomouc. But the lost hours were worth it. Olomouc, despite the significant effort of Czech roadmen to erase it from the map, is worth searching and revisiting.
Another gastrostop was a coffee shop "Velo café" in Kroměříž, which offers, in addition to really great coffee, also a classic of Czech pastry shops - coffins with whipped cream, which, however, has disappeared from their offer in recent time and is not easy to find. However, you can surely find this crispy yolk cake, hollow inside, served with a thick layer of fair whipped cream, on the Large square in Kroměříž, in the aforementioned café, just a few steps from the tower of the beautiful Archbishop's Castle and its gardens or the mirror maze, which you simply must not miss. It is an experience that can surpass even the coffins themselves. At the entrance, you will be given plastic gloves, and your question "Why?" will be answered as soon as you enter the mirrors. Not sight, but touch will help you find a way out of the maze and gloves will prevent the mirrors from getting dirty, but still the mirrors are patched by the prints of visitors' foreheads, because sometimes even the touch did not indicate where to go and only the collision of the forehead with the glass told you where not to go.
Our last stop was in Luhačovice with its mineral springs (the most famous is Vincentka), spa waffles and a unique bakery and pastry shop "Merkúr". Park at the beginning of Masarykova Street and then just taste the spa delicacies. Have a warm crispy spa wafer, enjoy your coffee in an unusually traditional coffee roaster "Jizba", where they will prepare it for you in any traditional and non-traditional way, have a fresh "štafetka" (nut cake with coffee filling) in a pastry shop "Merkúr" or wait for freshly baked Czech buns or Karlovy Vary rolls from the bakery of the same name, which also has a night operation, during which it offers freshly baked pastries, everything but the kitchen sink, even at eleven o'clock in the evening. In the meantime, you can take a bath in the newly reconstructed city swimming pool or take a walk along the spa promenade, along which many famous Czech and Slovak personalities walked, and wash down all the sweet spa goodies with pretty salt water from one of the spa springs and admire the spa houses designed by no less famous Slovak architect Dušan Jurkovič. Believe me that during such a spa procedure you will forget about all the "whys" and "wheres" and you will simply give over to the passage of time and light-hearted life...
06.08.2018
This is 100% true in Prague, where, if you want to fully enjoy it, you have to get up early. Otherwise, you will get yourself into the crowd of thousands of tourists who, in a single row, take selfies in front of famous Prague sights and eat profaned and unattractive-looking "trdelnik" with melting ice cream. All the beauty of Prague and all its divine flavors will be hidden from you. And it would be really a shame.
The morning streets of Prague, when the shops are just being filled with goods, the counters with delicacies and fresh buns, have their own unique charm. And sometimes you might be surprised, as it happened to us, when at eight in the morning we not willingly entered the frame of the film "Na střeše" which was just being filmed right in front of the window of one of these exquisitely looking shops. The attractiveness of the shop window "Plný špajz" on Bělehradská Street made us completely negligent to the film crew on the other side of the street, and only the well-known voice of Jiří Mádl, the director of the above-mentioned film, tore us off from the delicacies in the shop window. Since we did not want to become movie extras, we rather rushed for the real goal of our morning walk through the streets of Prague - a little bakery "Oh Deer Bakery", located on the same street, famous for its cronuts, which is an incredibly amazing combination of donuts and crispy croissants. The flavor combinations you can choose from are also amazing - raspberry with pistachios, blueberry with mascarpone, strawberry with white chocolate, mango with coconut or caramel with Nutella. Flavors vary every day and always surprise with something unusual, but if you want to be sure that you will be able to enjoy this Prague taste miracle, you have to stand in front of the bakery even before the opening hours begin. If you meet people on the street with white boxes with a familiar logo, eating their cronut while walking or sitting on the nearest stairs with a blissful expression on their faces, hurry up. Don't be confused by the long opening hours of the bakery, it is sold out even at ten in the morning and the possibility of choosing your favorite flavor exists only right after the opening. But believe me, it is worth getting up, their cronuts are simply divine, who will taste them once, no visit to Prague can do without them anymore and, moreover, as we found out, thanks to the lucrative location of the bakery, you can become a newly discovered star of Czech cinema:)
Another reason to get up early, when you are in Prague, are farmers ' markets. For example, the ones on the "Jiřák" (square of Jiří z Poděbrad). Don't expect anything pompous, but honest and Czech. You will definitely choose from homely looking seasonal fruits and vegetables, homemade jams, pastries, cheeses, butter or meat products. We could not resist the scented and tempting-looking bone ham, which would truly deserve the Golden Ham Award that was being given in a well-known Czech fairy tale. We also bought a still warm, irresistibly crispy baguette and a piece of French Comté cheese in a nearby French bakery "Le Caveau" to eat the ham with and we found ourselves in the taste paradise. If you already are in this Prague district, do not miss a visit to the Žižkov TV tower, where a quick lift will take you to a height of 93 meters, from where, of course, there is a breathtaking view of the entire Prague, but especially an extraordinary cosmic peace. Futuristic spaces evoke indescribable feelings in you, and for a moment you get the impression that you are in space thanks to the peculiar acoustics and transparent ball armchairs and windows. You want just to sit and in silence watch the clouds. You can do the same also a few meters lower, but to join it with a gourmet experience, if you get off the elevator in a luxury restaurant at a height of 65 meters. If you overcome this urge and still take the elevator to the ground floor, then stop on your way to the subway at "Antonínovo Pekařství" (Antonín Bakery) which you cannot miss, even if you do not look for it, thanks to the long lines and the tempting smell of fresh bread, rolls and coffee. The silence of the tower and also fresh rolls are available, of course, only in the morning, so ...get up and run to Žižkov.
Thirdly, it was worth getting up, when we wanted to take the cable car to Petřín and climb 299 steps to Petřín lookout tower, which is a miniature of the Paris Eiffel Tower in the ratio of 1:5. The queueing that awaits you there later in the day is not worth the experience. The more capable ones decide to step up the hill on their own, the less capable ones probably give up or resignedly wait in an endless queue. But before I recommend everyone to stop at Myslíková Street in a French bakery "Petite France" (if you are to see the Prague Eiffel Tower, so with the croissant), which is proud of the fact that it is the only bakery in Bohemia selling handmade croissants. If you love them, as I do, you definitely must stop here. They are really handmade (their size is unique and above average, one might say XXL), they are full of butter and they are addictive. We have a couple of them packed for the trip to Petřín and enjoyed them in the fragrant rose garden overlooking the Prague Eiffel Tower. On the bench next to us, two young Frenchmen were vividly discussing, and so the illusion of perfect croissants was perfect.
However, to be fair, some Prague experiences are worth to be left until the evening. A sightseeing cruise along the Vltava river, when in the rays of the setting sun you can comfortably admire the famous Prague sights or, inspired by the newly born film "Na střeše" (On the roof), enjoy a drink and an interesting view of the Prague roofs right on the roof of a hotel on Wenceslas Square. If you are lucky as we were, you will experience not only a pleasant breeze on the roof while sipping a refreshing lemonade, but also the birthday celebration of a Russian waitress on duty, whom her Russian friends climbed for onto the roof and drank champagne together, ate sandwiches and cake and sang in chorus garbled English song "Happy Birthday", which sounded like "Happy Tuesday", although it was Saturday...
To sum it up, Prague has a few surprises every time I visit it, but I already know that I will experience them only out of the famous tourist routes and at unusual hours of the day...
21.07.2018
If I really like the taste of some place, it's in the French countryside. I am not speaking about famous Michelin-starred restaurants, nor exceptional delicacies like oysters or truffles (all of them are, moreover, extremely expensive), but about ordinary food at your French friends or in a small country bistro.
The food is simple and yet perfect. The basis is a morning visit to the market which takes place regularly even in the smallest villages at least twice a week. You select and buy the freshest and most fragrant ingredients there. The menu is compiled according to the current offer and directly on the market site. When you return, you move the garden table to the shade, lay out the purchase and .... have an aperitif.
The alcohol you choose depends on the region you are in. In the South it is pink wine or pastis, in the West it is red wine or cognac, in the North it is beer, and in the East it is white wine or champagne. Nuts, chips, salty sticks or crisps accompany the drink directly from the supermarket bag (you can peacefully forget about palm oil, they don't use a drop). During the aperitif, you move off for a while and prepare a hot appetizer - something quick-done and something that is being baked by itself and that tastes great thanks to the great taste of the ingredients themselves - you bake for example tomatoes with cheese, or you make croque monsieur (baked toasts with ham and cheese) or mini sausages in puff pastry. While it is being prepared, you can enjoy a cold appetizer - sausages, meat paté or melon with ham or salad.
Meat as a main course, bought, of course, in the morning at the market, is then just thrown on the grill or fried in a pan, lightly salted, seasoned with fresh herbs, mustard or wine. The side dish will be a fresh baguette, bought in the morning at the market, and seasonal vegetables stewed in butter, which you also bought at the market that morning from a local farmer - a good friend. Food is being consumed and prepared at the same time and especially slowly, with large breaks between courses, so that the next course can be prepared and the previous one digested.
The main course is followed by a selection of cheese - hard, soft and moldy, from cow's, sheep's and goat's milk. A small piece of each, each properly savoured, commented and generously washed down with wine. There is also a dessert - most often fresh seasonal fruits (also bought in the morning at the market) or pre-prepared fruit cake or any kind of "crème" (brûlée/caramel/etc).
The final point - coffee, while drinking it everybody expresses their satisfaction with food and dissatisfaction with the work of politicians and the most current events in the country. And, of course, plans are made for the next meal - dinner :). Time passes slowly, and everything unfolds and adapts to food. Food is the main theme of life in the French countryside and, in terms of time, the main filling of the day. Whether you are a farmer, a seller or "just" a consumer, the food, its preparation and consumption will take you a lot of time, and at the same time it brings you perfect enjoyment and satisfaction. And, strangely as it sounds, even the health and well-being without stomach problems and extra pounds...
15.07.2018
Coincidentally, the result of the 2018 FIFA World Cup final fully matches with the assessment of my two-week vacation, the first week of which I spent in Croatia and the second in France. And the result of 4:2 in favor of France speaks of unforgettable taste experiences, by which my taste buds cheered like fans of both teams by scored goals.
At the beginning of the match, Croatian cuisine did not appeal to me very much. Too many herbs that broke through the taste of individual ingredients, sweetish white bread, restaurants that baked tiny little piglets from morning till night, and the predominance of German products in food markets to meet the needs of most numerous carriers of income - German tourists.
The first Croatian scored goal a traditional Croatian dessert, which is called creamsnita and it resembles to our "krémeš" (cream cake). Crispy puff pastry filled with light vanilla cream and whipped cream, just brought by the owner of the Salaj confectionery in Funtana, will forever remain among my Croatian taste memories. The second pleasant memory will be a visit to the café Joyce in Pula, which had the honor of hosting the Irish writer James Joyce. In memory of him, they installed a his statue at the table where he used to sit and smoke, and even today there is a lit cigarette burning incessantly in the ashtray. The café has a unique atmosphere of decadent 20 - ies of the 20th century, enhanced by authentic decoration and antique furniture, while offering really great coffee and a variety of drinks. The unhurried but nice service will make you slow down and enjoy the waiting and vacation like doing nothing. And smokers will love it, because here they have reserved all the rights that are denied to them elsewhere in the world.
The second half of my vacation was directed by the French. And I didn't need to wait long for goals. When I arrived at French Riviera, I indulged myself with a great drink Kir royal, prepared with blackcurrant liqueur (Cassis) and champagne and toasted to the French football team which proceeded to the semifinal. The second goal came in the form of a traditional French breakfast on the beach promenade in Cagnes-sur-Mer. Croissant, crispy baguette, butter, jam, orange juice and café crème (coffee with milk). Following the example of the French, I dipped the croissant in coffee, spread butter and jam on the baguette and chewed at a very slow pace, watching what was happening on the promenade. An occasional runner, an occasional swimmer, and a bunch of unhurried locals with baguette and newspaper under their armpit. The third goal was scored in the town of Roquefort, known for the production of the famous cheese with green mold made from sheep's milk and matured in the caves there. The sleepy town hides under it a tangle of cave corridors filled with loaves of maturing cheese and is a home to 7 companies that are the only ones in the world to have the right to produce this cheese. A tourist can visit them and learn about the strictly controlled and for long centuries preserved process of its production and, of course, taste their products at the end of the tour. Tours are free, so you can visit all seven and during the tasting compare and choose which one you like best. I visited two of them and thanks to the rich tastings I did not have to worry about the lunch, while, at the same time, I gave to my digestive system enough penicillin to resist to bacteria of all kinds, which, given the moldy shelves on which the cheese matures, was definitely necessary. The last French triumph is clearly a baguette. It is present everywhere, accompanying everything, it is both a symbol and a necessity. Without it, the French cannot imagine their day, they go for fresh baguette twice a day - once for lunch and the second time for dinner. And a small piece is served also for breakfast. The baguette is not cut, but gently broken, the baguette is not bitten, but a small broken piece is put directly into the mouth, the baguette is prefered to the spoon and cutlery, no food starts without the baguette on the table. Each year, one baguette receives a prestigious prize (Médaille d'or - Gold medal), and its author has the right to deliver baguettes to the table of the French president for a year. The winner must have a crispy crust, when you knock on its bottom, it must also have a beautiful sound, it must have a light porous crumb filled with air, and when broken, thousands of small pieces must fly off it. At lunch, boulangeries (bakeries) are filled with people who either buy a baguette for their lunch to eat the main course with and to accompany the cheese at the end of lunch. Or, if they don't have time to have lunch at home, they choose from ready-made sandwiches, which is a half of a baguette filled only with ham or cheese, or tuna and salad, lightly smeared with butter, without mayonnaise and unnecessary additional flavors. My favorite version is Parisien - just the crunchiness of the baguette, the unique taste of Parisian ham, butter and a leaf of lettuce. A glass of red wine and a piece of cheese at the end and your French lunch is ready:)
So, my holiday duel was won by France, and for me this country will forever be the champion of the world of tastes.
03.03.2018
Going to Britain and looking for places where it tastes looks like a beautifully contradictory oxymoron, but perhaps it is not impossible. According to wise books, traditional British cuisine will serve you, in the morning, a toast with butter, soft-boiled egg, orange marmalade and a cup of hot coffee. For lunch, you must buy in the street stall famous fish and chips wrapped in newspapers and wash it down with cider or beer in one of the local pubs. At five in the afternoon, there comes time for black tea with milk and a piece of carrot cake or a traditional scone. And for dinner, a thick soup with a bun and a piece of meat with stewed vegetables are served. I don't know how much this British offer appeals to you, but I've decided to try it with my family in the safety of our home before we decide to enter British soil together. Our English day began with breakfast and did not start the worst. A minor problem occurred only in my attempt to get a toast rack in a local shop with household utensils. It turned out that in our geographical latitudes this is a very unusual thing which the salesmen not only do not have, but also do not know, and so they looked at me like a fool. I was saved by one e-shop where I bought it online and so the English breakfast took place in the spirit of British traditions. This was followed by the preparation of the most typical English dish - fish with French fries. Getting cod and potatoes wasn't any problem, preparing a batter of black beer, wrapping salted pieces of fish in it and frying them in oil, neither. It was not even a problem to pre-cook the potatoes, cut them into chips and then fry them dried slowly until golden brown. An unexpected complication occurred when I wanted to serve delicious-smelling fries and crispy fish in the newspaper - that is to say that I couldn't get a black and white newspapers, without colorful pictures and big red headlines. And so we had for lunch fish and chips dyed in printing ink gently blue, green, and there was also subtitle red, and so Alaska Pollock suddenly became rainbow cod. And to really enjoy the English day, while crunching great cod and crispy fries from the newspapers, we played scrabble, which took on a new and interesting dimension - have you ever tried to play with small letter cubes when your fingers are greased with oil? Keeping those little sliding critters, creating meaningful and grammatically correct words and at the same time correctly counting the points, which we wrote down on the greased newspapers, is a fun which made our English lunch a very enjoyable experience. In Britain, tea at five is a term. It's not just about tea, but about the whole ceremony of serving it, sipping it slowly, talking about the weather and biting small sweet pastries, all in a distinguished, decent way and with full seriousness. To convince my two teenagers to do something so boring and unattractive, I helped myself with a funny film adaptation of Asterix and Obelix "In the service of Her Majesty." Watching this great comedy, my children did not even notice that they were drinking "hot water with a drop of milk" (as they call traditional English tea in the film) and eating after this English humor in French style with a piece of carrot cake, although they would not take carrots in their mouths even under the threat of the most terrible punishment (confiscation of mobile phones and tablets). But what I would seduce them to at any time are fluffy English buns scones, which the English serve hot, freshly baked just for the tea at five with melting butter and strawberry jam. I intended to finish our English day with some roasted meat and steamed green peas, but only my husband was willing to try it. Children would kill for pizza (or any dish of another nationality), but I managed to persuade them to eat at least pea soup with a bun. After all, finding a place in Britain where you would like pizza should not be difficult, because London has been a mecca of multicultural gastronomy for several years. Our English experiment finally showed me that although British cuisine is considered the worst in the world, if prepared with love, it is edible and perhaps worth stepping on British soil for it. We should probably just hurry up to make it before Brexit, because who knows if the British will then actually let us come and taste their cuisine and not just let us lick empty plates...
11.02.2018
"Recalculate?" - asked us a navigation woman's voice when we went out just behind the Slovak-Czech border on a four-lane highway which hasn't been involved in her program yet. Despite the navigation recommendations, we tried this toll-free brave new road during our trip from Orava to Ostrava and thus reduced the expected arrival time, after recalculation, by ten minutes. The reason for our trip was the desire of our children to participate in a parkour workshop, where they were to learn a few tricks to master this modern urban sport under the guidance of professional coaches. I must confess that when I saw a hundred of children and teenagers, who willingly exchanged mobiles and computers for several hours of disciplined movement, to communicate with each other in Czech and Slovak without any problems, I also had to "recalculate" my conviction about the obsolescence of the motto of Sokolov physical education unity from the period of the first Czechoslovak Republic "Homeland in mind, power in hands!" which I read with a kind of amusement on the wall of the gymnasium in the historic building of Čapkova sokolovna from 1932, where the event took place. While our children were verifing in practice another Sokolov motto "In a healthy body, a healthy spirit!", my husband and I went to find a suitable place for lunch. Our original problem of whether we can find at least anyone, turned into a problem of which of the many tempting-looking restaurants and bistros to choose. They all offered appetizing - looking and enticing menus, and what's more, in eye-catching modern interiors. We could choose from traditional Czech and Moravian, but also Italian, Korean, Chinese, Polish, Irish or French menus. Finally, we opted for a small Belgian restaurant, which, as it turned out later, was really small (8 tables) and really Belgian (offering a real Belgian menu with real Belgian beer). We assumed that such a small inconspicuous business would employ only a minimum of staff, maybe it would be the owner himself in the role of a waiter, chef, bartender and accountant, as we are used to in some small Slovak restaurants, but we had to recalculate the minimum significantly, because in the minimalistic space there were 4 waitresses, 2 cooks and 1 help in the kitchen, and the whole team was supervised by the "boss". Having ordered, we watched with amazement how the whole team divided the tasks and everyone immediately got to work according to a perfectly thought-out plan. In a few moments we had food on the table. For my husband, meatballs in sweet and sour sauce with french fries (a traditional Belgian dish), and for me panini with brie cheese, caramelized apples and arugula with an indispensable small portion of french fries. The taste of meatballs and panini was excellent - balanced, highlighting the taste of quality ingredients, but having tasted the fries, we had to recalculate the taste scale - balls and panini were great, but the fries were really excellent - crispy on the surface, supple inside, hand-cut from damn good potatoes and, of course, Belgian style twice roasted in quality oil with a little beef lard, thanks to which it was achieved their lightness on weight, taste and digestibility. If you desire a dessert, you will of course get traditional Belgian waffles or the famous Belgian dessert Poire Belle Hélène (pear cooked in wine served with vanilla ice cream and topped with Belgian chocolate). In addition, they will prepare coffee for you here properly - small and strong, just the way the Belgians like. After a surprisingly great Belgian lunch, we decided to go for culture. I initially thought that Ostrava was a city of mining and heavy industry, that there lives a tired and not very rich working class which does not care much about culture, so I did not expect a lot of cultural monuments that would be worth seeing. However, while walking in the historical center, we found out that we had to recalculate the incidence of cultural attractions from zero to one hundred per square kilometer - theaters, galleries, houses of art, sculptures, fountains, creatively transformed industrial spaces into exhibition centers, interesting bas-reliefs on the facade of beautiful and architecturally extremely interesting buildings from every decade of the 20th century have completely updated my ideas about industrial Ostrava. The culture in a new guise, based on historical heritage, maintained and modernized in accordance with technological progress with pride and flourish, will undoubtedly captivate everyone. The icing on the cake was the frescoes on the windows of the temple of the Divine Savior, the second largest in Moravia, which, thanks to modern technologies, took the form of living changing images. When talking about the cake, a small piece of a good cake would come in handy after a walk through the city, so we decided to verify the reputation of the best ones in Ostrava - in the pastry shop Ollies. I expected a classic offer of honestly baked traditional desserts, but I had to recalculate again. The number of classic desserts with butter creams was equal to zero. In the menu of this iconic Ostrava pastry shop there are only cakes, each divided into 12 pieces, which are famous all over the world and whose creams are prepared from mousse, cream, cottage cheese, cream cheese, mascarpone or fruit, and so you can choose between Red Velvet, Tiramisu, Swarzwald, Sacher, Carrot Cake, Sicilian, New York, Brownie and a whole range of cheesecakes, macaroons and fruit pies. The taste of any of these is amazing and exactly according to the original recipes, and thanks to light creams, they lure people with sweet tooth to come for a seconde piece - I was no exception neither, so again I had to recalculate my original intention to have just one piece of a cake for two and a half (I had the rest wrapped). However, if you visit this fancy sweet tooth paradise, you definitely can't leave without a pistachio croisssant, which tastes exactly as it would have been prepared in a Parisian patisserie - perfectly. The enthusiasm from the taste of cakes was enhanced by Good Filicori coffee and incredibly nice service. When on the way back on the same four-lane highway, an imaginary woman from the navigation asked if she should recalculate the road, I just grinned how many times I myself had to recalculate during that day, but Ostrava is definitely worth the recalculation.
12.11.2017
Imagine a region where you, at the time of entry to the university, are given a glass with champagne instead of the index, where you, in the morning in a café, are asked whether you will like also a glass of champagne, where, when your buddies invite you after work for one, they mean one glass of champagne, the region, where at the Christmas markets you do not get warm Christmas punch, but you run hot by accurately cold champagne. Paradise on Earth? Far from it, the reality of the French region of Champagne, in which I had the opportunity to spend a few months and where you are simply haunted by bubbles of this solemn drink at every step, not only on festive occasions.
The Champagniards (inhabitants of the region of Champagne) are very proud of this valuable sparkling wine and they protect it like an apple of their eye, even so that they let include the way it is produced and the cellars, in which it is stored, in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List. However, sparkling wine, which can be as the only one labeled with the designation "Champagne", must be grown, processed and maturated only in narrowly delineated area of this region near the cities of Reims and Epernay. Therefore, if you visit these cities, take the time also to visit one of the famous maison de champagne (house of champagne), such as Vranken Pommery, Mumm, Moet, Taittinger, Krug, Bollinger, Heidsieck, Deutz, Lanson or Veuve Cliquot. Not only will you learn about how the real champagne is produced, but during the visit you descend under the city into the limestone cellars that have the accurate climate and temperature for maturating and storage of thousands of bottles which are produced here every year. By the way, did you know that most of these maisons were once run by women - widows of their founders? The female names of certain series of champagne production refer to this fact, as well as for example also one of champagne brand name Veuve Cliquot meaning Widow Cliquot... The visit is obviously concluded by tasting and I guarantee that you won't leave without a bottle from their cellars not only because of its great taste, but also because of incredibly favourable prices. You can get a bottle of original champagne of very good quality in the price range from 12 to 30 euros, depending on the year and excellence of harvest. You will buy the same bottle in Slovak Tesco promotion at the price beginning at 40 euros, but it is definitely not in the same quality due to the questionable conditions of transport and storage.
If you visit this region and you will want to penetrate deep into the secrets of manual production of delightful bubbles, I recommend visiting some of small domestic manufacturers in nearby villages, who, to make it for you easier, will take you in their own vineyards and, of course, let you taste every kind of their production. A walk among the vines, whose branches are bowing down under the weight of sweet grapes, or in the gold colored vineyard, terminated by tasting of all kinds of their champagne, will not make your shopping choice easier due to the number of bubbles in the head, however it will definitely expel clouds from your soul. Moreover, the view of the lighthouse in the middle of these endless acres of vineyards where these exceptional grapes are born, will stay forever your memory and under its influence you will buy for safety's sake right away few cartons of these great bubbles for even better price than in a famous "maison".
In the world, champagne is associated with exceptional occasions, in the region of Champagne every day is exceptional. The French simply enjoy every moment, not waiting for any solemn opportunity, because every moment is an opportunity to enjoy it. Why don't you cool down a bottle of Hubert and let the Slovak bubbles spread a pleasant mood and joy of life into your body? They certainly can do that just as well as those of the original French champagne. Btw - it was in Slovakia, where first, after France, winemakers tried to produce sparkling wine respecting the original French method. If, however, you are waiting for some special occasion, Christmas and New Year's Eve are coming soon and that's why it pays to start with the search of Slovak sparkling wines produced with the traditional champagne method of fermentation in the closed bottle so that you can celebrate the holidays with original bubble ravishment and experience the same feeling of luxury that the Champagniards enjoy every day.
25.9.2017
I love Prague! It is majestic and romantic at the same time, mystical and trendy, cosmopolitan and yet still Czech. I succumb to its magic, emblazoned with secrets and legends, not just the historical ones, every time. My favorite legends are the one about Libuša who predicted to this city glory and eternity, about Faust who could not resist temptation, or about a mad barber from Karlova Street...
However, my most favorite Prague legend is definitely the gastronomic one - noble café of the hotel Paříž, the cradle of the famous Parisian cake which you have certainly already tasted in some modification. Its basis is made of Parisian whipped cream (whipped boiled chocolate cream) and cocoa corpus, originally supplemented with peach and marzipan coat. The atmosphere of decadent early years of the twentieth century, the waiters with the spitting image of Great Gatsby, porcelain service, the view of another legendary Prague building Obecní dúm, all these over a cup of Parisian coffee (espresso with Parisian whipped cream) and the legendary cake – it is simply a Faust temptation impossible to resist to.
Another legend that no tourist missed during his/her wanderings in Prague was once an ice cream shop in Vodičkova Street. Varied offer, excellent taste and affordable price were convincing arguments for everyone. However, today I must say: "Forget about Vodičkova and go to Husova Street". You will find there the best Prague ice cream in Crème de la Crème. If you love Italian ice cream, made from the finest Czech cream and served with a sincere smile of nice service, you are in the right place. The playfulness of the interior fits to the colors of rich ice cream menu and whatever ice cream you choose, after having tasted it, you'll want to return for at least one, more than generous, portion. They are open until 11 p.m., so there is a chance to go round the buoy and to meet aforementioned Ghost of Mad Barber who appears at night in the nearby Karlova Street. Going along it, you will get directly to Charles Bridge, and the view of illuminated Hradčany will be in any case a spectacular end to the evening even without the ghost.
In Prague, old weds harmoniously with new, and beside the old legends, new ones arise. A good example is Oh Deer Bakery which offers an absolute hit - cronuts (donuts made from croissant dough). Fluffy, crispy, buttery, richly stuffed, with original icing - another temptation which is impossible to be resisted. Raspberry cronuts with pistachio icing have become a new Prague legend and therefore there is little wonder that despite the fact that the bakery is open until five in the afternoon, you must get up early in the morning to enjoy them, because at 10 a.m. there remains only their smell and apologizing smile of the sympathetic baker.
In Prague streets you can run across the legendary Czech pubs, but also gastronomic lures of perhaps all nationalities and cultures which interestingly fuse with the traditional Czech gastronomy. For example, in Myslíková street, near Karlovo square (where, by the way, stands legedary Faust's house), you unexpectedly find yourself in France - in the French café, bistro and bakery Petite France are baken not only fantastic baguettes, but also original Czech bread, macrons, but also traditional Czech curd and poppy strudel. If you want the real French breakfast with huge crispy croissants, this is definitely the right place. And do not forget to take with you for lunch delicious baguette stuffed with the legendary Prague Ham.
Libuša was right - Prague is a great city, and I understand Faust - some temptations can simply not be resisted...
23.7. 2017
Why do people suck pebbles from the beach? What does everyone eat all day-on on the beach, in the street, in bars, restaurants, in strollers and in wheelchairs? What's U Magu? And how does Pizza Americana taste? My week stay in Liguria, a seaside region on the border of Italy and France, gave answers to all these questions and provided a great opportunity to discover another tasty place.
After the initial shock, when I incredulously watched people around me sucking something that looked exactly like pebbles on the local beaches, I found out that they actually were enjoying a local specialty - almond or chocolate candies in sugar coating, the colour of which perfectly imitates the beach pebbles, which they are indistinguishably similar to. Those chocolate ones taste like Nestlé Smarties or MMs and they are also an original souvenir that can, in addition, resist even high summer temperatures on the way back, so you can indulge in this interesting taste at home as well.
On the beaches and in the narrow alleys of the historical centers of Ligurian towns, small or tall, old or young, everyone and everywhere eats heartily a rectangular piece of something that seems at the first glance to be just a plain yeast dough. What is it? Well, focaccia - another regional specialty. Salted potato yeast dough spread with olive oil, sometimes stuffed with cheese or ham, but each time fluffy and light. Foccacia resembles kind of our traditional summer open air pool meal "langos", but it is not so greasy, because it is not fried in oil, but baked in the pizza oven. Local people eat it in the morning with coffee, for lunch as bread and in the evening as aperitif, in short - all the time. And me as a tourist, I quickly and cheerfully adapted to this Ligurian foccacia mania, so when deciding what "hog and hominy" to pack for the return, it was a definite option - the biggest piece of the plain and stuffed foccacia and a few of juicy tomatoes from local suppliers, and a tasty lunch on the highway was catered for us.
The inscription U Magu on paper bags in the hands of the local inhabitants haunted me every evening. The secret was revealed in one of the streets of the small town of Pietra Ligure. Ice cream shop! And not just whatever one. The local people like to enjoy their ice cream not only in cones, but also having it packed in special double-litres thermos-bags to be able to indulge in it as a dessert at home after dinner. At first, I found these thermo-packages to be unnecessarily huge, but only until the moment I tasted the ice cream myself. It was so delicious, creamy and with amazing and unique flavours that I had myself a generous portion every evening and I greeted with understanding smile people carrying their thermos-bags home.
Being in Italy and not having pizza, is perhaps not even possible. Margeritha, quattro formaggi, or funghi pizza with prosciutto, we know well also from our pizza restaurants. However, in Ligurian ones, at the beginning of each menu, there is listed pizza Americana, so I decided to try it. It is classic Margeritha with baked fried fries and chopped hot-dog sausages. Madness? Not at all - providing that you are not on a diet. It's voluminous, but for my teenage son it was the perfect Italian version of a fast food lunch. I, in turn, discovered the best pizza at the David restaurant in Genoa. Its thin crispy dough, the sun flavoured taste of juicy tomatoes and creamy mozarella will stay forever in my memory along with the memories of this busy center of Liguria region which revealed to me within a few days its gourmand secrets. There's only one mystery left - How can I survive until the next summer without these Ligurian delicacies?!
24.5.2017
Whenever I visit the British islands, I try to find time for the traditional English afternoon tea ritual - enjoying a cup of tea with milk and biting into fluffy buttery scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam, which is usually accompanied by another cakes, among which there is the British classic "Victoria sponge" (sponge cake filled with butter cream and jam) and of course English sandwiches for which we are bound to an English nobleman John Montagu of Sandwich. This lover of card games wanted to have at lunch at least one hand free so that he could continue in his favorite game and so asked his servant to put the meat between two slices of bread. The possibilities of filling sandwiches have expanded considerably in the meantime, but the classic remains cucumber, tuna, egg and cheese.
You can enjoy the original afternoon English tea in traditional tea rooms or in hotels, although this tradition has been slowly disappearing among the British themselves and tea rooms are in the afternoon visited especially by tourists, so it may easily happen that you will be disappointed by semi-products and noise. However, you will certainly avoid the disappointment in the tea room "Bettys" in York where you will be charmed by honestly prepared food and genuine atmosphere amplified by live piano music and friendly service in traditional black-and-white uniforms. I had similar gourmand experience in less pompous, but very cosy family-run tea room "That Little Tea Shop in the Lanes" in Brighton where they serve up generous portions and truly exceptional scones for an extremely favorable price. If you visit London, to find a traditional and affordably priced tea room will not be easy. In most of them there will be sitting and serving foreigners, there will certainly be on the menu also gluten-free and lactose-free version and the interior design will often remind you of a visit to the fabulous and little bizarre Land of Oz in pastel colors, as for example in the well- known "Tea Terrace" in the luxury store House of Fraser in Oxford Street, which brags about the slogan "a very English tea room", perhaps even too. It is definitely true for the prices and quality of food concerned. It is worth therefore to avoid the most attractive London landmarks and go for example to Windsor where in the small side streets you will find several cosy little tea rooms with home-made classics of good British confectionary. The visit to the residence of the British royal family is then just a nice bonus to a pleasantly spent afternoon:)
15.5.2017
After a few days spent in an ordinary British family in the suburb of London I have to agree with one French joke about the British kitchen: "If it's cold, it's soup, if it's warm, it's beer." Only with difficulty I could find some positives about today's usual English dietary habits - for breakfast toasts from long-keeping pastries and sweet spreads from Tesco, instant coffee or tea. For lunch sandwiches from the same toast bread, spread with defatted vegetable fat without taste, smell and ability to melt, with cheese or mixed cold meat from Tesco. A bag of crisps and a little sweetness full of palm fat and artificial sweetener couldn't be missing. For dinner heated oven-ready products - canned beans and peas, pre-fried frozen potato croquettes or French fries and warmed sausages in microwave oven or slices of cold meat. And of course, durable toast bread. As a dessert-Tesco ice cream. After a few days of effort to digest this Tesco durable range of products, my digestive system significantly protested and so I decided to improve it in the streets of London, but Londoners apparently are addicted to modern nutrition trends - paleo, vegan, raw - in other words, cooking free, gluten free, lactose free, sugar free and I even found Brownie chocolate free - iconic chocolate cake without chocolate! Fortunately, London is a huge multicultural pot in which there are cooked all world cuisines, and of a great level quality, so I, in English indigestible desert, was rescued by one French oasis - the bistro-bakery of Eric Kayser. Not only there are baked fresh and undoubtly crunchiest baguettes and crispiest croissants on the whole British isles, but also the whole staff is French speaking fluent and exceptionally understandable English. Briefly, at this place, only a few steps away from the busy Oxford Street, you will find the atmosphere of Parisian bistro with all the good that belongs to it - delicious food, great coffee, irresistible desserts, friendly service and French music. The American journalist Martha Harrison once wrote, that the British colonized such a big part of the world simply because they were looking for a country where they could decently eat. There is nothing else than to agree and say that fortunately, the whole colonized and uncolonized world has now met in London, where everyone will certainly find their favourite cuisine and will be extremely satisfied, because you can actually have genuine Italian pizza or pasta, the most authentic Japanese sushi, Indian, Chinese, Mexican or Morocco food and drinks. However, I definitely recommend to avoid traditional British restaurants and tee rooms, providing that you do not want to have lunch or cake without flour, milk, sugar and fat - in short, without the taste...