dobrou chut!

or bon appetit, as we like to say in our english speaking world. which makes complete sense, seeing as the phrase is in french. alas, i do not seek to understand, simply to explain that this blog is finally about everyone's favorite subject: FOOD.

czech cuisine is... interesting. we can see traces of it throughout canadian culture, actually, being the multi-cultural bread basket we are. meat and potatoes with sauce, goulash, sausages... etc.

a typical czech meal includes some type of meat, a starch or carbohydrate and a small allotment of vegetables (on a good day). and of course, it starts with a steaming hot bowl of soup. sometimes it's broth soup, sometimes it's creamy. it can have chunks of potato, meat or even balognie. generally, the soups have been quite good. but unfortunately, i'm often full at this point.

it continues though... for example, at the czech school i work at, the following are possible menu scenarios:
-one of rice, potatoes or dumplings (essentially, potato bread)
-one of beef, pork, or sausage (the sausage we've had there has this sort of gellied, glazed, gooey coating to it... and the kids LOVE it, it's probably their favorite meal).
-vegetables might be a steamed assortment, cooked spinach, or pickled cabbage. the latter is my personal favorite. it's quite good actually.
-lastly, a generous portion of sauce covers the meat and sometimes the rice/potato/dumpling. it's usually pretty tasty.

another czech favorite is a chunk of cheese, battered and deep fried. it comes with a plate of fries and some ketchup (not the north american version, mind you).

food i've heard of from fellow foreigners, but not tried (and probably won't be):
-blood clot soup
-stomach, stuffed with random items

when dining at a restaurant, you don't have to tip, funny enough. it almost feels unnatural not to, seeing as we tip 15% or more at home. so usually i do, even just a little bit. when they bring you your drink in a bottle, they poor half of it into the cup sitting in front of you. the restaurants are full of smoke, as everyone here smokes.

lastly, it's cheaper to order beer at a restaurant than a bottle of water. beer is $0.50 for a pint of draught, believe it or not!