We all met at a traditional Czech restaurant for dinner, which was very unique. There were 30 of us in our own room, with its own bar and piano player. It felt like we had stepped back in time at least a century. This was a great find, recommended by a friend of my dad's who had lived in Prague. Thank god we went here, and not to one of the other group-friendly restaurants that we had seen on line, which all looked like they were straight out of Medieval Times. This place, whose name translates to be The Blue Duckling, offered a charming experience all around.
Dinner was an experience - not everything was to everyone's liking, but I loved it all - probably a testament to the fact that I was meant to be a fat hausfrau in another life. Czech food is very rich and not for the calorie-conscious. The restaurant did a great job with our meal, keeping the wine flowing and the courses well-prepared. They even made a special vegetarian meal for my brother Josh. Our first course was pork knuckle, which tastes like ham.
For our second course, we had liver-dumpling soup, which was heavy with oil but very, very tasty. Just the kind of thing that would fortify you on a cold winter's night.
The main course was a dish that you see on a lot of Czech menus - duck leg with dumplings and sauerkraut. It's very similar to duck confit. As a dumpling fan, I was excited to try the dumplings, but these are not the doughy filled kind that you would expect, and I didn't like them. However, the duck and sauerkraut were delicious.
Dessert was these sweet pancake-like cakes with a blueberry yogurt sauce on top.
It was wonderful to enjoy this home-style meal in such an intimate setting. Going from table to table, you could hear stories being told by different members of the family, from all generations. This was definitely a night to remember.
