A Small Corner of the Czech Republic

Like Brian Herman I have spent too little time blogging lately. Today I've finally done something I fancy sharing.

One of my students in Prague once told me that there is a Czech pub and restaurant in West Hampstead, London. I found its website a few weeks ago and decided I should go there sometime.

Sue is away walking with her sister and some friends this weekend so I was at a loose end this morning. Naturally this was a great opportunity to try the place out. I don't mind having disastrous excursions if I'm the only one who suffers. Sue would have approached this trip with some scepticism and I wasn't confident that the result would prove her wrong.

The Czech restaurant is part of the Czech and Slovak National House which was founded in the Second World War and moved to its present spot shortly afterwards. It is located in a large suburban house in West Hampstead. It is the sort of building that is too big and expensive for a family home and might otherwise have been converted to flats or become a dentist or lawyer's practice. 

There can't be too many Czech WW2 veterans still living in London so I would expect the customers to be mostly recent expats, although they may well have more modern and fashionable places to go to.

I arrived at the place at about 12:30 and ordered a Pilsner Urquell (on draught at £3.00 which is not too bad for London). It was a bit gassier and more acidic than I remembered, so it was a bit disappointing. I was the only person in the bar, but a TV in the corner was showing a nature programme on Czech TV - until the barman turned it over to a sports channel where I could watch the Formula 1 practice with Czech commentary.

Having finished my drink I moved from the bar to the restaurant. I was the only customer there, too. I ordered a Budvar which was lovely, smooth and creamy. This was what I was looking for.  I ordered a bramborak (potato pancake) to start followed by  vepro knedlo zelo, pork with bread dumplings and cabbage with gravy, arguably the Czech national dish. I hoped the portions weren't too big.

The potato pancake was nice, although a bit stodgy in the centre. The main course was very good. The pork was lean and of good quality, the bread dumplings were nice and fluffy, not soggy and not too dry, and the cabbage was tasty. The portions were filling but I did manage to finish everything. I really enjoyed it, and it took me back to the Pilsner Urquell restaurant in Andel. 

While I was eating, a couple came in, I guess they were in their mid to late 20s. After they had made their order I asked the man if he was Czech. He is Slovak from Bratislava and it was his first visit to the place, too. We started chatting and I told them about my year in Prague teaching English, and the great time I had had.

His girlfriend was really interested. She is from South Africa and they will be moving from London to Bratislava in June. She is taking a TEFL course and has previously taught Drama and Aerobics. I talked about my experiences and the kind of classes I had taught and we discussed how she could make use of her experience in her pitch to a language school and in her lessons

They told me that the impending moved had caused them a bit of tension as he was happy to be moving back home but she was nervous about being able to make a living and cope with a strange language. They felt happier having heard about my experience, "you are a good omen for us" was the girl's comment.

This was just another of those chance encounters that make life interesting. Some days it's not about you, you are a walk-on part in someone else's story.  

Airport Food

I took Friday and Monday off to go to Prague for the weekend, travelling on my own as Sue had other commitments. For the first time I was flying out from Terminal 5 at Heathrow. The new terminal had its teething problems when it opened, and when I found out that on Thursday they were introducing a new tranche of long-haul flights at T5 I was prepared for trouble. I decided to leave home early to allow more time. I could always spend the extra time exploring the new terminal.

As it happened there were no delays. There was a minor hitch at the car park. I had booked in advance so the number plate recognition system was meant to print out a personalised ticket with my car number and tie that to my pre-paid reservation. It didn't recogise the number, so I had to go to the desk to sort that out on Monday when I returned.

Having allowed extra time I got to the terminal in good time, and since I had printed my boarding card at home and had no checked luggage I was through security very quickly. In fact the entire journey from home to airside took about an hour.

It was lunchtime so I was hungry when I went airside. I checked out the eateries straight away. There were the usual Pret a Manger and Costa Coffee bars, but I wanted more than a sandwich. The pub serving food was very busy. I passed Gordon Ramsay's Plane Food and took a look. Main courses were about £15.00. Restaurant prices, but not totally outrageous. So I went in.

The place was about 40% full. The waitress was friendly and informal but very professional. I had a mineral water while I studied the menu and wine list. I went for the salmon fishcakes and a glass of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. The wine was crisp with tart apple flavours. The fishcake was perfect; a crisp crumb coating, not at all soggy, a lovely creamy filling with a hint of tarragon, and meaty chunks of salmon. It came on a bed of spinach which was moist without being soggy, and there was a creamy mustard sauce which went better with the salmon than I had expected. There was a small side salad and I had ordered fries which were hot, crisp and tasty. It was the best salmon fishcake I have ever eaten.

I finished my glass of wine while I studied the dessert menu. I went for the Knickerbocker Glory (a large ice-cream sundae for those who don't know the term). It came in a tall sundae glass; there was a soft jelly base, lots of fresh fruit and fruit sorbet filling the glass. On top was a good helping of thick whipped cream with vanilla, sprinkled with freshly-toasted sliced almonds and a fresh black cherry on top. It was wonderful.

There were two flaws in the perfection, the Americano was more like an Espresso, but was beautiful coffee nonetheless, so I didn't complain. The more serious problem was that the spoon was too wide to reach the bottom of the sundae glass so I couldn't eat all of the jelly. I mentioned this to the waitress, who said that she agreed with me that this was a problem and reported it straight to the manager. Maybe they will have different spoons next time.

It was an excellent meal, the best airport meal I have ever eaten, and the most relaxing time I have spent in an airport. At just over £40 including service it was expensive, but good value for what I got.

Sue was quite jealous when I told her about it so we will have to go there again next time we pass through Terminal 5.