My Prague Surprise

---

Just a quick post on food in Prague...

It became kind of a joke this weekend that my meals included "hidden ingredients":
- a wheat roll contained golden raisins
- a cheese and vegetable sandwich harbored hard boiled eggs between the bread (not visible in the case)
- a black forest cake contained cherries disguised in the cream layer
- a major ingedient in my beef stroganoff was pickles (unexpected but oddly not bad)
* I dislike raisins, hard boiled eggs, and candied cherries!!!

In the Old Town Square, several of the outdoor cafes had stands selling delicious "wafers." They are heated on waffle irons, measure about 6 inches in diameter, and come in several flavors including chocolate and cinnamon. Nice afternoon snack!

Also found a stand on the street that had inexpensive small pastries with fillings of many different flavors - some savory, some sweet.

We had dinner at a fabulous Italian restaurant called Ambiente just off the Old Town Square. They made their own pasta and it was delicious! The appetizers and desserts were amazing also. Highly recommended. www.ambi.cz/ambi_pastafresca_kontakt_eng.php

Many of the restaurants are 2-3 stories underground in beautiful old caverns. We learned that centuries ago, they were at ground level but the river flooded so many times that the ground level was raised over time. In general, most of the restaurants in the square, tended to be overpriced and with average food. Catering to tourists means they probably won't come back anyway!

We had lunch one day in a French boulangerie-patisserie in the Little Quarter (near Charles Bridge) called Au Gourmand Rive-Gauche; great sandwiches and pastries!

Enjoyed a nice outdoor lunch at the restaurant U Sevce Matouse near the Loreto. The name means "The Cobbler Matouse" and sure enough there is a large bronze boot hanging outside the door and a design with 3 boots on the menu.

---