Argument Restaurant-Cafe

"I argue very well. Ask any of my remaining friends." Dave Barry

What made me want to try Argument?

Two things: I liked the name, and I heard they had really nice lamb chops. Sometimes, that's all it takes.

We went for an early dinner.The restaurant was only about a five minute walk from the Hradčanská metro station.

The interior reminded me of my grandmother's place. That was actually a good thing.My grandmother was a very stylish, Dutch-born woman, who surrounded herself with modern art, bright colors, and clean lines.

The banquettes looked just like my Oma's couches. She liked orange chairs, too, but maybe that's a Dutch thing.I felt very at home in this restaurant. That's said, this style can be polarizing. V thought the fabrics were too bright and rough.

The waitress brought out bread. They charge 20 CZK for that. It was cold baguette slices, no butter or olive oil.

For a starter, I had the tuna tartare (160 CZK). It was shaped into a cube and was a generous amount for the price.There were bits of avocado mixed in, but unfortunately, they were not ripe. The tuna itself was fairly salty and didn't need the extra soy sauce on the side.

I didn't like it so much at the beginning. But then I discovered that the rucola underneath had a very sweet dressing. When the salad and tuna were combined on the fork, the flavor balanced out, and I enjoyed it.

V had the Burgundy snails (135 CZK). Six of them were covered with plenty of butter and garlic.The snails themselves were OK, but didn't impress. They had more of that garden flavor than those you'd find at Cafe Savoy, her favorite snail source.

I had a .3 liter glass of Pilsner Urquell (38 CZK each).V had a couple of Mattoni mineral waters (35 CZK) and a shot of Jägermeister (55 CZK).

Yeah, I thought it was an odd choice, but she said she had a taste for it. To me, it tastes like medicine.

For a main course, I gave V the honor of ordering the lamb chops in a honey crust (355 CZK). They were all I'd hoped and dreamed.There were two double chops and one triple on the plate. They were cooked perfectly as requested, medium rare. They were oh so tender.

The delicate lamb sat on a lovely sauce that tasted of plums and wine, but we weren't exactly sure of its composition. We wished there was more sauce. We wiped the plate clean.

There was also rucola with cherry tomatoes. Even the crust was just right.I can easily imagine a big name restaurant in the center charging double the price.

I was in the mood for a steak. The menu has them divided by tenderloin versions, called svíčková, or a more ordinary cut called roštěná.

I went for the beef tenderloin, topped with bacon, and a thyme demi-glace. (360 CZK).There was grilled corn on the side.

I got a separate order of fries to go with it (45 CZK).I asked for some ketchup and was surprised when they told me they had none in the restaurant.

I was even more surprised when I tasted the house-made frites and discovered they were the best I'd had in a long time. They were terrific all by themselves, which is pretty rare in my book.

However, the steak itself was disappointing. It wasn't bad, just very unremarkable. It wasn't tough, but not too tender. They did cook it to my requested medium-rare.There was no stand out flavor. The demi-glace was dominated by too much salt, with the other flavors hiding too far in the background.

I'm sorry to invoke Cafe Savoy again, but they used to do a demi-glace for their entrecote that inspired love in my heart. They don't make it anymore, and this one didn't come close to requiting that lost love.

The bacon on top was a total disaster. I'm not sure how they cooked it, but it had the consistency of plastic. It was like eating a smoked credit card.

On the plus side, the grilled corn was good. We enjoyed passing it back and forth to nibble on the niblets.

We ordered the chocolate fondant for dessert (95 CZK).It was pretty average and could have used a more intense chocolate.

Don't get me wrong -- even an average fondant is still enjoyable for me. But it didn't impress like the one at Buddha Bar or Maze (R.I.P.).

I should add that the menu says it comes with ice cream, the receipt mentions ice cream, but when you examine the photo, you will not see ice cream. We weren't in a complaining mood, so we let it slide.

The bill came to 1371 CZK. Not a cheap dinner. And for that money, I wouldn't go out of my way to go back for most of it.

However, I'm the type of person who can fall in love with one dish, become obsessed with it, and have to go back just for that.

And that's what those little lamb chops have done to me.

I'd argue, as I often do about restaurants, that Argument is worth trying just for those alone.

I'd even recommend them to my remaining friends.

Argument Restaurant-Cafe
Bubenečská 19
Prague 6
Tel. (+420) 220 510 427

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Červená Tabulka

"Competition is a sin." John D. Rockefeller

We always have a little competition when we go out to eat. Whoever orders the best dish in each course, wins.

The prize is obvious, though we do end up sharing most dishes. Of course, there are bragging rights. Don't underestimate the importance of those.

V will readily admit, I usually win. I have a good eye for reading between the lines of menu descriptions, and a good sense for what a restaurant's strengths might be.

But not always.

The other night, we took our moveable contest to Červená Tabulka. After some debate with Czech speakers, I'll go with translating that as the Red Slate (if you have a better suggestion, feel free to let me know).

I'd heard a few recommendations for the restaurant over the years.It's at the end of a street between Náměstí Republky and Florence.

The restaurant has a cozy courtyard for outdoor dining.It was a warm summer evening, so we decided to eat out there. Only a couple of other tables were occupied.The restaurant's interior didn't grab me so much.The chrome-backed chairs and the murals on the walls were not so appealing. The design felt somewhat confused.We received a bread basket and butter mixed with leeks (they could have been chives). The bread was a bit hard, but the bread sticks were nice.The waiter brought out an amuse bouche -- a very small cup of lobster bisque.It was excellent. Very creamy, it was the most lobster-like version I can remember.

For the first course, I had the scallops marinated in red beet juice with a light field salad and orange-dill sauce (190 CZK).The very thinly-sliced, raw scallops with the red accents certainly were pretty on the plate. The salad had rucola and mache. The dressing, pooled at the bottom of the bowl, was sweet and tart and the dill was assertive.

I do wish the scallops made more of statement besides good looks. The texture and freshness were fine, yet they didn't add much flavor. Scallops are not cheap, but I judged it a rather expensive and insubstantial salad.

V ordered the "sea fruit" selection (220 CZK). It consisted of grilled octopus, a scallop, squid with fish sauce, and vegetables. The scallop was mentioned in the Czech menu, but not in the English version.The octopus and squid were very tender on the inside and just lightly chewy on the outside. They were very different from the tough, but tasty grilled ones we had recently in Greece. The scallop was fine.

There were carrots and celery root that had absorbed some wonderful flavors.

The sauce was amazing. Thick and creamy. I asked the waiter what was in it, but unfortunately, his description was more comical than useful. Something about seafood being cooked in the pan and saving the juices. That's about all I could understand.

But, no question, V won Round 1.

For drinks, I had a couple of Budvars (40 CZK each).

V had four glasses of Sauvignon (55 CZK). There aren't many wines by the glass and the wine list is on the expensive side. She had only planned on three glasses, but the waiter brought a fourth by mistake. He was going to take it back, but told him not to worry about it.

We also had three bottles of Mattoni sparkling water (35 CZK each).

There was a second amuse bouche between the courses.It was a sorbet made with mint, lemon, possibly lime, and mint. Very refreshing. A nice palate cleanser.

For a main course, I decided on the confit of beef sirloin with potato purée and baby carrot (420 CZK).The beef had been cooked long and slow, like a ragout. It was reminiscent of a hearty stew. The potatoes were just right, and the carrots had a nice little crunch.

It was OK. I'm sure a fair amount of effort went into making it. But the very filling dish did taste like rather ordinary comfort food, and I didn't feel it was worth the big price.

V went for the lamb saddle with smoked Grenaille potatoes, tomatoes, and capers with mustard sauce (420 CZK).It was terrific and a very generous serving, with six bones. At many top end restaurants these days, you'd get less lamb for the money. The meat was well-seasoned, very tender, and delicious.

The cream-based mustard sauce worked well. The small tomatoes were cooked to softness.

The potatoes had an intense, smoky flavor. They tasted quite similar to some hickory-smoked barbecue sauce I brought over from the USA (I'm not sure how they achieved that flavor).

The total bill was a fairly steep 1655 CZK. I'd go back for some of the dishes. Just not mine.

Which probably tells you how I did in Round 2.

No contest. I lost.

V had a very big smile. She is so competitive, it reminded me of what Lao Tzu once said about relationships:

"Marriage is three parts love and seven parts forgiveness of sins."

Červená Tabulka
Lodecká 4
Prague 1
Tel. (+420) 224 810 401


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U malé velryby (Little Whale) - Revisited

"If you've heard this story before, don't stop me, because I'd like to hear it again." Groucho Marx

When I last wrote a post about U malé velryby (Little Whale), I told the story of my fun surprise birthday party there.We took over the little place that night and really enjoyed ourselves.

We've been back several times since. But we always missed the Wednesday seafood specials that Chef Jason was always telling us about.

Until now.

We grabbed a table outside on Maltézské náměstí. It's a peaceful square near the tourist center, not far from the Charles Bridge. We enjoyed sitting there on a warm summer evening after work.In fact, we even had some special entertainment. An opera singer was rehearsing "Carmen" next to an open window across the square from us. Outdoor diners on the square broke out into applause after she finished her song.

The special seafood dishes were offered as a degustation menu with six items for 720 CZK.

V ordered that. I mentioned that some of the food sounded good, but I didn't want to order the whole menu. I wasn't feeling so hungry.

The chef was very flexible and said I could order anything à la carte. I had three dishes for just 350 CZK, but I did taste everything V had.

The first was grilled mussels with garlic bread crumbs.I was a little concerned that it was not exactly mussel season, but they were fine.

The breadcrumbs were buttery, crunchy goodness. I could eat a bowl of just that stuff. Yum.

Next came prawns with a mango chili salad. This was my favorite.We'd made something similar at home, frying angel hair rice noodles around the shrimp. The mango, mixed with green onion, cherry tomatoes, and ginger, was a great match up.

For a third course, there was marinated Scottish salmon with creme fraiche and pickled cucumber.This was fresh fish, cooked by the acid of lemon, along with some of the pickle juice.

The pickles were a bit of an odd combination, but I still enjoyed it.

Then, we had what was billed as the lobster spaghetti. The sauce had a significant amount of butter in it. But the chef had almost run out of lobster.

So, he put a little lobster meat in the dish, along with a whole crab claw. Very generous of him.The shells were cracked in the kitchen before they came to the table.

Still, we had trouble getting all the meat out, so the chef brought out a big mallet for us to wield. I smashed those suckers open on the hard iron outdoor table.

It was a noisy, messy scene, but we haven't had that much delicious fresh crab meat in a long time.

The fifth course was scallops over wilted spinach with orange and Pernod sauce. This was V's favorite. She says this restaurant makes the best scallops she's had in Prague.They are perfectly seared, with a hint of char from the grill, yet very lightly cooked, maintaining the most delicate texture. She also liked the greens it rested upon.

For dessert, there was a frozen nougat parfait. Chef Jason described it as a semifreddo, something halfway between ice cream and a mousse.It was made with cream, egg yolks, sugar, walnuts, almonds, candied cherries, all whipped up with a shot of Cointreau. There were fresh-picked berries from a garden sprinkled on top. We loved it.

Little Whale is not perfect -- it's had some issues with service and consistency in the past. But that appeared to be on the mend, based on our last visit.

It was a very nice meal, very different from the usual fare, and like a good story, it was something I wouldn't mind repeating again.

U malé velryby (Little Whale)
Maltézské náměstí 15
Prague 1
Tel. (+420) 257 214 703


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Valleta (Closed)

*News update: Valleta has closed. The space has been taken over by an Italian restaurant, Osteria da Clara. You can read about my visit here.

"Sometimes I'm so sweet, even I can't stand it."
-Julie Andrews

Valleta is a sweet little spot in Vršovice, tucked into a side street on the Vinohrady border.

A sweet, gray-haired Czech man waits on the tables.

The prices are pretty sweet.

The restaurant serves cuisine that is international, adventurous, original, and, yes, on the sweet side.

The dishes from the old menu there used to be even sweeter, which was why we weren't regulars. We live close by. But from the beginning, Valleta had its fans.

The Prague Post's old restaurant critic gave Valleta a very good review a few years back. He even recommended in a later, cleverly titled CNN.com travel article.

The restaurant has a new menu these days, and while there were still some cloying aspects, there was also more balance. Not everything worked with every dish, but almost all had something good about them.

The chef is Filip Blažek, who learned his advanced skills while working in Barcelona. My understanding is that his dad is the waiter and front-of-house man.

The dining room changed since our last visit, with more stylish touches added to the single-room dining area. It is not a big place, with just a few tables.

I started with the marinated lamb kebab skewer with goat cheese timbal and pistachios (95 CZK). The lamb meat was ground up, mixed with spices, and cooked on wooden sticks.The lamb was quite flavorful. It was well-salted, not sweet. The fried onions were the sweet part, along with a piece of fresh pineapple and a slice of pear were on the side.

The goat cheese tasted similar to feta -- which can be made with goat's mile, but was not very goat-like. And it was very salty. The cheese was served between slices of eggplant. I didn't really see or taste the pistachios.

V had the "Oriental Bangkok" prawns with mango-sesame salad and an oriental mustard sauce (115 CZK). There were three decent-sized prawns, which seemed a fair for the price. They were well-prepared and had good flavor.The dish came with a mound of thinly sliced sweet/sour mango in the center, topped by rucola. Very nice.

I think I had the winner of the main courses: Grilled veal slices with sun-dried tomato, melted mozzarella, and avocado tempura in an orange-basil sauce (200 CZK).The veal was very fresh and very tender. It was well-seasoned. Sun-dried tomatoes aren't the most gourmet cooking ingredient, but I really like the sour bursts of flavor they bring.

The avocado tempura was something I hadn't seen before. It wasn't a classic tempura batter and they were a little greasy, but I liked it nonetheless.

Side orders are extra. I had the grilled triangle of crepes and mushrooms with fresh sage (45 CZK). They were OK, but really more like spongy cake slices than crepes.

I love fresh sage, and it went very well with the veal. The basil in the veal's sauce stayed in the background.

V ordered a special: A Moroccan tagine of Nile perch in a sesame-olive sauce with grilled fennel and lemon zest (190 CZK). She got the recommended side of cous cous with vegetables and spices (35 CZK).She said it was pretty good, but didn't love it. The sweet water perch was a little too fishy tasting for me.

There were some fried greens on top, but she couldn't figure out exactly what they were. We both thought the cous cous was good.

No menu is available on the Internet so I'll tell you a few other offerings. There is a wine-braised lamb shank (225 CZK), duck leg tagine with grilled pear and orange zest (180 CZK), duck breast with apple-fig chutney (230 CZK), and rabbit in a mustard sauce (220 CZK).

On the sea-side of the menu, there is butterfish in a seaweed sour cream sauce (220 CZK), honey-cumin glazed salmon (190 CZK), sea bass fillet over fennel puree and orange sauce (215 CZK), and a catfish cake with crab meat spring roll (180 CZK).

Other side dishes include risotto with caramelized ginger (45 CZK), grilled polenta with fresh basil (45 CZK), and roasted potatoes with garlic and cherry tomatoes (35 CZK).

With both decided to have dessert, which is unusual. Usually, we just share one. I had the chocolate brownie with ginger and banana in a spicy, white-chocolate soup, served with strawberry ice cream (90 CZK).It was interesting. There was just a little spice that built into a pleasant heat. But the flavor of chocolate was not strong enough for my taste. The ice cream was nothing special and the color was a little too neon.

V got the frozen parfait of poppy seeds with sour cherries (85 CZK). This is not something I'd order. But V loved it. She said it reminded her of a dessert from her youth.There were no cherries so there was an unannounced substitute of what I believe were marinated apricots on the side (I didn't taste them).

At the end of the meal, we decided that we liked the current menu enough to come back and try more of it. But take that with a grain of salt.

The location, a short walk from home, certainly is a big positive factor for us. The cuisine is creative, but its sugary sides might not appeal to everyone.

But if you love la dolce vita and want try a different take on haute cuisine, the bill at Valleta won't leave a sour taste in your mouth.

Valleta
Mexická 7
Prague 10–Vršovice
Tel. (+420) 271 726 548

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Restaurant U Emy Destinnové

"Being in therapy is great. I spend an hour just talking about myself. It's kinda like being the guy on a date."

Caroline Rhea, actress

For a comment like this to be funny, it has to be a widely-shared, common experience that resonates with an audience.

But everybody knows that your abilities to show curiosity, listen, and talk briefly but entertainingly about yourself are key to a good dinner date.

Right?

And with all due respect to Ms. Rhea, these truths are self-evident for both men and women.

In addition, everybody knows that another important factor is where you decide to eat.

The newly revamped Restaurant U Emy Destinnové, while not perfect, is the kind of place I'd recommend for an intimate tête-à-tête over a meal.

It's walkable from Wenceslas Square, in a space below street level and used to be known as JB Club. You'll see the small bar area when you first walk in. It is not a big place.
The lighting is kept very low -- so low that it is hard to read the menus -- so flash photography doesn't do much justice to the atmosphere.In the back area of the dining room, you can have your meal on cozy couches and arm chairs, should you so desire.I can't say we loved the style of the coverings on close inspection, but it was really dark and I think few people but me would notice.

In the rest of the dining room and in a smaller back room, there are conventional wooden chairs and some nice touches like a grandfather clock.

One of the big attractions during winter is a real, well-stoked, working fireplace in the middle of the room. We sat right in front of the flames. I was the closest and did get a little too warm, but V loved it.

The website advertised live piano music on Wednesday and Thursday nights, but we were there on a Friday and their player was there, tickling the keys.

He played jazzy versions of "The Girl From Ipanema," "I Just Called to Say I Love You," and the theme from "Forrest Gump."

Whether you find this type of music appealing is a consideration, but I will say that V has a very soft spot in her heart for "Forrest Gump," so you never know what might work for you.

When I first read the menu on the internet, a number of items caught my attention, as well as the fact that the chef is American. The cuisine is basic international. Some rave reviews on Internet discussion boards helped convince me to give the restaurant a try.

We started with grilled eggplant stuffed with roasted peppers and goat cheese over tomato butter (95 CZK). We both liked this, especially the price.The warm goat cheese oozes out onto the plate and can be mixed with pesto and balsamic syrup that is drizzled there. The dish is topped with a sprig of basil. Everything on the place works well together.

The small Caesar salad (75 CZK) worked less well. It was too lightly dressed -- I could hardly taste the dressing at all. What I could taste of it didn't seem like a classic Caesar dressing to me.I thought the Romaine lettuce leaves were torn into pieces that were too small.

I like the big pieces of shaved Parmesan. The croutons were nice, though -- served warm and with a strong anchovy flavor.

For a main course, V got the pork tenderloin with a horseradish crust and apples under a Gorgonzola sauce (215 CZK). This was a winner.The pork tenderloin was very tender and the crust was nice and crunch. Neither of us could detect any horseradish flavor in it, but we still liked it. The Gorgonzola sauce was creamy, salty, delicious, and comforting and the sweet, fresh apples were a nice counterpoint.

V got a side order of very fresh green asparagus (60 CZK). There was sliced garlic on top. It went well with the dish.

Presentation could have been better -- it all tasted better than it looked. The non-headlining salad dominated the plate.

I ordered the black sesame crusted tuna served with wasabi pesto and ginger soy vinaigrette (330 CZK). For a side, I had the rosemary potatoes (40 CZK).I liked the tuna, but didn't love it. My reason for this requires some explanation.

When I order tuna, I only like it very rare. I've had problems with getting my tuna seared rare almost every time I've ordered it in Prague. Even at Kampa Park.

So, I went through my routine with the waiter, telling him I wanted it "very rare" using the Czech word for red, and saying I wanted it "like sushi."

When it came out of the kitchen, the tuna was cooked almost all the way through. Around the edges, it was all white, but toward the middle, it was pink, not red.

It was a fairly small piece of tuna and also pretty thin, so cooking it rare would require just the briefest of searing.

I thought about sending it back, as I did at Kampa Park. But I had a taste and it was still pretty good. I certainly would have enjoyed it more if it had been done the way I liked, but the sesame and soy flavors were very nicely balanced and made up for a sin or two.

I do like wasabi very much and could see it drizzled on top, but couldn't taste much of it.

For dessert, I had a special of the day, what they called a "brownie." It was not a brownie in any classical sense. It was a nice, crunchy, chewy, small chocolate dessert, around 100 CZK, I think.

The "brownie" was chock full of walnuts. I liked it, but thought it was missing something. It might have been better if served warm instead of cold of perhaps with a little vanilla ice cream.

V got raspberry Port wine sorbet (99 CZK). It was a decent raspberry sorbet, but also nothing special. We really couldn't taste the Port wine at all.

V had a few glasses of Moranian wine (55 CZK each) and I had some .3 liter glasses of Pilsner Urquell (35 CZK each). We also had a few bottles of Mattoni sparkling water (40 CZK).

The final bill was around 1200 CZK, which we thought was a good deal considering we both had three courses and a few drinks. With a lot of main course in the 200-300 CZK range, the restaurant was quite a bargain compared with a lot of similar offerings around town.

Some dishes were better than others, but I would like to go back and try a few other items on the menu.

I'd say Restaurant U Emy Destinnové would be a good option for Valentine's Day, which is just around the corner.

Since I introduced her to this new place, V wanted to return the favor.

She took me down the street for a shot of Becherovka at a smoky neighborhood pub called Uterus.

If you can think of a more romantic end to a date, I'd like to know.

Restaurant U Emy Destinnové
Kateřinská 7
Prague 2
Tel. (+420) 224 918 425


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