This post is long overdue, but I'm tired of seeing the same photo pop up on the food section of the front page of my blog so here's a little change of scenery and a reminiscent post about our lovely food adventures in Prague. I had no idea what Czech cuisine was before I arrived, but was very pleased to find out that it consists of a lot of potato dumplings, meat, and famous Czech beer (they're very proud of it and convinced that it's better than its German counterpart) and mulled wine. Perfect stick-to-your-stomach food to help us brave the negative degree weather which definitely got to us even though we were all wearing at least two pairs of pants every day... My daily get-up consisted of two pairs of socks with boots, leggings, jeans, two shirts, a sweater, a sweatshirt, and my puffy down jacket all topped off with a scarf, a hat, and gloves. It's no wonder I didn't notice my tummy also adding to the bulk (I'll tell ya -- all those potatoes have to go somewhere!).

Our first dinner experience was probably one of the best, as we were all so tired of travel and just wanted a nice cozy meal. We ended up at a restaurant where we had some of the best potato dumplings (with bacon!) of the trip accompanied by a gang of opera-singing locals at the table behind us. A glorious first experience to start off our stay in a new city! I'm also a big fan of the pickled cabbage that seemed to accompany most meals, as its tart flavors cut through the starchy dumplings and rich meat. Though this was probably my favorite mealtime experience of the trip, my absolute favorite meal had to be the cabbage soup from Lokal. It was a red soup with cabbage and sausage, a side of potato dumplings, and fresh bread. Oh man, the soup was seasoned in such a sophisticated way as it wasn't overwhelming at all (rather light, actually) but still filled with flavor.

We also discovered the wonders of trdlnik which is a specialty pastry of sorts that is rolled out dough wrapped around a metal stick and rotated above burning coals and then coated in sugar and little nut bits. It's best enjoyed hot off the stick and the outside is slightly crunchy but the dough inside literally melts inside your mouth (and not to mention that it should always be paired with mulled wine). Mulled wine became one of our new obsessions since there are stands selling it everywhere and it's just so perfect to sip on while trying to make the most of our time in the freezing cold. I wish we could get it in Rome, but I think it's better enjoyed in the north where the climate is far from mediterranean.

We then continued our trend of frequenting beer halls for dinner and one night I got bacon-wrapped cheese with lettuces which was super tasty and the next night we knew we had to get goulash. The service at the last restaurant we went to was unfortunately awful (they literally left us for two hours after we waited for about an hour for them to come take our order without coming back to check in, take our plates, or bring us the check), but that aside I think I liked the stew of sorts. My friends told me I had to try it in Budapest so I'm excited to taste test during the summer (is it a year-round thing? I hope so).

Overall we didn't really have any misses on the food during our trip, and I am actually very much intrigued by Czech cuisine now. I don't know if I'll be whipping up potato dumplings in my own kitchen anytime soon, but I really liked it a lot and would be more than happy to go back just for the food!