Kalina

"To make a goal of comfort or happiness has never appealed to me." Albert Einstein

One of the things that gets me to try a new restaurant is when it's got some buzz.

But what is buzz and how do you get it?

For me, Prague feels like a small town when it comes to serious media coverage of restaurants. There are only two people writing regularly about restaurants in English, which I think is hardly befitting of an up and coming European capital.

Of course, there are more critics writing in Czech, and I follow some of those. But when it comes to serious write-ups, it still doesn't feel like there are enough out there. Not for me, at least.

So, it's a low threshold, but when I see raves from at least two friends or media sources I trust, I consider that buzz.

Kalina, a relatively new restaurant a few steps from Old Town Square, has got some buzz.The primarily French restaurant is in an interesting space divided into small sections with vaulted ceilings. As you enter, you see a small bar and the chalkboard with the daily specials. It looks a bit cramped.There's another small front section on the other side of a wall. Space is even tighter in there.Diners sit almost elbow to elbow. That's where I sat on both visits. There was no smoking.

Their back dining room feels just a little more spacious.I thought it interesting that I did not hear any music played in the restaurant.

After sitting down, I declined the waiter's offer of an apéritif or glass of champagne. A glance at the wine list confirmed another piece of news that traveled fast: the vast majority of their wines are over 1000 CZK. My friend D and I decided to have just a glass.

D tried the 2011 Jean Claude Bessin Chablis Vieilles Vignes (165 CZK). It was cool, light, with nice balance. It met our expectations.I had the 2009 Lucien Crochet Sancerre Rouge (180 CZK). We both thought it too acidic for our tastes. The pour for their wines by the glass is just .125 liter. We also had a .75 liter bottle of Badoit mineral water.

The waiter brought a bread basket with rather ordinary French baguette slices and Czech rye bread.Then there was an amuse bouche. It was smoked salmon and crème fraîche wrapped in a parsley pancake with Parmesan twists on the side.They were nice little bites, but nothing too eye-opening.

For a starter, D got the Brittany blue lobster with green peas, lemon cream, and caviar (490 CZK). It wasn't very large, but we found it very enjoyable.The lobster was properly cooked and went well with the citrus notes underneath. What we both found intriguing was the creamy block of green pea purée. When combined with the fresh peas on top, the essence of the flavor and the texture was something different and special. It was slightly on the salty side for me.

I had the lightly smoked veal tartar with 63° egg (250 CZK).The presentation was impressive, with the dish coming out under glass filled with smoke. The egg, which was just the yolk, was cooked at 63° Celcius, which allows it to hold its form and yet not solidify at all. A touch of the fork sends the yolk running into the veal.

There was a hint of spicy heat in there, with salt and pepper bringing up the flavor of the raw meat. The meat was roughly chopped, which I like. My only critique here is that I expected the raw veal to be more tender. It comes with a few slices of toasted bread on the side.My main course was the grilled duck breast (290 CZK). This was pretty much perfect.I moved it slightly to reveal the pinkness of the medium rare preparation. The delightfully crisp skin had a thin layer of delicious fat underneath. That gave way to the tender breast meat. The red wine sauce was top notch. Lightly sweet, the flavor of the fermented grapes came through, clear and true.

I wanted to try the mashed potatoes à la Joël Robuchon, but the waiter steered me toward the green beans (80 CZK).They were fresh, bright, and snappy. And there was significant amount of liquefied garlic butter in that pot. It might be too much for some.

D had the daily special: wild turbot with grilled artichoke. We agreed that this, top to bottom, was true excellence. The white, flaky filet was one of the best tasting and expertly prepared pieces of fish I've had in a long time. The artichoke was the real, fresh deal. It was topped with "black mushrooms" and sat on diced new potatoes in a shallow pool of mushroom butter.

The whole thing was a luxurious, but be aware, so was the price. I hadn't checked the chalkboard, but at the end of the meal, I saw that this piece of pleasure checked in at 725 CZK.

We both went for dessert. D ordered the strawberry and asparagus strudel (180 CZK). Yes, asparagus.It was served warm with lemon whipped cream on the side. D liked it, but I can't say I did. I found the crust a little dry and chewy. I didn't really notice the taste of the asparagus when everything was mixed together on the fork. But when I pulled a piece out and had it with just the strawberry, the flavors clashed too much for me.

I got the griottes au chocolat (210 CZK).In simple terms, this was like a dark-chocolate coated chocolate mousse with wild cherries in the center, sitting on a thin chocolate cake on top of more wild cherries. In simpler terms, I liked it. Desserts are offered with pairings of different spirits. For a price, of course.

The bill for this meal with just two small glasses of wine was 2840 CZK before tip. I had seen the menu before I went, and I had figured the dinner would be in the 2000 CZK range, so it sailed above my estimate. Service was generally efficient and friendly. There was one small mix up when we ordered different glasses of wine and the waiter thought we wanted two glasses of each in separate courses.

I liked the restaurant enough that I wanted to come back for a second visit with my friend Z. The amuse bouche and bread were pretty much the same.

We both had a glass of 2011 Prieure de Montezargues Tavel Rosé (140 CZK each).The wine was light, refreshing, with enough color and character to keep it interesting.

For a starter this time, Z had the asparagus soup (160 CZK). Again, the presentation was something special. The bowl was presented with just diced asparagus at the bottom, along with a 63° egg yolk in the center.Then, the waiter poured pitchers of green and white asparagus soup on each side, creating a bi-colored effect. The silky smooth soup was perfectly balanced with the rich yolk and bursting bites of asparagus. It tasted as good as it looked.

I went for the duck foie gras "terrine," which really looked more like a torchon (390 CZK). The plate was decorated with three types of rhubarb -- pureed, jellied, and chopped.It was a fine, sweet, and tangy complement to the buttery liver. It came with a toasted slice of quality brioche on the side. As a main course, I selected the braised lamb shoulder cooked in its own juices (280 CZK).It was competently done, just slightly fatty, with plenty of lamb flavor in the meat and the salty gravy. By itself, it was not bad, but nothing to write home about.

This time, I got the potato purée on the side. It could not be more rich, buttery, and delicious.When mixed with the lamb, it elevated the dish to a higher, more decadent level. I've never had better.

Z took another special, the red snapper (695 CZK).This was served over a stewed tomato sauce and a grilled polenta that, despite the load it carried, retained both its crisp exterior and its smooth interior. On top of the fresh and flavorful fish, there was grilled artichokes and thinly sliced candied lemon. It added up to a successfully creative combination. I loved it.

We were both full, so we shared a dish of apricot sorbet (90 CZK).The intense sweet and sour flavors of the fruit made for a highly recommended way to end a meal. Refreshing.

The bill for this meal was 2110 CZK without tip. Again the service was good except for another minor wine snafu when we ordered glasses of rosé and the waiter thought we wanted rosé champagne. Note that the menu changes regularly, so many of the dishes we tried may not be on offer when you visit.

I have to say, I'm very conflicted in my feelings about this restaurant.There are a number off issues that hold me back from a full-throated rave.

They are proud of the quality of their wines on offer, but there were no full-size bottles in the 500 CZK range. I think it's a missed opportunity. I think they'd sell more to people who'd rather spend a little less, while still hoping for something drinkable.

The restaurant was too warm. We were removing all the clothing we could while remaining respectable and still didn't feel comfortable.

I'm torn about their fish specials. If I'd seen the price in advance the first time, I might not have ordered it. But I enjoyed both of them greatly, so I can't say I have regrets. I do wish it wasn't such a splurge.

I've rationalized that those price points are not unheard of in New York, Paris, and even a few other places in Prague. There are some good values on the menu, considering the quality, but you have to be really careful how and what you order to keep your tab out of the stratosphere.

Above all -- and there is not much they can do about this -- most tables were uncomfortably close together. Saying we were cheek by jowl could almost be taken literally. On a Thursday, the place was full. On Saturday night, it was about half full, but we still had people almost in our laps.

During the first meal, I was having a personal conversation while praying that the tourists at the next table didn't speak English too well. On the second visit, I was talking about the ins and outs of writing about restaurants and hoping the people at the next table were tourists. They weren't.

"Are you the Czech Please person," the friendly woman asked at the end of the meal.

"Yes," I confessed, my poker face eluding me.

Luckily, she was very gracious. Considering some hate mail I've gotten, it could have turned out much worse.

My advice is this: if you love good food prepared by a talented chef, give it a try. Maybe I was unlucky with my table. You might find the restaurant more comfortable than I did.

If so, it would be well worth your time and, depending on how much you earn, your money.

Kalina
Dlouhá 12
Prague 1 - Old Town
Tel. (+420) 222 317 715

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Bresto Cafe & Wine Bar

"Prejudice is a great time saver. You can form opinions without having to get the facts." E.B. White

Sometimes, I judge a book by its cover. Or a restaurant by its front room.

Sometimes, I learn that this is not always a good thing to do.

I'd gotten a couple of recommendations about Bresto Cafe & Wine Bar over the last year. But when I glanced through the front window a long while back, it turned me off. I saw tables in a small bar area filled with members of the cell phone and cigarette set puffing away.

Not my kind of place, I thought. I didn't feel the urge to try it.

But I kept hearing positive comments about the French and Italian menu. I finally broke down, looked past my preconceived notions, and made my way to the restaurant on Štěpánská, not far from Wenceslas Square.The front room was not so smoky this time.I made my way to the larger non-smoking area in the back and was more impressed. I liked the modern, cheerful, artfully lit space.There was a cool, lounge-like area further back, with walls artistically paneled with wood from wine crates.Jersey Girl met me at the restaurant for dinner. She's a foodie, a great cook, and an admittedly tough critic. True to form, she quickly made a cutting comment about the tiny paper napkins on the table.

Since Bresto is a wine bar with oeno-inspired decor, she suggested we should have a bottle. I agreed.They have an extensive list with moderately priced French, Italian, Czech and other national offerings.

She ordered the Estampa Riserva Syrah-Cabernet (390 CZK).We thought it was great for the price. We also shared a bottle of San Benedetto sparkling water (90 CZK).

The bread basket contained fresh French baguette slices.There was a specific charge of 25 CZK for it on the bill.

I started with the duck foie gras accompanied by Port wine reduction and toasted Brioche (195 CZK).The liver was silky smooth and delicious. I especially liked the sweet, tart, and syrupy sauce. The brioche was the real deal, but unfortunately, it was dried out and crumbly.

Jersey Girl tried out their Caprese salad (145 CZK).She liked it, but thought the mozzarella di bufala could have been creamier. I thought it was perfectly fine.

She liked that the tomatoes were sliced so thin, making them easier to eat. I appreciated the balsamic reduction and the generous amount of chopped basil on top. I love basil and in many versions, you only get a leaf or two.

For a main course, she ordered a special of Penne Arrabbiata (159 CZK).She said she rarely finds any pasta she thinks is cooked correctly in Prague, and she proclaimed this one as perfectly al dente. We both also savored the garlicky fresh tomato sauce with a few lightly cooked cherry tomatoes. Simple but highly effective.

Bavette or flank steak is one of my favorites, so I had that (295 CZK).It was tender and delicious, with perfect levels of salt, pepper, and pan flavors.

I asked for medium rare. I'd say it was on the rare side, but the beef was of such quality, I was actually glad.It came with lovely roasted Grenaille potatoes and a creamy, dreamy pepper sauce. It was among the creamiest and most delicious I've had.

For dessert, I had the chocolate moelleux, also known as a fondant (135 CZK).It was a good, rich iteration with decent vanilla ice cream.With coffee, the bill came to 1471 CZK before tip. Not bad considering it included a bottle of wine.

We both liked our dinner so much that we decided to return the following week with Jersey Girl's husband, the English Patient.We shared a few .4 liter glasses of Pilsner Urquell (39 CZK) to start things off.JG's starter of grilled eggplant with sheep cheese (129 CZK) was pretty good.The thin-sliced aubergine was topped with a rich tomato sauce and some plump olives. The warm, creamy cheese was the star, with the eggplant and sauce fading into the background.

I sampled the French onion soup (45 CZK). This was my first real disappointment.I expected the usual brown, aromatic broth flavored with wine and caramelized onions. This version seemed more Czech to me. I found it bland and boring, and JG agreed.

JG had the La Riviera Salad (159 CZK). It came with grilled goat cheese, walnuts, and roasted cherry tomatoes with honey-balsamic dressing.JG complained that it was underdressed, but I thought it was fine. I always find white toast to be a boring complement. The cheese was good, but overall, it was unexciting.

EP had the chicken Caesar salad (139 CZK).I didn't taste it, but EP was not impressed. It was rather limp, and just an average iteration. Nothing special.

I had the black risotto with cuttlefish ink, shrimp, and candied lime (249 CZK).The rice had a nice buttery flavor, but it was overcooked. The shrimp were done properly with just the right texture, but didn't have much seasoning or taste on their own. The few small bits of lime were an interesting touch.

It was OK, but not as memorable as the risotto at Zelena Zahrada.

This bill for the three of us, which included four beers and a couple of glasses of wine, was only 1062 CZK. Service was good, but was better on the first visit than on the second.

If I had only experienced the first meal, I'd give Bresto a big rave.

The second trip was a little anti-climactic, but still, there is a lot of good to be found there -- more than most places. I think the prices are reasonable for the quality.

Now, I'm recommending Bresto, even though I've had to endure an "I told you so" and a "what took you so long" from a friend.

So I've finally gathered the facts and formed a fair opinion. It just took a little longer than it should have.

Bresto Cafe & Wine Bar
Štěpánská 31
Prague 1
Tel. (+420) 222 212 810

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Brasserie La Gare

"Men give away nothing so liberally as their advice." François de la Rochefoucauld

It seems like everyone got to Brasserie La Gare before I did. Not only has it been critiqued by The Prague Post and Knedliky, Etc., but when I told colleagues I was going, two of them had already made several visits.

But every experience is different, so I thought I'd add to the voluminous body of knowledge on this topic.

Curly and I went and sat outside on a tolerably cool evening.The restaurant is non-smoking inside, but they do provide ashtrays outside. Edith Piaf sang in the background.

We commenced by ordering a half-liter of the house white, an Alsatian Edelzwicker (158 CZK).We were both happy with this crisp, simple, but refreshing wine.

A big bottle of sparkling mineral water was Römerquelle from Austria (69 CZK).A bread basket arrived with several types of sliced baguettes, including a good cheesy one.On the side was salted butter. There is a 35 CZK cover charge per table.

Curly didn't want a starter, and I wasn't terribly hungry, so I ordered the French onion soup (95 CZK).The bowl was quite small, but it all looked right -- the dark broth covered with toasted bread and melted cheese.

First, let me warn you: it came out very hot and we both burnt our tongues. Second, let me warn you again, the soup was very sweet. In fact, Curly did not like it at all. One of my colleagues was also unhappy with it. He said it tasted like a bottle of wine was poured into the soup.

Me? After the first initial sweet surprise, I grew to like it, but my tastes run sweeter than most. It was fully stocked with caramelized onions, and the salty bread and cheese helped offset the sugars.

For a main course, I lobbied hard for Curly to choose the Coq au Vin (165 CZK). I'd heard good things about it. But she decided she wanted to Poulet de Bresse (195 CZK).The chicken was tender and competently cooked.

But the morel sauce was a bore. It really didn't bring out the flavor of the mushroom. It tasted mostly of chicken and salt. Curly was disappointed, and wished she'd taken my advice.

On the side, they offer a changing variety of three side dishes (85 CZK). On this night, it was super creamy mashed potatoes mixed with great, earthy mushrooms, pumpkin with goat cheese and parsley, and lightly cooked, crunchy Brussels sprouts with lardons.I loved all three of these. They're served in heavy little pots that help them retain their heat through the meal.

I went for the Bavette de Boeuf or flank steak (195 CZK).I like this cut, and it is also one of the cheaper steaks. The menu said it was sourced from France.

I asked for it medium-rare, which is not easy to do for such a thin steak. They failed.It was beyond medium, with little if any pink meat to be seen. However, the light-colored beef was tasty and mostly tender. Some of the thinner sections were tougher, though.

What really made it a winner for me was the shallot sauce. Made with liberal amounts of wine, the sauce was acidic, rather than sweet, and paired very well with the beef. I was soaking bread in it after the steak was gone.

I ordered pommes frites on the side (65 CZK).They were decent steak fries, but not too different from what you might find at many other restaurants.

There is a large selection of desserts which come from a retail section of the restaurant, Boutiques Gourmandes. There were some tempting choices, but I predictably went with a chocolate standard, the Sacher Torte (69 CZK).The cake was ice cold, and when I put the fork into it, the hard chocolate on top popped up like a lid. Once I got the icing stabilized, it was quite good. The cake was very moist and had soaked up a great deal of the jam between the layers.

The bill for this visit was 1001 CZK without tip.

I went back the next day for an earlier dinner with Miss Knedlikova of Knedliky, Etc. fame. Some wrongly think of us as rivals, when in fact, I was a supporter from the beginning. There's a measure of self interest in that. I have an insatiable hunger for info and photos about new and different places to eat.

We also sat outside to enjoy the weather, so I took a quick look around inside.The dining rooms are light and airy, with white brick walls, red banquettes, and simple dark wood chairs and tables.It felt French.

She had a glass or three of Chablis (89 CZK each), which she said was fine. I had two .33 liter glasses of Stella Artois (35 CZK each).For a starter, we shared the Duck Foie Gras (195 CZK).It is attractively presented in a glass jar with thick, crusty, toasted bread and an onion and fig compote on the side. After you dig down through a layer of fat, there's the cold liver.It's good, if a bit crumbly, but not as clean-tasting and silky as the foie gras at Na Kopci. The compote, also mixed with wine, was a great addition. We both liked it.

For a main, I mentioned again that I heard the coq au vin was good. But Miss K loved what she had during her own review visit and ordered the duck with honey and four spices (195 CZK).She gave me a bite. I was not impressed. The sweet, tangy sauce was nice, but the duck was tough and took a long time to chew. Miss K agreed the duck was disappointing and said it had been much better the last time she had it.

She also ordered the same three side items I had the previous night and enjoyed them very much. She was less of a fan of the Brussels sprouts and thought they should have been cooked more. But I liked them crisper. She also said that on her first visit, she had carrots and asparagus instead of pumpkin and Brussels sprouts.

Even I didn't take my own coq au vin suggestion. I was lusting after the Beef Bourguignon (165 CZK).The long-cooked meat was fork tender -- no knife required.The sauce, stocked with pork, mushrooms, carrots, pearl onions, wine, and beef drippings was delicious. The only problem I had was the temperature. It came out barely warm, and lost its remaining heat pretty quickly. Still, I liked it a lot.

The bill for the second trip was 1012 CZK without tip. Service was just average and fairly indifferent, with some small delays. But there were no major breakdowns like The Prague Post reported.

At the end, I took a look at their specialty shop.There were some beautiful fresh-baked loaves of bread.There was also a wonderful selection of cakes, tarts, and chocolates.They all looked terrific.

You want my advice? Give Brasserie La Gare a try.

Based on my experience and the collective opinion of everyone I've spoken to, you won't like everything. But you may really like something, and there's good value. The prices are quite reasonable.

One last piece of advice: Try the coq au vin. I've heard it's good. Then tell me how it was.

Brasserie La Gare a Boutiques Gourmandes
V Celnici 3
Prague 1
Tel.: (+420) 222 313 712
Mobile: (+420) 602 502 906
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