Vermeer Restaurant (closed)

**April 12, 2009 Update: This restaurant near Jiřího z Poděbrad has closed down.

“If at first, the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it” Albert Einstein

A good Reuben sandwich in Prague?

Sounds absurd, but it's more than a hope. It's a reality.

I first heard about it from a few American foodies buzzing and raving about the sandwich at a brand new place called Vermeer.It's in Vinohrady, near the Jiřího z Poděbrad metro stop and Tram 10 and 16 stops. When I heard the Reuben news, I hustled over there as quick as I could.

I almost missed the sign with the name on one side of the outdoor seating.It was too cold to sit outside, so I headed down the stairs.There was a good looking space, with vaulted brick ceilings and lots of dark woodwork.There were three small dining rooms to chose from. The furniture was tasteful, comfortable, and good quality.There was another small space upstairs that they call "the bistro" with the same menu and light shining in the windows. But it was still under construction, so no pictures of that.

I got down to business and ordered my Reuben with steak fries. I grew up eating them, and still love them greatly. Perhaps more than any other sandwich. I've discovered a number of other Americans in Prague share my Reuben obsession.Vermeer's was made exactly as it should be -- corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, Thousand Island (AKA Russian) dressing, on grilled rye bread. It was crunchy, salty, sweet, sour, buttery heaven.

I should note that when the restaurant first opened, the sandwich cost 185 CZK. Now, it is 235 CZK. But the last one I had did have more corned beef.

I met Vermeer's very friendly owner, George, and had a long discussion with him about Reubens and more. I asked where he found anything close to real corned beef in Prague. He told me he had a secret source who made it specially for him.

I said it wasn't exactly New York style, which are overstuffed with super tender meat. But I was just nitpicking. It's not like that anywhere else outside New York.

This Reuben was more than good enough to make me a regular. And for comparison, it was better than any Reuben I'd ever had in Atlanta, Georgia.

Three fellow Americans told me they loved it and that it was an authentic iteration. I also observed a Slovak woman trying one for the first time, and she said she really enjoyed it. Which was a good sign, because they are going to have to pull in more than just expats to make it.

George also told me they will be doing American style breakfast every morning from 7 a.m. He's Macedonian, but spent some years living and working in the USA and knows what should be on the menu.

I was impressed by what I saw: Eggs Benedict, pancakes, waffles, French toast, plus the usual variations of eggs, bacon, sausage, and toast. They'll even do an English breakfast.

Vermeer will have specially made bagels to go with their smoked salmon and Philly cream cheese. They won't come from Bohemia Bagel, which I tolerate but are too dense and chewy for me.

At the end of the meal, George gave me a complimentary piece of their homemade carrot cake (I didn't tell him who I was at that point).It wasn't Bakeshop Praha level, but hit the right basic notes, with a sweet and tangy cream cheese icing.

Someone else told me they struck up a conversation with George and also got a piece. He liked it so much, he ordered a whole one to take home.

I'd received a recommendation for the bacon cheeseburger with steak fries, so I ordered that on my second visit.I'd rank it near the top of all Prague burgers, with only a few small caveats.

First, let me say that this was a beautifully constructed burger. Construction means a lot.

It had perfect proportions of meat, grilled onions, sliced tomatoes, sliced pickles, bacon, and cheese. There was a little lettuce overhang, but nothing I couldn't deal with. They all sat on a large, fresh, toasted sesame seed bun.The ground beef had some seasoning. I'd say salt and pepper and at least one other spice I couldn't put my finger on. If I had to guess, I'd say cumin.

The patty was very juicy. Eventually, it did soak through part of the bun and was a bit messy to eat. This was a hard burger to put down, in more ways than one.

There was plenty of bacon, but it got a little lost in the mix of all the other toppings. I though the burger would benefit from a more assertive, smokier bacon. The small pickles were sliced the long way instead of in round slices. But again, I nitpick.

It was one of the largest burgers I've seen. A very filling meal, all by itself. It was 195 CZK when I first went, but now the price is north of 200 CZK.

On my third visit, I went for the club sandwich with steak fries (155 CZK).I've sampled a few around town, including at Cafe Louvre and Cafe Imperial. They were OK, but nothing special.

Vermeer's club sandwich was the real deal. The best I've had in Prague, without question. It was made with smoked turkey, bacon, lettuce (though not iceberg), tomatoes, cheddar cheese, and mayo. The ingredients were all good, especially the turkey, which is usually the downfall of club sandwiches in Prague.

It tasted just right.

But the construction and presentation were amazing. Again, everything was in the right proportion on double deccker white toast. I can't recall the last time I'd seen such stylized grill-marked toast.After the club sandwich, there were just so many other things I wanted to try.

Steaks? Quesadillas? Fried calamari? Caesar salad? Cobb salad? Savory and sweet crepes?

The scope and ambition of the menu had me concerned about the quality. But I'd already heard a rave about the chicken tikka masala. And the things I'd tried so far were all good.

Now, some people have accused me of being too American in my tastes. To them, I say, "Guilty as charged."

Which brings me to my fourth visit as I obsessively ate my way through the foods of my youth. I got the Monte Cristo sandwich with steak fries (175 CZK). Talk about a decadent meal.It was sliced turkey, bacon (instead of the more traditional ham), and cheddar cheese sandwiched between slices of bread dipped in egg (essentially French toast), which is then fried.

There was powdered sugar sprinkled on top and a strawberry compote on the side.

It was delicious, but let me warn you. I had one for lunch, had trouble finishing it, despite no breakfast, and I still wasn't hungry at dinner time.

I asked George why the restaurant is called Vermeer. To make a long story short, he fell in love with the Dutch painter's work and felt some creative inspiration from him. He even wants to add some Dutch cuisine to the menu.

Is Vermeer perfect? No, but the place just opened and a few small details needed to be ironed out.

The heat in one room hadn't kicked on so it was a bit chilly.The flowery font style on the menu was difficult to read in the low light. They played nice jazz music, but occasionally it got too loud.

The good news was that George was very open to all comments, feedback, and criticism and sounded like he aims to please.

And I was very pleased when he told me you can call ahead to order food to take out. I'm going to put the number in my phone.

What will I order most often from Vermeer? There were a lot of tempting choices, but you don't have to be an Einstein to answer that one.Vermeer Restaurant
U Vodárny 2
Prague 3 - Vinohrady
Tel. (+420) 222 516 992

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The Pind

"Nothing has been left undone, either by man or nature, to make India the most extraordinary country that the sun visits on his rounds." Mark Twain

The positive member reviews on this site caught my eye. Lots of people said lots of nice things about The Pind (which means "The Village"), a new Indian restaurant in Vinohrady.

I'm a skeptical optimist. I was both excited and doubtful. While I was wishing and wanting it to be good, it's hard to trust what you read on the Internet. Ironic, I know.

So there's really only one way to find out. I had to go.

For now, the restaurant's exterior is disconcerting. There was scaffolding, and it was pretty torn up underneath. Hopefully the work will be done soon.The restaurant is close to the Jiřího z Poděbrad metro stop, and also the Vinohradská vodárna stop for Trams 10 and 16.

Anyway, it's what is inside that counts, and that is nicer. There's a small, upstairs space with benches.Here they serve lunches, an all-you-can-eat buffet, for a mere 109 CZK. It's also their smoking room.

It looks much better downstairs. The restaurant is in the space once occupied by Vermeer.There are few changes to the interior, but I was happy to find they fixed the heating problems that plagued that restaurant. It was pleasantly warm.

There are only about 10 tables downstairs, plus a separate room with a large table.One of the three Indian men who own the place, Jayant, was standing behind the bar.He welcomed me and let me pick out a table. It wasn't very busy during my visits.

I wanted to make some direct comparisons with Curry House, which many call the best Indian restaurant in Prague. So I ordered similar dishes to the ones I had there.

My meal began with the vegetable samosas (55 CZK).Filled mostly with potatoes and peas, this version had better seasoning than the blander ones at Curry House. They were crispy on the outside and almost too hot to pick up at first.The samosas also came with a small dish of sweet, sour, spicy tamarind sauce. Great stuff.

I got their mango chutney (20 CZK) to go with it. This was smoother than other versions I've had, with no chunks. But it had a lovely, aromatic taste.

For a main course, I ordered the chicken tikka masala (165 CZK).This one had a tomato-based sauce similar to that found at Masala. That's no accident since the chef, Sarkar, worked at that restaurant in Vinohrady. This dish was similar to what I had there three years ago.

But I don't remember it being as good as The Pind's version. This one was amazing. First, the flavor of the chicken was just terrific. You could tell the spices hadn't just been slapped on the meat before cooking. It had marinated for a long time, with the seasoning penetrating deep into the meat. Second, it was tender. And third, it had a wonderful, smoky char from the tandoor oven.

The sauce also sang with flavor, and the song was "Hot Stuff." It was full of fresh-grated ginger, coriander, capsicum, and more. The spice level was just at the edge of my limit. I told the waiter how much I liked it, but wondered it was too hot for Czech palates.

He confessed that they engage in a little profiling. They make it milder when they know a customer is Czech. Some might be offended by this, others pleased. But you've been warned -- if you have a heat preference either way, let them know.

This great dish was made even greater by the lemon rice (95 CZK).I'd never had this before, and almost didn't get it because of the high price. It was worth it.

While not really lemony, the rice had its own light, smoked flavor to it. The fluffy grains were studded with mustard seed and mixed with dry curry leaves. Great.

At the end of the meal, you receive a dish of licorice-flavored aniseed mixed with sugar to cleanse your palate.The bill for this visit, which included a Pepsi (35 CZK) because I had my car and a take away box (10 CZK) for leftovers, came to 380 CZK without tip. I thought it a bargain.

I returned a few days later. On this solo visit, I started with the mushroom kurkure (75 CZK).The battered and fried mushroom caps were coated with a delicate, crispy, hot shell.

They were filled with melted cheese, khoya (similar to ricotta), chat masala spice, and cilantro (coriander). The dish had a mild kick, which was tempered by an excellent little dish of mint sauce on the side.

For my main course, I ordered another favorite, the lamb rogan josh (195 CZK).The six chunks of lamb, long-simmered in yogurt, were very tender. The sauce, flavored with coriander and ginger, was medium spicy.

It was good, but I preferred the thicker sauced versions at Curry House and The Pind's close neighbor, Dilli-Delhi. The Pind's sauce was thinner and liquidy. The Pind's website claims they cook according the authentic style of northern India and not the Westernized, commercial style found almost everywhere else. I am not expert enough to say if this is so.

I wasn't in the mood for rice, so I got the butter nan (45 CZK).The thin, crisp, glistening bread had a light char and was good for soaking up the sauce with my lamb.

This meal, with a bottle of Mattoni (35 CZK), came to 350 CZK without tip.

On my third visit, I brought A Friend.I had a couple of glasses of Krušovice (40 CZK each).We started with the vegetable pakora (55 CZK). The variety of veggies had a cake-like coating of fried gram flour or ground chickpeas.Even though it was too salty for me and not served hot enough, I preferred the taste to the Curry House version.

I ordered mango salsa and also raita (50 CZK) to go with it.The thin yogurt of the raita was spiked with red onion, coriander, tomato, and other spices. It required some stirring to get the flavors to blend properly.

For a main course, AF got the lamb biryani (210 CZK).I didn't realize it when we first ordered, but this also comes with raita on the side, so we had two. AF asked for it not to be spicy, but even so, there was a mild, building heat to it.

The lamb was tender and the pulao rice was good. It wasn't exactly bursting with flavor by itself, and the raita was a welcome addition.

We shared an order of their lamb kulcha (60 CZK).The bread was thin and crispy, but I did not detect much lamb.

I wanted to taste as many things as possible, so I ordered The Pind Platter (275 CZK).It came with fantastic achari chicken tikka. The boneless meat, was marinated in pickled spices and had tasty blackened edges.

Next best was the fresh, light, boneless fish filet the waiter told me was sole. It was covered with a nice yellow curry. I was surprised I liked the fish so much.

The chicken malai tikka was marinated with cheese and cream and grilled in the tandoor. For some reason, this was fairly bland.

Finally, there was the lamb seekh kebab. The minced meat is mixed with ginger, garlic, and coriander. This was my least favorite. It had an odd, buttery aftertaste.

The Pind Platter was served on an iron plate covered with onions. I'd seen other tables receiving them sizzling from the kitchen. Mine had no sizzle and the onions were barely cooked. The meat wasn't hot enough. A disappointment there.

Here's a quick rundown on, yes, my fourth visit, just before deadline. The deeply-fried onion bhaji 65 CZK) were dense and weighed upon me heavily.The tandoori murgh (175 CZK) was truly excellent, and it did, indeed, come out on properly hot iron with loudly sizzling onions.And I enjoyed the bangan bhara (165 CZK), made with creamy eggplant and tasting of coriander.My overall feeling about The Pind is very positive. Sure, there were a couple of dishes I didn't like or weren't heated properly. But I'd say anything from their tandoor is the best I've had in Prague.

In fact, I'm still dreaming of that chicken tikka masala. It is the most extraordinary I've found while making my rounds.

The Pind Indian Restaurant
Korunní 67
Prague 3 - Vinohrady
Tel. (+420) 222 516 085, Mobile: 724 206 020

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