Last week marked the third annivesary of Czech Please -- three years of non-stop blogging about Prague's food and drink scene. In that time, I've covered about 200 restaurants, bars, and dining events. More to come.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Jack Rabbit Slim's (Closed)
** This place has closed and there is another restaurant club in the location
"If my answers frighten you then you should cease asking scary questions." Jules in "Pulp Fiction"
I'm not a big Quentin Tarantino fan, but I do love "Pulp Fiction." The iconic film is filled with style, humor, and some unforgettable scenes. Certainly, John Travolta's Vincent Vega, and Uma Thurman's Mia Wallace twisting away at Jack Rabbit Slim's is one of them.
So, when my friend Flash told me that a restaurant by the same name had opened in Prague, we headed right over, along with Mr. Big.
The place also goes by the name Mazaný Králíček, which could be translated as "Shrewd Bunny Rabbit." That name appeared on their receipt and on the sign out front, along with the hook line, "The next best thing to a time machine!"
I wandered up Hybernská, by Masaryk train station, and entered the lower level. There were pictures of Vincent and Mia, along with a real motorcycle hanging over the bar.
It didn't look much like the movie version of the restaurant, though they did have a Cadillac that had been converted into a couch.
Above the stairs, there were more "Pulp Fiction" photos on the ceiling.
On the second level, another Cadillac, sitting under the harsh, purple-pink lighting, dominated the room.
I was disappointed there was no seating inside the car. It was just for show.
After sitting down, it took quite a while to get the attention of our waitress. Unlike the film, there were no servers dressed as Buddy Holly, Marilyn Monroe, or any other dead celebrity.
The first thing I noticed on the menu was that there were only two beers available: a .25 liter glass of Heineken or a .3 liter glass of Lobkowicz (35 CZK). We had those, and it's good beer.
But since the beers were so small and the service was so slow (the waitress blamed the bartender), we ordered two at a time. No vanilla cokes or $5 Martin and Lewis milkshakes for us.
We decided to share a few appetizers. One was the grilled goat cheese with fresh spinach (106 CZK). This was rather good.
The cheese was warm, tangy, and relatively standard. Grilled vegetables underneath were very tasty. The red, green, and yellow peppers, along with olives, were mixed with a generous amount of smoked pork. Vegetarians beware.
Another starter was the fried jalapenos filled with cheddar (101 CZK).
These five poppers tasted better, but not by much, than the bland ones at Crazy Cow Steakhouse. There, I only got four and they charged 20 CZK more.
Jack Rabbit Slim's menu said the dish came with a tomato salsa, but it was really more like a tomato paste or puree. Kinda strange. There was also sour cream. It all sat on top of tired, boring iceberg lettuce.
For the next round, Mr. Big ordered a Big Kahuna Burger (199 CZK). In the movie, this was deemed by Jules to be "the cornerstone of any nutritious breakfast."
Unfortunately, the ground beef was overcooked and dry. It came with jalapenos and bacon, along with lettuce, tomato and a non-descript white cheese. But those additions didn't help the poorly prepared patty, which should be the cornerstone of any good burger.
There was no "Douglas Sirk" steak on the menu as there is in the movie. I ordered the closest thing, which was the rib eye with peppercorn sauce and green beans (229 CZK).
I wish I had thought to order it "bloody as hell" like Vincent did. It didn't come out "burnt to a crisp," the other option Buddy Holly offers in the movie. But sadly, the meat was well-done and cooked into a leathery state.
The toughness made me think it was Czech beef. The steak was quite large, but that just meant there a lot of chewing to do. The flavor wasn't so special, but the sauce was nice. And the beans were fresh and crunchy.
I decided to get a side of fries (39 CZK).
These were just terrible. They were barely warm when they got to the table. They proceeded quickly to cold and nasty.
Flash got the salmon steak (159 CZK).
While I love salmon sushi, I am not a big fan of the fish when it is cooked. I was pleasantly surprised when I took a bite.
It was fresh, not fishy at all. All too often, salmon dries out when cooked, but this one was moist and tender. I actually enjoyed it. Flash did, too.
He also got a side of grilled vegetables (59 CZK).
He said they were very good.
I got tired of drinking beers, so I decided to try a mojito (125 CZK).
It was a respectable size for a decent price. The cocktail was well-mixed, though on the sweet side.
What to make of this place? On the plus side, the prices were relatively low, and there were a couple of decent dishes.
But I think eating is not or, perhaps, should not be the main point of a visit to Jack Rabbit Slim's.
The tables around us filled up with groups of very young women and muscular men who looked familiar with the club scene.
Flash, who is a Prague nightlife veteran, said the place "looks like Infinity with Cadillacs."
I suppose it could be an OK place to drink and, if you are lucky, meet a member of the opposite sex.
But if you ask me, point blank, whether you should try it yourself, I will only say this.
That's a scary question.
Jack Rabbit Slim's
Hybernská 32
Prague 1
Tel. (+420) 728 200 961
Coming next week: Finally, a restaurant I actually liked. A lot.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Crazy Cow Steakhouse
"My psychiatrist told me I was crazy, and I said I want a second opinion. He said okay, you're ugly too." Rodney DangerfieldI love a good steak, but there aren't all that many I go chasing after in Prague.
Sure, I've had terrific steaks at La Casa Argentina, La Bodeguita del Medio, La Finestra in Cucina, and even Rocky O'Reilly's. But either the atmosphere, the service, or both at these places has put me off making regular visits.
In recent years, we've most often gone for the rib eye at El Barrio de Angel. The service can be spotty, but it's not a bad looking spot in a big, brick-walled cellar. Plus, the smoky, tender beef was reasonably priced.
To make it one of my favorites, the beef should be imported, preferably from South America. And it should have a good char on it, usually from a flame grill.
I'd heard reports over the years that Crazy Cow Steakhouse near Old Town Square did great steaks.
I finally got around to checking it out for myself.V and I trudged in on a snowy weekend afternoon. We sat in the small, brightly lit street-level dining area.
There's a hodgepodge of North and South Americana kitsch on the walls, but it was still lacking, atmosphere-wise.The restaurant has a bigger and more appealing dining room upstairs, but we didn't see that until later in the meal.
I ordered a half-liter of Budvar (49 CZK). It tasted fine. V had a .2 liter glass of Moravian red wine (50 CZK).
They served Bonaqua sparkling water in a tiny .25 liter bottle with a big price (39 CZK).Aside from squeezing out extra profit, I've never understood why any restaurant would serve this boring stuff instead of Mattoni, which comes in .33 liter bottles.
V got the 300 gram rib eye with fried onions (360 CZK).
You should note that the on-line menu prices were not up to date as I write this.Side items were extra, but the onions with it were great -- sweet and crunchy. We didn't really care for the butter on top or the shredded, pickled cabbage on the side.
However, the meat was the star. The delicious beef was tender, juicy, and smoky.
It just needed an extra shot of salt, and then everything was right with this beef.V went so far as to say that she thought it was better than her favorite steak at El Barrio de Angel. I took a bite and thought they were at least equally good. They are close to the same price.
I decided to try the Crazy Cow burger. It's normally 139 CZK, but it was just 99 CZK as a lunch special.
This burger had potential, but they killed it.The quality of the meat itself was good. But it was salty, over-seasoned, and overcooked. I don't like raw red and green peppers on my burgers, but those were easily removed.
I'm not a big mustard on burgers fan, and unfortunately, that was not possible to take off. The top of the bun was soaked in a watery red sauce. The parts of the bread that weren't waterlogged were so dry that they cracked apart in my hands.
I wasn't in the mood for fries, so I ordered an appetizer of fried jalapenos filled with cheddar as a side dish.
I was disappointed that I received only four of them for the price of 120 CZK. And these pickled peppers were surprisingly bland. They were not made in-house.I've seen freezer bags of identical fried peppers at Makro, and you can get a plate of four of the same at a restaurant across the street for 90 CZK.
I decided to return a week later with my friend, Flash. We wanted to eat upstairs in the nicer room, but I was told it was completely booked for a party.
On this visit, I got a half-liter bottle of Budvar dark beer (49 CZK). I actually preferred its rich caramel flavor to the draft lager.
Flash got the Sante Fe chicken breast (165 CZK). On the side, he had the farmers potatoes, which were steak fries absolutely smothered in bacon, onion, and garlic (59 CZK).
The problem here was that neither of us could figure out what made this chicken "Sante Fe."There wasn't much discernable seasoning. It did pick up some nice flavor from the grill. But unfortunately, the meat dried out on there. It came with vegetables like broccoli, corn, and carrots that looked like they came from a freezer bag. They did not complement the chicken in any way.
I ordered the 200 gram Desperado steak (229 CZK). The Argentinian beef rested on a tangy mix of red beans, garlic, onions, chili peppers, and ketchup.
It may look quite small, but the meat was dense and rich. It was quite filling. This beef was not as tender as the rib eye, but it was well-seasoned, the flavor was all there, and it was perfectly cooked.The steak fries were hot and crunchy on the outside, while light and fluffy inside. They put a massive pile of them on the plate. I couldn't finish them all.
During our beef-centered discussion, Flash told me that the steaks at Kozička down the street are excellent. I had a bite of a friend's later in the evening.
It was juicy and peppery, but the chewy, overcooked meat didn't thrill me. I wouldn't rate it so highly.However, I can recommend Potrafena Husa's flank steak (247 CZK), which I had the other day. It is a new item on the menu at the Vinohradska restaurant.
Getting back to Crazy Cow, the bill for the first visit was 767 CZK. The tab for the second trip was 600 CZK.
For some reason, when the two Americans dined together, a stamp was added to the bottom of the receipt and a 10 percent service charge was added. This did not happen when one of the diners was Czech.
My assessment: Crazy Cow Steakhouse serves great steaks at good prices.It's a decent option if you are in the tourist center and craving quality beef, fried potatoes, and a beer.
If you want a second opinion, I'll tell you it's pretty ugly if you want something else.
Crazy Cow Steakhouse
Dlouhá 8
Prague 1
Tel. (+420) 222 310 018
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