The First Meal in Prague - Lunch

After walking around our first day - we were hungry and opted for a meal at a bar that was relatively empty. As all the restaurants were in the same way, empty; we figured that they were open just for people like us - tourists on our own meal schedule.

Of course, not long after we sat down, perusing the menu, a bunch of people - admittedly tourists - came in! It became full quite quickly!

Anyway, the place was just called "U Cerveneho raka" and was full of dark woods and wooden furnishings. 

Just before the storm - ceilings and wooden furnishings - an empty calm space.

Oddly enough, the wooden furnishings were pretty comfortable. Or else, we were just too tired. Anyway, the waitress came by and we asked if we can swap out the appetizer for the dessert and she said yes! Nice!

They gave us the bread basket which was nice and fresh.

Bread basket - a variety of different bread

 

So we ended up eating the same thing - flattened chicken breast which was fried and served with lemon and fries.

Flattened breaded chicken breast with french fries.

The meat was plain fare but the tangy ketchup - heinz but more tangy than homemade ones - made up for it. At least for me. Barb had to add salt and pepper to her portion.

I liked their american french fries which were crispy outside and starchy inside. Yum.

Dessert which was a raspberry jelly donut and whipped cream

Dessert came later and was actually a raspberry jelly donut - warm and fresh whipped cream with chocolate drizzle! Delicious!

I have seen the bad reviews in terms of service but honestly, they were quite nice to us. The only problem was trying to pay. The check was hard to get and we just got up and paid at the bar. We just don't have that issue stateside. But I find in Europe, they let you sit as long as you want. No rushing!

Here I must acknowledge that beer is way cheaper than anything else to drink! Soda, cocktails, etc all cost way more than beer. Had I been a college kid, Prague would have been my city of choice. Ha!

Bar U Cerveneho Raka

Karlova 30
110 00 Prague
Czech Republic

Hours:

Monday - Friday: 10 a.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Saturday - Sunday: 10 a.m. - midnight

A little bit of bliss at Nirvana

For lunch, Dave boxed us into Nirvana, a little Indian place on Lexington.We were literally forced to go because he got a craving for Indian food.

From the outside, it did not look very inviting - dark and cavernous. But once you went up the stairs, you were at a lovely open space with a few tables spaced throughout and very friendly staff. There was minimal clutter and the tables actually was well spaced with plenty of space to walk to the buffet table.

High ceilings give this a spacious feel

Fresh baked naan is served at the table. It is served hot, which is like a big plus. I wish I thought to take a photo of the buffet table but I didn't - so next time I will need to remember to do this.

Fresh baked bread

My heaping plate of yums - the buffet is $12, I think. I took some cabbage fritters, potatoes with chickpeas, saag paneer, rice, chicken tikka masala and something else.

Bunch of yums

Delicious! The tikka masala was white meat with a delicious sauce - chicken was not dry and the sauce was awesome. The saag paneer was uber-yummy with a good blend of spinach and spices which is very delicious. The cabbage fritters actually made me want to eat cabbage...which everyone knows I don't really eat.

I loved the chickpeas with the potatoes and the rest of the items were really delicious. The tandoori chicken was not so good for me so I actually didn't really like this chicken tandoori...but everything else was really delicious.

For dessert was just a tiny bit of selection, the rice pudding was very soupy - but very refreshing and lightly sweetened. The bread dipped in was actually tasty.

Rice pudding

I thought it was quite a bargain - for about $15 bucks each, we ate a lot of different Indian food where as normally, you just get one dish for about the same.

If you liked great and friendly service, Indian food and buffets, then this is the place for you!



Nirvana
346 Lexington Ave
New York, NY 10016
tel.212.983.0000
Hours:
Sun - Thurs, Lunch 11:30 am - 3 pm, Dinner 5 pm - 10:30 pm
Fri - Sat, Lunch 11:30 am - 3 pm, Dinner 5 pm -11 pm

Hamilton in DC

We actually stopped by this other club/restaurant first but it was a toss up as to whether we would get a table so Miss Barb asked the bouncer to recommend a place because we could not wait to eat...at least we could not wait more than 10 minutes to find out if we could get a table just to *eat* food that we are paying for...

So he recommended the Hamilton - all he said was the food was really, really good.  He did not talk about the drinks...

I think we probably chose the wrong drinks. After an hour's wait, we finally got a table to eat. We also realized that the efficiency was just not great. They had many an empty table and we think this was due to the fact that people wanted to go to the main dining room instead which is smaller but closer to the bars.

Complimentary Bread with fresh butter

It was quite slow and the drinks came out quite late. We were served bread which came much later as well. The bread was pretty good, nice and crusty with a soft chewy center and was divine with the very  fresh butter they gave with it. Yes, folks, the butter was super fresh because it didn't come in wrapping and it even had the fresh dairy taste.

Betty's Apple

The drinks - we got this drink called the "Betty's Apple" which was terrible. Not at all palatable. It was a poor version of the Appletini, which is saying a lot about how bad it was. Oh, and did I mention how the drinks arrived when we already were served dinner? Yes, they did.

Braised Beef Shortribs

Anyway, I was feeling quite disappointed until the food came out. Let's start with Barb's food as I don't eat beef [much]. Barb got their braised beef shortribs which came out with farro, kale, butternut squash, and its own juices. It looked tasty. Barb seemed to enjoy it a lot.

Upclose and personal with the beef shortribs

 I opted for my favorite - PEI mussels with beer, fennel, chorizo, french fries, and saffron aioli! And I actually liked the fries...really!

All the deliciousness together...in one shot...

The fries were well seasoned - not just salted, crispy and hot. They were some of the very best fries, I've had and I usually don't eat fries!!

Very delicious fries...surprisingly!

As for the mussels... What can I say? I'm a sucker for crustaceans. And these shellfish were fresh, with a lovely taste and except for all the fennel on top, perfect. The mussels were clean and plump, and the sauce was absolutely yummy with bits of chorizo floating around it. Had I not finished up the bread earlier from my hunger pangs, I would have dipped the bread into it and eaten it that way!

Prince Edward Island Mussels with fennel, saffron aioli and chorizo

This was a very satisfying meal and yes, I ate all but 2-4 mussels! But guess what? We had the nerve to ask for a dessert menu...:) Did I mention that all I had that morning was a piece of whole wheat toast and a bit of peanut butter? Well I did! And that's why I was starving by the time 9:30 pm came around and we got our table!

However, dessert was decidedly uninspired so we went to CVS and our hotel in that order. :)

Hamilton is great for the food alone - drinks not so much and service a dismal *SLOW*. However, I deem it worth it to eat there...at least once. Just make reservations first.

The Hamilton
600 14th Street, N.W. (14th St & F St)
Washington, DC 20005
tel. 202.787.1000
Hours: 24/7