Restaurant Review Prague:John Lennon Pub

Okay, so I’m finally wrapping up my series on Prague!!  I am so many levels of delayed that it’s not

Yellow Submarine Entry wall

even funny.

We found the John Lennon Pub quite close to the Lennon Wall and we couldn’t resist going. It’s walls were painted bright colors and there was even a Yellow Submarine wall. We decided to sit in their adorable outdoor seating area where we soaked up the rays and basked in a bit of nature. 

The waiters were lovely and the music low-key in the background as the birds chirped and twittered

while playing in the vines.

I decided to order  a beer and Endira got a glass of white wine and then we took our time looking over the menu trying to decide what goodies we wanted to eat. I wanted something lighter and so did Endira. We definitely didn’t want heavy goulash in the beautiful hot sun before walking up to the castle later in the afternoon. Seriously, I’m quite glad that I went a little light for lunch. That hike up the steep hill was quite the killer. 

My delicious sausage and apple relish

In the end I decided to order off the appetizer menu. I got the sausage and it came with mustard and an apple relish. The sausage was a little spicy and just the right portion for me. I absolutely loved the apple relish because it was light and refreshing. It really complemented the heavier sausage. It was a simple dish but it hit the spot.

The Farmer's Kettle

Endira hadn’t been sure what to order and eventually picked one of the dishes in a photograph on the menu.  It looked gorgeous and in theory from the photo could have been light. It wasn’t, but it had potential. We both thought it was delicious and had pork, chicken breast, home-made bacon, fried potatoes, sweet corn, onions, and garlic. The flavors really melded and worked together. She really enjoyed it but couldn't finish it because it was so rich. I was too full to eat the last few bites.

Both of our amazing dishes

The inside of the restaurant

All in all we had a wonderful afternoon break that was just the right taste and price. I don’t remember what it was in Czech crowns but for 1 appetizer, 1 main course, 2 beers and 2 glasses of wine, we only spent €22 total.  A great price for a great meal. 

And then before leaving we even went inside and took some pictures in the traditional red phone box. The only way my day could have been more complete would have been if there had been a big blue police box in the pub too…

Yes, I am a nerd.

 

Me being silly in the phone box!

Prague Adventures Part I

A picturesque walk across Charles Bridge

Sooo I originally wrote this as one longgggg blog, and then I realized that there is no way anyone would have the attention span to read the entire thing. Hence, I decided to split the blog into 3 parts, 1 for each day spent in Prague.  I'll also have a Restaurant review or 2 because some of the restaurants were good enough to warrant their own posting.

The Easter Market

Just about 2 weeks ago during my work break I went to Prague for 3 days. It was an absolutely gorgeous city and I can definitely envision myself living there one day. It is the biggest city in the Czech Republic but it's still on a considerably smaller scale than NYC or even Rome. It reminds me of Florence in size, beauty and feeling (it oozes comfort to me). The city is very walk-able. It has art, history, culture and of course incredible food.

Delicious sausage and beer

I'm going to be honest. I didn't love Czech food, I liked it. It was tasty. But the things I tried were quite
heavy and there weren't many vegetables involved (which I know would thrill some friends of mine).
When I first got to Prague the first thing I did was try sausage from the Easter Market. It was served simple with a slice of wheat/whole grain bread and some mustard.  I loved it because it was simple and full of flavor.  Plus it was great with my Pilsner beer. I'm not the biggest beer drinker but while in Prague beer drinking is an ABSOLUTE must. Prague is the beer capital of the world. It's where Pilsner originates and I can

Potatoes of delight

absolutely confirm that beer costs less than water in some places.  Soo I had a lot of beer there.  It was necessary for a proper Prague food experience.  Sadly, I never made it to a beer tasting but that ill just have to wait till next time.  I think it would be worth it simply because I know next to nothing about beer.  I know there's light)blonde beer, red and dark beers. All other classifications are lost on me.
So my first meal involved Pilsner and then I switched to cider (there was a cider shop in the Easter market that was utterly adorable). They had Kingswood which is a Czech Cider. I love cider and had it again with dinner too. It is delicious and sweet but not too sweet. We also got this lovely, spicy potato salad that had sausage, bacon and lots of great spices. It was heavy and delicious and went really well with the rain. It rained that afternoon, so cider, sausage and potatoes really hit the spot.

Kingswood cider

At dinner I stuck with my cider. It was great but I must admit beer probably would've gone better with my Goulash. Goulash is a typical Eastern Euopean plate and quite common in Prague. It is a kind of stewed beef. The sauce is full of flavor and quite heavy and it is served with a variety of different traditional dumplings. Goulash can also be served as a soup sans chunks of meat  (we tried it the next day).
We had our first sit down meal at a restaurant called "U Vejvodu" which I kept pronouncing incorrectly as Dejavu. I'm going to review the entire meal in a separate post because it was delicious.
After dinner we were going to get cocktails or ice cream made with absinthe but sadly we were too full and tired. Absinthe is competely legal and there are a lot of absinthe bars foating around. I was very tempted but I also wanted to enjoy the intense schedule of walking tours we had planned without a hangover or migraine.  I think I made the right choice.

Prague Adventures Part II
Prague Adventures Part III

Recipe: Almost "Italian" Grilled Cheese

My roommates periodically think I'm crazy. They see me making mac & cheese or grilled cheese or any of my various strange mixings of sweet and savory and think I'm insane.
It makes me laugh, because I may be strange, but I make really good food.  Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I know I can cook and cook well. The constant request for meals from friends leads me to believe that for as strange as my recipes can be, everything must be quite good.

In any case last night I made myself a different grilled cheese with this lovely creamy cheese called stracchino. It's another spreadable cheese that has a richer texture and taste than something like cream cheese.
It's very typically Italian so I decided to go with one of it's traditional pairings for my grilled cheese.  Often in restaurants you'll see crostini (toasted bread) with stracchino and sausage, so I decided to do a grilled cheese utilizing the combination.
And then of course I added my own twist by adding an egg cooked over easy to add to the texture and flavor of the whole sandwich and served it with a rich balsamic vinegar as a dipping sauce.

Ingredients:
2 sausages
1/4 small onion
1 tbs olive oil
1 egg
Stracchino cheese
2 slices of whole grain bread (I used white bread because it's what I had)
2 pats of butter
salt and pepper to taste
red pepper flakes to taste

Dice a quarter of an onion finely and put to the side for the moment. Remove the casing from your sausage and cut (or tear) it into small pieces.  Pour a little olive oil into a saucepan, not a lot because the sausage should render out its own fat. Let the oil get hot slowly over a low flame and then add the

onions. As the onions begin to sweat add in the sausage and red pepper flakes to taste.  Leave on the heat stirring often until the sausage is cooked all the way through.
Put the sausage and onion into a plate but do not drain the oil from the pan.  You can use the renderings to cook your egg quickly.  Put the pan back over a low heat and crack the egg into the pan carefully. Spice with a little salt and pepper (I would suggest more pepper than salt).  If you prefer, you can keep your egg sunny side up and cook it on just the one side.  I like cooking both sides briefly, so after a few minutes I very carefully flip my egg and let it cook a little more.  I like to keep the yolk still runny, so I don't leave it in the pan for very long.
Unfortunately, I wasn't using a nonstick pan last night so I had a bit of a problem flipping my egg.  It looked a little wonky but still tasted delicious.  I put the egg on the plate with the sausage and put it to the side.
Next spread the cheese thickly on both sides of bread.

At this point you have two options, you can either grill the bread in the remaining oil in your first pan or you can get a second clean pan and use butter.  I chose to use butter because I liked the idea of the additional flavor and also because my egg had stuck in the first pan so I don't imagine the bread would've cooked evenly.  Using the first pan however would give your bread a lovely smoky, sausage taste that would work on the whole.

If you choose to use butter, place it into a new saucepan and melt slowly on a low flame. When the butter has melted, add your bread into the pan.  Let it brown for a few minutes until golden and then remove from the heat.
Add your sausage and then egg onto one piece of bread. For additional flavor, you can drizzle the egg with balsamic vinegar or a balsamic reduction or you can do what I did and use the balsamic vinegar as a dipping sauce.
The richness and bite of the vinegar should really complement the creaminess of the cheese.

Recipe: Creamy Polenta with Roasted Red Peppers and Sausage

Creamy Polenta with Roasted Red Peppers and Sausage

Polenta:                                                                      
5 cups water                                                              
Salt and pepper to taste                                              
1 3/4 cups polenta                                                      
1/3 cup whipping cream                                                
1/3 cup grated mozzarella or cheese of choice

Red Peppers and Sausage:
4 medium red peppers
1 lb Italian sausage
1 tbs olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 pinch paprika

Preheat the over to 300°F.
Slice the peppers into thin strips and completely remove the seeds. Place into baking pan.
Remove the sausage from its casing and crumble onto the peppers. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper and paprika. Mix well and bake for around a half hour or until the peppers are tender.
In the meantime, bring the water to a boil. Lower heat and slowly add the polenta while stirring. Remove from heat and stir in the whipping cream and salt and pepper.
Serve with mozzarella, red peppers and sausage on top.

-- Raspberry Truffle