A taste of home in Prague

After a long day of sightseeing - across the Charles Bridge and back, up and down cobblestone streets, we were really, really tired. We rested (I took naps in Europe...lots of em :) ) and decided to go next door for a taste of home.

Yes, my friends, we went to the Hard Rock Cafe. Lol. And they let their people (at least the host) drink for I saw him take a shot when we sat down.

It was a bit of muck, as we entered and there was no host. The host/staff all speak great English and he showed us to a table and gave us menus. The typical where are you from etc did fall from his lips but it was alright. We were ready to drink and eat...

First we got the drinks. Barb tried the Hurricane, not so good outside of Nawlins'. And I tried the tropical rock. I loved it. :)

Hurricane

Tropical Rock

The hurricane is a Nawlins' signature drink and it was not really that great here. But my tropical rock was awesome! Sweet and yum.

Pulled chicken

As for food, Barb got the pulled chicken which was decent. I am guessing it tasted just the same as Hard Rock Cafes all over the world. I would say ask her because she's just the appendage to my posts as she doesn't even comment on the food. Ha! "It's ok" is pretty much what she says. 

I got the pulled pork because I found that Prague has good pork. Yes...European pork seems yummier than home. That's what I feel and I'm sticking to that opinion.

The only thing I hate is that they pour the sauce on...I like the sauce on the side, I'm not always into getting the meat so very drenched in sauce. Sometimes you want to taste the meat!

Pulled pork

My meat was decent - quality of the meat is decent and the sauce was the same as a Hard Rock back home. I deconstructed my sammich because it was just chock full of meat and the ratio of meat to bun was too much for me. Oh and the ketchup was a bit tangier than it is in the States.

Purple Haze

Barb switched to Purple Haze. I got another Tropical Rock (told ya I liked it) and after sitting at the table a while, (we got the Lennon hat table) we went back to the hotel - right next door - Hotel Rott - a nice hotel, by the way.

Great host and waiter made this experience way better than you would think. And if you weren't tired tourists, you'd be hard pressed not to go to Old Town Square - just around the corner!

Hard Rock Cafe Prague
Dům U Rotta, Malé náměstí 3,
Praha 1, 110 00, Česká Republika
Tel. +420-224-229-529
Hours:
Restaurant: Daily 12:00PM - 12:00AM
Bar: Daily 12:00PM - 01:00AM
Rock Shop:Daily 10:00AM - Midnight

Black Shack!

Black Shack is a hole in the wall joint on Lexington Ave, between 39th and 40th Streets. You need to be careful going in and coming out of the place because they don't have an actual step but a short barely noticeable ramp (like they started to make a step but changed it to a slope instead).

Once inside, you need to wait on line to order and the menu is at the front in tiny, grayed out forms. Very annoying if you just want to pick out what you want to order while you wait at the back. Also bear in mind that you will not be able to have bleu cheese on your burger if you get the basic. It's only for specialty burgers.

I opted out of cheese and ordered the basic with just fried onions - not raw. Victoria ordered the burger with cheddar but they gave her american anyway.

Though friendly, staff is not too quick on the uptake sometimes.

We shared onion rings.

Clothed burger

My fried burger was fantastic - well-done just the way I like it with delicious fried little onion rounds throughout. I stuck with ketchup on mine. Loved it.

Nooo don't undress me!! Fried onions on the well-done.

Victoria's burger was medium well and it was perfectly cooked. She said it was absolutely delicious for a way cheaper price than the other burger joint closer to our respective jobs.

Fried Onion rings - the real ones!

The onion rings were true onion rings - not the powdered White Castle variety...They were crispy and delicious!

They were relatively quick and we made it back in plenty of time!! So it was a less than 1 hour lunch.

They do pack up quickly so be sure to go before the lunch rush. Their delivery service is too slow though.



Black Shack
320 Lexington Ave (Between 38th and 39th Streets)
New York, NY 10016
tel. 212-213-0042
Hours:
Monday - Sunday 11AM - 10PM

Happy Hour: M-F, 3-7pm $1 off beers & special menu!

Public House

Yesterday, we went out to Public House for lunch. The Public House is a sports bar/restaurant - at the bar and some tables, you have a view of the large screens filled with sports images.

It is a rather large and open space. Beware though - get a reservation because they fill up and if you like sitting in booths, then a reservation is a must.

After debating over the many dishes on the menu, we finally ordered:

Pulled Pork on Poppy seeded Bread

David got the luscious looking pulled pork on a poppy roll with shoestring fried onions, pickle and he substituted the coleslaw for the well seasoned fries (salted and herbed). I was offered and tried some of the pulled pork. This pulled pork was moist, well seasoned and beyond easy to eat. And eat. And eat. But I only took a small forkful. It was not drowning in a well of sauce and was absolutely delicious.

Mediterranean Salad with chicken

Rania made the calorie conscious choice of the hummus with pita bread salad - aka Mediterranean salad with chicken. It's got that brown dipping sauce. Very delicious, she said.

And I broke my usual beef-free diet by having the Public House Burger. As always, I like my burger really well done. So my well-done burger came really well done like I requested. Love it! It was not as moist because it was really well-done. In this case, I would have blended the meat with chopped onion before grilling it because that adds moisture and flavor.

However, it was still a very tasty burger - served on - get this - English Muffin!! You had your choice of toppings, from mushrooms to bacon to onions, etc. I chose mozzarella cheese and bacon. And they did what most places do not... Well done bacon!! It was lovely, super crispy and just awesome.

Public House Burger, with mozzarella and bacon

I always cut my burgers - this time in just halves and then demolished it all. I did remove the sliced of onion and the tomato first before I added ketchup. It was a decent burger - should have more taste in the meat itself but with the saltiness of the bacon and the mozzarella, it turned out fine.

Now the one that you must taste here is definitely the french fries. This time it was a bit saltier than usual but it was well peppered with herbs and salt. Dipped in ketchup, it was nice toasty crunch! Much better than many places. They should give mayo so you can have ketchup mixed with mayo for an even tastier combo. :)

All in all, Public House is a great lunch or happy hour spot. I've had their appetizers and they're delicious.

Public House

140 East 41st Street

New York, NY 10017

tel. 212.682.3710

Hours:  

Lunch Daily: 11:30am - 5:00pm
Dinner Nightly 5:00pm - 11:00pm

Grub Street aka Hester street

Today was one of those perfect autumn days where the sunshine made up for the slight chill in the air.

KA was meeting me at the fair but she was running late so I went around Ctown a bit.

I found out that Elizabeth Street Math is frigging dangerous if you have cash. And if you knit as there is a tiny shop selling yarn. I picked up four skeins of a turquoise-ish green yarn made of baby alpaca wool from Peru. Someone is getting a scarf next year.

Anyway I decide to head out quick and end up at the fair waiting for KA. Did I mention how dangerous it is? I hopped in for a quick look and ended up with 3 soaps from Filthy Farmgirl which I thought was cool until later when KA found out the vendor doesn't even know where they supposedly made the soap. FYI there are more islands than just the big one!

So to save my wallet, I decided to leave and wait for KA outside of Hester Street...and good thing I did. When she arrived, we walked through the 'Bier Garden' part which was no food but a space to vend and sit for food and beer of course! We passed by the vintage shops, the jewelry until we see WinkandFlip where KA buys a pretty stretchy bracelet in clear stones. She also bought me my Christmas gift - a lovely green stoned necklace! It is really pretty!!

Then we stopped by a scarf spot, more jewelry, vintage stuff, and we left 'Bier Garden' for Grub Street! Aptly shown by the little sign stuck on the fence...Oh and excuse the pics but I took it with my iPhone 4s so it might be blurry from my shakiness in trying to get the shot before the people passed them..

KA and I went into the Grub Street Fair, which was really just in the running track of the Hester Street Co-op.

We could not decide where to go so we started at the loop and went north. We saw Lush Candy but decided not to get it as it was just too much open air on the candy. Then we saw Mrs. Kimchi and though we wanted it - we love spicy; we decided to skip it so our taste buds can accurately pick up the tastes in the other food. :) We bypassed also, the pizza place which was COOL, I mean it was baked on the premises!!, Daisy BBQ, a lemonade stand (which later on, had this HUGE line...and I mean it was just a long-ass line...I hope it was worth the wait!) Instead we ended up at La Sonrisa, which had five types of empanadas - Curry Coconut Chicken, Classic Beef, Pulled Pork, Roasted Chicken and Vegetarian... KA bought the Curry at $3.50 and I bought the Pulled Pork - also $3.50. It was a tiny empanada for the price..but it was good. KA mentioned her empanada was a sweet curry. Sweet curry is not our usual curry - usually spice is the rule. Mine was a lovely crispy pulled pork and it was not the best seasoned pulled pork but it was still okay.

Pulled Pork Empanada

Curry Coconut Empanada

Pulled Pork Empanada Upclose and Personal

So after we got our super hot empanadas, KA mentioned Teriyaki balls. Of course, you know this was a must to try!!So we got on line and looked ahead.

One of the Girls making the Taiyaki-like Teriyaki balls.

You know of course, we had the same humor as juveniles...;) Balls, etc. But juvie jokes aside, we pondered on the serious matter of what to get. For sure, you see, they had Shrimp, Sausage, and Potato. 6 for $6 or the special which was $8 for the 6 balls and a soup thingy. Yeah, sorry, I didn't pay *that* much attention, ok? We decided if they let us, to have 2 of each. Now, remember, these are *not* large balls. Each doughy concoction had 1 shrimp or some pieces of sausage or potato.

KA's Blurry Balls with Sriracha Sauce

Less Blurry but Not Spicy Balls

So, we couldn't tell what was what at first. The shrimp was in the middle as I plowed my way through - so the first ball I ate was not very tasty even with the teriyaki sauce on it. Fail! The next ball was the shrimp and it was pretty good. I don't think they seasoned the filling enough. The last were potato. which I could tell were potato as I bit into it because it was cube of potato. Now...I've had taiyaki. Those are lovely tasty bits of octopi in cooked dough. However, these teriyaki balls were just not that great. The shrimp balls were hands down our favorite and that doesn't say a whole lot for the balls. They were for the most part, bland. Sausage is one of the tastiest meats concoctions on earth and they managed to make it really bland. I was a bit disappointed but I can tell you one thing. These suckers expanded in your stomach, making it almost impossible to eat anything else. So, if you should see these balls at another food fair, save it for last or skip it - because the starch is explosive! It's like if you were on a diet, you would want to eat these because they make you not hungry for many hours!! Trust me, even the aroma of bbq did not make me salivate. And that's saying alot...although - we stopped by Macaron Parlour, who sells to Lily O'Brien's across from Bryant Park @ 43 Street:

Macaron Parlour - Wedding Tip Jar included

Earl Grey and Matcha Macarons

I actually saved the matcha but KA got a coffee one and it was okay, I suppose. I quite liked my Earl Grey one but I did wonder why it was blue...I mean...Earl Grey...is not blue. It tasted and smelled like Earl Grey tea so I was pretty pleased with it. I could go with less sugar though. I wasn't as pleased with the matcha, which I had when I was home. It was not really tasting like matcha, and I love matcha! (Green tea powder) Macaron Parlour had many unique to them flavors like Canadian Bacon and Maple Syrup, S'mores, etc. I didn't try all because they were bit too pricey at $2.50 each. But that's okay, because then we hit...Stuffed Artisan Cannolis!!!

Stuffed Artisan is not @ Stanton anymore!

 Sorry for the wrinkled bag but I bought them, but full from the empanada, balls, and macaron, I saved them for later...much...later. Are you ready for the flavors?!

Pistachio, Loco Coco, and Original

Okay, so I'll let you know how they tasted when I finally had them late late at 8:30 p.m. Lol. The original was just original. I think I like Veniero's better. However...the loco coco was delicious!! I mean, super yum! It had flakes of coconut over a coconut driven base of filling. Divine. As was the pistachio, which was super super yum. I tasted the pistachio.All three were not as sweet as I thought they would be but..truth be told, my taste buds were sugared out from the whole day. Both were total score!!

We also passed by the Purple Yam booth. Interesting but we could not handle a plate of the goodies they had. See below:

Purple Yam Got the goods but we got no room!

But timeline wise, after we hit the cannoli booth, we walked past the other places and there was an intriguing stand of artisan ice cream sandwiches - red velvet etc. But we resisted and went to ....tada! Big Gay Ice Cream Truck!!! They have a store front now.

Big Gay Ice Cream Truck

Salty Pimp

So, we're on the long-ass line (which got longer after so I'm so glad we went when we did) and we're chatting...you know...and then we get closer to the truck. The young lady who *was* working for the BGICT just got the red-eye from Cali and went straight to work without sleep - dropped at her apt, changed (hopefully) and came out. Lol. We paid her for our Salty Pimps. Now, forgive me, Big Gay Ice Cream people but I always mixed it up with the dog. Lol. So I said Salty dog, then I did a double take and said Pimp. Dude thought I said cock and was laughing and we were laughing but I said had it been the line for a salty cock, I was sure that it would be triple the line for their ice cream. Lol. I think he got annoyed but he was no Soup Nazi so I still got my ice cream! KA could not eat it fast enough as it was dripping all over. But mine was pretty neat - it didn't spill on my new coat so that's like awesome. :) It was well worth the wait. The waffle cone was coated with dulce de leche then filled with ice cream, dripped with more dulce, then sea salt and then dipped into chocolate! I love sea salt chocolate bars so this was way yummy. Way way yummy. Despite the fact that the dude made fun, I enjoyed it lots! Great going, Big Gay Ice Cream people! I was tempted to buy soap that was named Dirty Penis and give it to them but I resisted. Resisted, I say!

So we walked out of the fair and ended up walking to Stuy town. We passed by a thrift shop but there was nothing in there that were not Halloweenish. :) 

Once we got up to Stuy town, KA asked if I wanted a real drink and we debated between Vamos or La Petite Abeille. We went to Petite Abeille and she got white wine and I had to debate among the beers. Of course you know, I chose the Framboise which is of course, raspberry filled and delicious and just a tad too easy going down.We're talking the time away and got a second drink which I decided for this Abbey thing right off. Then I show KA how to foursquare. They have specials and where to get them so it is not so bad to foursquare!

Forgot to take pic!!! Framboise Beer stain!

Omm-something Abbey. Yum.

Then it got later and I was like hey, do you want to eat something? And so KA goes on about the mussels and so we told our waiter that we wanted mussels - entree size since we were sharing. We wait a bit and the people behind us had an appetizer sized mussels which were so delicious smelling that we were totally salivating. KA went on about the pommes frites and so we asked the waiter and he says they came with it... Great. :)

So it arrives, hot  as you can see below in a pot. Only they forgot the utensils...so I said to KA...how about...ummm...utensils and she was like laughing like do we just eat with our fingers? One of the staff passed and he smiled and said would you like utensils with that and we were like...yes please lol.

Pot de mussels in vino blanco sauce. Ha! It was good!

Yes, people, stare with envy at the above pot of mussels. The sauce was at the bottom so we had to mix it up a bit more but it was so delicious, we didn't mind we had to ask for plates either...Really, PA staff...we might look like we're not civilized people but we do like plates, utensils and napkins!!

pommes frites - superb crunchy outside, soft inside, super hot.

The pommes frites came a while after and it was just absolutely divine. Crispy outside, soft inside; so delicious!!! I love it. KA, you were right! It was fantastic!

Demolished Pot of Mussels

Remnants of the bread we had to ask for to go with our left over sauce. Yum!

The sauce when you got it, was light and tasty with, I believe, white wine, parsley, celery (?) and whatever else they used to make it a good compliment for the clean delicious moules. Moules are some of my favorite foods so... It isn't that hard to make me happy with this.

So with that we ended our long day of nibbling. Nothing beats a beer, moules au vin and pommes frites after a day of walking in crisp autumn wind on a sunny day.

La Sonrisa

Food Truck:
Harbor Side Btw 2nd St. and Christopher Columbus St., Jersey City, NJ
Hester Street Fair:
Hester St. and Essex St.,
New York, NY
Catering and special events:
www.LaSonrisa.me info@lasonrisa.com

Macaron Parlour
Hester Street Fair
Every Saturday from 10 am-6 pm: Hester Street and Essex Street

Lily O'Brien's
36 West 40th Street, between 5th & 6th Aves.
Across from Bryant Park

Stuffed Artisan Cannolis
Stanton Street is closed but follow on Twitter and Facebook to find their pop-up locations and also their new store opening.

Big Gay Ice Cream Truck
125 E 7th St
New York NY 10009
212-533-9333
Follow them on Twitter for locations of their truck.

Petite Abeille
401 East 20th Street, Stuy Town
212.727.1505