Lokal Blok

"One who never fell, never climbed." Unknown

Back in the day, my friends and I used to scale the beautiful, sheer cliffs near New Paltz, New York.

I have fond memories moving up the Shawangunk Conglomerate, warmed by the summer morning sun, looking out upon the forest canopy below.

So when a reader recommended Lokal Blok on the Czech Please Facebook page, it got my attention.This place in Anděl-Smíchov is unusual. Not only is it a restaurant, but it also has rock climbing walls in the basement.If you want to work on your lean back, overhang moves before you eat, this is the place to go. I don't do that anymore, but I knew I had to check it out.

The restaurant upstairs is quite large.There are three different dining sections, plus a big garden deck in back. On one early evening, the place was jam-packed with an exclusively young crowd.

Throbbing rock music blasted over the sound system. I sat with a friend in the front smoking section near the bar.It was very smoky. Another Facebook reader told me the restaurant will be all non-smoking starting June 1st.

I started off drinking sparkling water. It was my least favorite, Bonaqua (28 CZK).One reason I don't like it is the small .25 liter bottle it comes in. I prefer quenching more of my thirst with a .33 liter bottle of Mattoni.

During the meal, I had a half-liter glass of Pilsner Urquell (36 CZK). At the end, I had a Jack Daniel's with a little ice (75 CZK).

I was having a hard day.

My friend wasn't too hungry and ordered the cheddar and jalapeno quesadilla (125 CZK).This was a decent snack, but it didn't reach any great heights. The salsa, with freshly chopped tomato, was bland. I also thought that plain white rice didn't partner well with a quesadilla.

I wanted to order a standard hamburger, but the menu caused me some confusion. On the first page under "Big Sandwiches," one came with grilled hamburger meat. So I ordered that one (105 CZK).It turned out to be an actual sandwich, with sausage-shaped ground meat served on a long, chewy roll.

Fancy lettuce, tomatoes, and a sweet mustard sauce were spilling out of the bread. The bigger, regular burger, served on a proper bun, was listed a couple of pages later in the "Meat" section (135 CZK).

The seasoned meat tasted a lot like meat loaf. I was told that this is because the ground beef is mixed with buckwheat. It wasn't bad, but you really have to get yourself in a meat loaf sandwich mood to enjoy it.

It tasted nothing like a classic burger patty. I didn't like the cold, chewy roll that was too small, or that it was slathered with such an intensely sweet mustard.

However, I was still in the mood for something sweet at the end of the meal. I ordered the ice cappuccino (48 CZK).It was the kind made with ice cream, which I usually like. But this version was mostly froth and was lacking in flavor. It wasn't even very cold. It needed much more ice cream.

To go with it, I got the Apple Crumble (45 CZK). This lifted me up a bit.The finely chopped apple, served warm, was topped with cake crumbs, and powdered sugar. It was very sweet, but here, I minded less. There was a barely detectable amount of rum. It was something like an apple strudel without all the dough.

I came back alone for another visit on a beautiful spring afternoon and headed straight for the garden in back. I was very lucky and got one of the last tables.It wasn't a forest, but I was surrounded by a lot of green. Several diners were turned away after I got there.

I sat near a window looking into their clean, large, well-organized kitchen.While checking out the drinks menu, I saw something I hadn't noticed before. Lokal Blok was serving unpasteurized Gambrinus from a tank. I've seen Pilsner Urquell served this way all over town, but never its weaker, 10 degree SABMiller brewery mate.

I ordered a half-liter (28 CZK).It was very good, maybe the best version of Gambrinus you'll find. But this beer just doesn't taste as good as Pilsner, which they also have on regular draft.

For a starter, I decided to try the roasted eggplant and pepper tartare (75 CZK).It was attractively, yet awkwardly presented, with bread stacked up on the plate. But the taste counts the most.

I liked it a lot. It was more salty than tart, but the flavors of the cooked red, yellow, and green peppers, mixed with the eggplant, balanced it out well. The bread also soaked up the good pesto and balsamic vinegar that swirled on the plate.

It was advertised as mildly spicy, but it was barely so. My only criticism was that the thick, cold bread could have been better or perhaps toasted.

For my main, I was in the mood for pork. I recently had a rather disastrous pork neck/shoulder at Kulaťák, and I thought it would be good to see how they compare. So I ordered the Krkovice (155 CZK).Lokal Blok's was better in every way. This pork steak was bigger (two pieces!), looked great, the seasonings were on the mark, the porcine flavor was just right, and it was 24 crowns cheaper than Kulaťák's.

It got dryer toward the less fatty parts in the middle, but that's about it. There was a big dollop of ajvar on top to help moisten it up.

Even better, the thinly sliced new potatoes underneath were plentiful and delicious. They were cooked with whole-grain mustard, and it was slightly sweet.

I still liked the pesto and balsamic on the plate, even though it was rather repetitive after having it with the starter.

I have to say, my first visit to this restaurant left me feeling disappointed. I thought it fell flat.But my second visit was so much better in almost every way. In fact, on a warm summer day, Lokal Blok has climbed to the top of my list of places to go in Smíchov.

Especially if I can get a spot in the garden.

Lokal Blok
Náměstí 14. října 10,
Prague 5 - Smíchov
Tel. (+420) 251 511 490

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Restaurace Zvonařka

That all-softening, overpowering knell
The tocsin of the soul - the dinner-bell
Lord Byron

It was a beautiful spring evening, and my boss asked me to suggest a place for a farewell drink for a departing colleague.

He had two conditions: We should be able to sit outside to enjoy the warm weather and it should be relatively close to Wenceslas Square.

A colleague had already called Restaurace Mušketýr, and it was booked. I knew Bredovský dvůr would be, as well. I thought Riegrovy sady beer garden wasn't appropriate.

In the end, I came up with Restaurace Zvonařka.The place is known for its large terrace, if not for its food. And I was correct in my assumption that the terrace would not be full. It's a nice spot, but often overlooked.In past summers, they fired up a grill outside, but it was too early in the season for that.

The word "zvonařka" is somewhat hard to define in modern usage. I was told by someone with a degree in Czech linguistics that it means something like "bell foundry" or a place for bells.

The restaurant sits on the edge of a hill. On one side, there is a view of the rich villas of Vinohrady.And on the other side, there is a view of the train tracks of Vršovice and the lesser environs of Nusle.When the leaves really come out, you see a lot less.

I had a half-liter of Gambrinus (29 CZK).Someone else drank Kozel dark (35 CZK).Pilsner Urquell is also available (35 CZK).

We ordered a round of cheese nachos (90 CZK) for the table. These were quite bad.The very ordinary chips were covered with melted cheese that quickly cooled and hardened. Trying to pick up one chip often resulted in picking up 13 others that were stuck together. You had to peel the chips apart from the cheese. Very awkward.

The salsa was some sweet stuff from a jar. Pretty standard in Prague.

We ordered a few rounds of the large plate of 16 chicken wings with Buffalo sauce (150 CZK). These were very good.They were large, cooked just right, and I liked the sauce. It was sweeter than a classic American Buffalo sauce, but still had a nice tang. I ate many of these.

Later, we ordered a round with barbecue sauce, but the sauce was exactly the same. We weren't sure if we had gotten the wrong sauce the first time or the second time.

We didn't bother to ask because the service was not very good on the terrace, and we had a hard enough time just getting an order in.

There are two large rooms inside. I had a big birthday party there a few years ago.

They were very cool about giving me one of the rooms, without guaranteed minimum charge for the house. I just ordered a modest amount of food in advance and brought a lot of thirsty people, and they were happy. I don't know whether that deal is still available.

On this visit, we also ordered a few spicy klobasy or sausages (75 CZK each).They were quite popular at the table, so I had a hard time getting a picture before they had succumbed to knives and forks. They came with bread, mustard and horseradish. I thought they were a bit on the dry side, but not too fatty and quite tasty.

So, if you are looking for a place to hang out in good weather, maybe have some good wings, and can't think of where to go, perhaps Zvonařka will ring a bell.

Restaurace Zvonařka
Šafaříkova 1
Praha 2 Vinohrady
Tel:224 251 990

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Bohemia Bagel in Holešovice - Burger Fridays

“Love must be as much a light, as it is a flame.” Henry David Thoreau

My love of hamburgers is well documented here. Judging by the popularity of such posts, I'm far from alone.

V had been having many meals at Bohemia Bagel in Holešovice and wanted to take me for their special Burger Friday.Having heard good things about their hamburgers from an online friend, I was more than happy to head over there. I'd been there for breakfast and wrote a post on it back in June 2008.

We sat in the no smoking section, which is a separate room and feels a little isolated from the rest of the place.The main section of the restaurant can be empty in the afternoon, but it was full by 8 p.m. I'd recommend booking ahead. It's not a huge place.I was drinking half-liters of Gambrinus (30 CZK each).They had Pilsner Urquell, which I like better, but sometimes I'm not up for the higher alcohol content.

V had a couple of .2 liter glasses of Moravian white wine (40 CZK each) and a .3 liter bottle of Mattoni mineral water (30 CZK).On burger night, they double the selection of burgers on offer. There was a Greek burger, a tofu burger, a falafel burger, a fish burger, and a steak burger, to name a few.

Call me boring -- I had the standard Bohemia Hamburger with American cheese and bacon.One of the great things about the burger was the price -- 155 CZK.

I will now officially declare that this was the best hamburger I've had in Prague. Ever. Especially since the Czech Inn stopped making theirs.

The prime reasons for a new favorite? Great ground beef, and a perfectly formed patty that was flame-grilled. For me, nothing beats the smoky flavor from real fire.

Then, there was the bacon. Lots of it. Three long, thick strips, cooked to near but not total crispness and placed with almost geometric precision across the top of the cheese.The raw red onion, lettuce, and tomato were cut to the appropriate size. However, they were placed under the patty, which was not ideal in my book. I like them better on top so the juices don't run through them.

On the side, I had the sweet potato fries, which I liked despite their limp and greasy nature. They were included in the price. As far as I can tell, they weren't offered on the regular menu.

The bun was toasted and buttered. Pretty good, although it was slightly more dense than a classic American-style bun. The positive side to that was that it held together under duress.

Its holding strength was tested. It was seriously hard to get my big mouth around the whole thing. The burger was hard to put down in more ways than one.

When you consider the great price -- it slaughters the competition.

V had the Sante Fe Burger (155 CZK). It was made with freshly ground chicken seasoned with onions, cilantro, and jalapenos.You could really taste the cilantro, which I liked. The ground meat held together well. It was topped with a sweet tomato relish.She took the top off and ate it with a knife and fork. There was a side salad, which had a slightly sweet dressing.

For dessert, I decided to try the warm brownie with ice cream (75 CZK).I've had their brownie many times, and it is quite good, very fudgy. But I'd never had it warm. Definitely nice, but one end was not as well-heated as the other.

Also, they use an artificially-colored vanilla ice cream that many restaurants favor, and I dislike. I'm sorry, the natural color of vanilla is not yellow. The flavor does not taste natural, either.

I should note that I heard that Brad Huff, a player in my previous post, will be playing guitar at the restaurant's Wednesday chicken wing night.

At the end of our dinner, V bought some tins of Harney and Sons teas for herself and as Christmas presents.

They were not cheap -- 220 CZK each. She bought a few as Christmas presents and kept some for herself.

When we got the bill -- 555 CZK -- I saw that we received a 10% discount. I couldn't figure out why. So I asked the waitress.

"Your, ah, girlfriend comes here all the time. I recognize her. Sometimes, I give a discount to regular customers. Is it OK?" she asked and smiled.

"Sure, it's OK. Just curious. Thanks!" A nice touch.

We enjoyed the irony. I'm the one who writes about restaurants every week, but she's always the one who ends up getting the special treatment.

It left me with the good feeling that a love for Bohemia Bagel in Holešovice's burgers comes as much from a light tab as it does from a flame.

Bohemia Bagel in Holešovice
Dukelských Hrdinu 48/Šimáckova 21
Prague 7
Tel. (+420) 220 806 451


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Restaurace Jáma

"My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind." Albert Einstein

In that heavenly area close to Wenceslas Square, I resumed, once again, my never-ending survey of Prague's hamburgers.

I went to Restaurace Jama, which means "the hollow" a couple of times recently.The place is quite popular with expats, though I rarely go myself.I'd heard boasts about the burgers over the years. Regarding the vaunted Jáma Burgers, I have good news and bad news. More on that later.

Jáma is a big place, and it is often pretty full. Drinking is a common pastime.A half-liter of Pilsner Urquell was 45 CZK. Gambrinus was 35 CZK. Kozel dark was 35 CZK, and Kozel light was 29 CZK.I should note that the prices listed here should be correct but, as of this writing, the prices on the Internet menu were not up to date.

On my first, I had the world's most popular of burger combination, the bacon cheeseburger. But, I had to wonder why the menu offers a bacon burger (175 CZK) and a cheddar burger (175 CZK), but there was no combo.To achieve full bacon cheeseburger status, you have to order one of the above burgers, and then add extra cheddar (45 CZK) or extra bacon (45 CZK).

This annoyed me. I was also irked that a slice of cheese cost the same price as the bacon -- a mind-boggling 45 CZK.

Regarding the bacon itself, it seemed that the chef took a little shortcut. The strips had the tell-tale signs of being deep fried rather than pan fried.

A friend who worked at a snack bar once told me about this trick. The bacon cooks much faster, but comes out with a dried out, brittle texture.

I have also have a beef with the onions served on the side. What are they thinking, slicing them that thick? When you put them on the burger, they create an airy loft space under the bun.

There was also lettuce, tomato, and oddly, black olives on the side. You can have fried onions for an extra 10 CZK, which I presume would not raise the roof as high as the raw ones.

The menu said the burgers came with fries. But later, I saw there was a 10 CZK charge that said "hranolky (fries) plus." I'm not sure why.

OK, that's the bad news.

Yes, there is some good news. The beef patty was thick, well-shaped, juicy, and held together well. There could have been a little more seasoning.

The bun was large, sturdy, and perfectly-sized for the meat. It was nicely toasted. The steak fries were hot, crunchy, and there were plenty of them. It was all very filling.

On second visit, I decide to try the Jack Burger, made with Jack Daniels barbecue sauce (195 CZK).I don't know what I was thinking. This was a mistake.

That's because the plain, classic burger cost only 150 CZK. I don't see how they could justify the 45 CZK premium for the small amount of sauce unless this liquid gold was hand-carried from the USA on a first class flight.

And I could hardly taste it. A big disappointment. I should have tried the chili burger.

I noticed they had Canada Dry in the fridge, so I ordered a bottle (30 CZK).

Unfortunately, it doesn't taste quite the same to me as the Canada Dry ginger ale in the states. It had a slightly saccharin flavor.

Jama had other offerings besides burgers. There were burritos (155 CZK), Czech beef in cream sauce (159 CZK), and ribs (155 CZK).

I saw they started making something called an "orange drop" chimichanga. I'm not sure what that is, but I'm intrigued.

I probably will try the Tex-Mex options some day in the future. The burgers have so much potential, but the puffed up pricing, odd onion slicing, and bad bacon put me off.

They get the big things right.

But to my mind, they got too many of those slight, but devilish details wrong.

Restaurace Jáma
V Jámě 7
Prague 1
Tel. (+420) 224 222 383


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Hospůdka Na Hradbách - Vyšehrad Beer Garden

"Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone. But if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery." Malcolm X

I called V and asked where she wanted to go for dinner. She directed me to a cemetery. Seriously.

To be more precise, she wanted to go the beer garden up at Vyšehrad.

It is very close to the cemetery of Czech heroes like Antonín Dvořák, Karel Čapek, Alfons Mucha, and Bedřich Smetana.

We met near the Congress Center at the Vyšehrad metro station and then walked through Vyšehrad's gates.This ridge is the site of a 10th century fortress that was the original Prague Castle.

We turned at the 11th century Rotunda of St. Martin and climbed the small hill.At the top is the entrance to Hospůdka Na Hradbách, otherwise known as Vyšehrad's beer garden.It was my first time at this garden of eatin'.

There are a number of other outdoor drinking and dining options inside the walls, so don't be confused. I'm sure most are more expensive and touristy.

I'd been many time to the more popular and central Letna beer garden and Riegrovy Sady beer garden.

The Vyšehrad beer garden sits in a large, weedy area at the top of one of the fortress walls. There is a small pub where you can get drinks.On this particular Saturday evening, it seemed like a local crowd with few tourists mixed in. There were a few prime tables and benches with views from the walls.In one direction, you can see part of the serpentine ramparts, the Nusle Bridge and the valley.In the other direction, you can see the Congress Center, where some conventions and concerts are held.After taking in the sights, we walked over and stood in line to order our meal.

The chalkboard menu proclaimed the shack as the "Global Gigi-Migi Gril." They had a small wood-fired grill going under there.Once we got to the counter, it was about 10 minutes before the food was ready.We went inside the small pub and waited on line at the bar to get some drinks. It can get a little chaotic and congested in there.They have most of the major liquors, along with soft drinks and bottled water.

There were a few tables inside. They were occupied by some very drunk young people.At one point, a rather well-endowed blond stood up, peeled her shirt off, and traded it for the one worn by a skinny guy sitting across from her.

I am not so familiar with this ritual outside of football matches, but found it can be rather charming in a pub setting, as well.

Sorry, no pictures.

We went outside and drank half-liters of Gambrinus draft beer (23 CZK) while we waited for the food.

They also have Pilsner Urquell (30 CZK).

There was a wider variety of food choices than the beer garden at Reigrovy Sady.

They offered a pork or chicken skewer (90 CZK), sausage (50-70 CZK), and fish (80-100 CZK).

There were also a number of different grilled vegetables.

I went with the pork neck or krkovice (80 CZK).You can select your own condiments. I chose mustard, onions, and little peppers. On top, I squeezed a bottle of something called "honey marinade" but tasted like cheap Czech teriyaki sauce.

The meat was hot from the grill, still a bit juicy, with a little bone on one side. The pork tasted pretty good, though the sauce I added didn't help so much.

V got the ćevapčići (60 CZK), which are a Balkan specialty. The are little fingers of beef, sometimes with pork mixed in, cooked over a grill. The five pieces came with bread.They may have been OK when they were hot. These were barely warm when we got them and quickly turned cold.

On the side, we had raw onions and ajvar, which is a relish made mostly from red bell peppers, along with some eggplant, garlic, and chilies.

We shared some grilled vegetables. There were partially mashed potatoes with broccoli mixed in (50 CZK), grilled eggplant (40 CZK), and a stuffed mushroom cap (30 CZK). We wanted grilled corn on the cob (40 CZK), but they forgot to make it.It was all barely warm. It tasted OK, but nothing special. The eggplant was my favorite.

For dessert, I had a Czech chocolate treat called a Fidorka.For those not in the know, it's sort of like a round KitKat bar.

When we were finished, we went for a lovely summer's eve walk around the fortress walls.The sun had gone down behind Prague Castle in the distance across the river.A bit closer, I faintly heard something that sounded like electric guitars mixed with the sounds of bagpipes. As we walked further, it turned out my ears did not deceive me.

There was a Celtic music festival going on. It cost 150 CZK to see the last band play, but we decided to watch for free from the wall above for just a couple of songs.After we'd had enough of that, we strolled in front of the Cathedral of Saint Paul and Peter.Then, we passed along the tops of more walls and checked out other views, including a few couples making out. Based on my experience, passionate kissing is a popular activity at these scenic spots, day or night.

When we'd finally seen enough, I laid a hand on V's shoulder.

"What's the best way out?" I asked.

She pointed toward the cemetery.Hospůdka Na Hradbách
Vyšehrad Beer Garden
Prague 2

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