A Friday night food experience

Last night had a lot of things happening - an art opening, a beer tasting party that turned in to a Czech/Slovak world hockey watching event and then an opening party for a festival. Surprisingly and unexpectedly I found time for dinner with a good friend - we left the art opening and took a walk towards Stare Mesto from Mala Strana and found ourselves at Lokal just next to the Charles Bridge. It's a new local chain run by a group that's had some success in Brazilian and other types of foods. The Lokal chain is meant to focus on traditional homey Czech food and a more Czech experience.

It was both a hit and a miss... in the best ways possible!!!

The Hit

When we walked in the restaurant was either full or clearly marked reserved. It looked like maybe we could squeeze in someplace in the smoking section but when non-smoking is available that's what I'll pick. A waiter approached us immediately and directed us to the back and down the stairs - we were actually walked back and guided to the basement where we were again immediately greeted and given our choice of tables in a very large labyrinthian type brewery/restaurant area. We were seated at our table with menus awaiting - and English menu sheet was immediately procured for me, no request was made, it was just tended to.

Another waiting appeared asking for our drink order - we weren't ready and he smiled and left us for a few minutes. The first waiter returned asking for our drinks and again was quite pleasant. After we got drinks we needed a bit to pick the food. Again, the staff was attentive and pleasant during that encounter.

The food was fast and delicious. I was impressed by the flavor and tenderness of the chicken and the fully flavor of the side I'd order. It was heavenly - so much more than what I'd expected and at really reasonable rates. What as most curious to me was the drink - homemade orange soda. Sort of like orange juice and flat soda water - yet not carbonated, sweet but tangy and full of pulp.

The Miss

I don't write about food or restaurants often - this is an exception.

Throughout the meal the two waiters each checked on us and confirmed everything was all right - they addressed us both in Czech and English individually. The courteous consistent attention we were given is not a part of the Czech experience.

My Czech friend was overwhelmed by the staff's attention but I found it quite refreshing - it was exceptional for this area. They weren't overly familiar, they were formal, polite, efficient and made you feel as though your experience and enjoyment were a priority without in any way being a burden or imposition. They had a presence but weren't intrusive upon our meal or conversation.

I don't know who trained them but I really hope this restaurant model catches on. It was quite a refreshing change and I'll definitely be returning for more.

A cat, a duck and a cat

Well, here are a few random happenings from the past few weeks...

I was at a cafe with some friends on Kampa, a little island near my school. We were drinking beers when we hear this strange pecking coming from outside the window, from a side of the building just a few feet away from an ivy covered stone wall. It was a duck sitting in the ivy. It was a little lost as the river runs along the cafe, but on the other side. It was still quacking and moving about and it seemed a bit flustered - then we noticed above the duck, level with the top of the window, was a wrought-iron grating - sitting on that grating was a cat.

The cat was stalking the duck and had it caught between a building, the wall and under the grate. It was just playing, waiting to pounce. A man at the table next to us got up, opened the window, reached out on the ledge and picked up the duck. He carried it through the cafe and out to the little footbridge you have to cross to get back to the island and there, where it was safe, he let it go.

The cat hopped off the grate a moment later and could not figure out where the duck had gone.

That's the first cat I have to write about right now. The second is Odin. He's ours. He's the newest addition to our family and is a little under 2 months old right now. He's awfully cute and sweet and has (not surprisingly) very sharp claws. He also looks like the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland, but isn't striped in silly colors, just shades of gray.

Wednesday - The Red Carpet Ball

OK, I didn't find a gown and  the Kid wasn't able to return on time but the evening was not a miss. In fact, it was awesome - incredible, if you will, and an absolute blast. I grabbed a dress I had, threw on some heels and stuffed some flats in my bag. The weather has turned unseasonably cold (snow was forecast) and so a warm coat and hopped in the taxi - and the driver promptly got lost, in my neighborhood.

Other than going the wrong way down side streets he was hilarious - chattered at me in Czech the entire way, asked if I was going dancing and then did a driving-dance imitation of the polka, obviously with sound effects.

The ball was incredible. Scroll down for a video of the venue - and the chance to listen to some Czech. I was a few hours late as I was dealing with the Turkey debacle but when I arrived there was still formal ballroom dancing taking place, accompanied by a live band. Then there were some dance exhibition, a few student musical performances, more formal dancing, more dance exhibitions, a rock band,more dancing, a dance competition, more general dancing and then a DJ and then more dancing... and then the after-party. Somewhere in the middle of the dancing and more dancing, yes, I did change from ridiculous heels to reasonable flats. I was definitely not the last to leave but I got home at 4:30. By pre-arrangement school was closed until the afternoon. There was only one complaint I heard from the guys and girls alike - sore feet. Overall it was a great night - students, parents, teachers, friends - lots of laughter, great entertainment and a lot of fun. I sincerely hope this was the first annual and not the only ball the Student Council organizes.

Here is the video of the venue, Narodni Dum na Vinohradech- it was so beautiful :)

The turkey is stuck in Turkey.

The Kid's school group missed their return flight this afternoon. She is currently stuck in Istanbul.

I have a school commitment tonight - the ball. I don't have a dress and I don't really want to be there. I'd rather be at home welcoming her back!

ball gown countdown

I've got 6 days to find a ball gown. Apparently on Wednesday I am expected at a ball and shockingly enough I don't have a gown. Or a date.

This may end up being lame.

"I'm so scared."

Since Friday I've been waiting to hear from a friend from Sendai. She now works at the Naval Base in Yokosuka. She was at work when the earthquake struck and the trains between work and home were stopped. It's Sunday morning now. She's just arrived home.

She is safe and trying to connect with her friends and family. So far she's not entirely successful. Now that she's home she's been updating her facebook status. It's like a narrative of what's happening for so many people in her situation, surrounded by devastation, struggling to connect with loved ones, and then having to face the increasing possibility of a nuclear meltdown. She mentioned "another Chernobyl" but actually, it could be that but times two. The world seems without foundation at the moment. She's scared. Really scared. Pick one - earthquake, missing family, tsunami, nuclear meltdown. Each alone are terrifying. She's trying to stay focused on doing the next best thing in the situation. Right now that's securing food and clean water. And continuing trying to locate her family in Sendai.

I don't know the extent of the organizations that are supporting earthquake and tsunami relief, but if you can, please donate to the Red Cross. And then go home and makes sure you're as prepared as possible with extra food and water (and a can opener) in your own disaster relief kit - and no candles or open flames, but flashlights and extra batteries please. In the pictures that are coming out, I have to say, I was impressed with the forethought in the little paper masks and the hard hats that so many office workers were wearing. You may consider adding those too - if there were to be a large earthquake in CA you know it's not just the initial shock that damages but the aftershocks too and the dust won't settle for a good long while.

Oh, let the courting never end!

I'm in London for some dealings for work. It's been a great few days but now it's time to pack up and return to Prague. I love London, and while I haven't had time to do any sightseeing I have had a lovely time here... my days have been full of work and wooing.

The meetings were scheduled for 30 minutes each - they last all day but never last too long. Each meeting is a different speaker. We're given ample time to ask questions, to return to previous speakers and to eat. Oh the eating. The food has been glorious. Yesterday's lunch was at a very popular Italian restaurant - wild boar wrapped in fresh handmade pasta - followed by a truly extravagant meal at the Montague - I've got the menu somewhere and will fill in my meal later. It started with goat cheese wrapped in a delicate pastry and ended with creme brule - my absolute favorite dessert. Yesterday's lunch included all of the delegates and a number of the speakers plus a few others, my dinner was much more intimate with only three attendees, myself included, but was also quite warm, very friendly, and had an overall lovely work-free feel. Today was a more focused business luncheon and I loved it - it was a one on one preparing me for a much larger and more important meeting later in the day. My companion was Chinese and she explained to me that she prefers to do business over a meal, to work out the details then and really go head-on in to potential issues and the like while eating, as people are more relaxed... that you can be effective and efficient in your job when you're not in a "work-mode" and also able to enjoy yourself. She was definitely right today.

I had an incredible meal at the British Museum. It was my third venture in to that building during this trip, and while I didn't see anything other than the stairwells I got a lot out of it.

The care and concern and the courting I've experienced while here are amazing - (outside of my family) I've never been treated so royally before and I have to admit, I love it! I've been in what can only be described as quite posh places and been treated to some elegant experiences and it's been lovely. It's also a once in a lifetime sort of thing as they're all beyond my means... and for that I'm grateful. I've been able to come over, be effective, be efficient and be courted all at the same time. I just wish it didn't have to end so soon. (Maybe, if this all translates in to numbers for us, I'll be able to come back fairly soon - I've already been invited to return in May for very practical purposes) :)