I’ll be honest. For the first few weeks after I stepped on that plane at Dulles Airport back in January, I yearned for good old D.C. fast food. Chipotle burritos, fries from Five Guys, wings from Wingo’s…I wanted it all. I can remember crying myself to sleep at night, thinking of all the delicious Manouche dogs and chicken crave pitas my friends back home must be enjoying.
Yes, they do have McDonalds and Burger Kings in Prague. And yes, Vincent Vega was correct; they don’t call it a Quarter Pounder, they call it a McRoyal. Sounds pretty exotic, maybe I should try one, I would say to myself in those first weeks whenever I was tempted to enter the friendly confines of the Golden Arches. But you’re in Europe, my subconcious would say in response, you should be eating Czech fast food.
As it turned out, Czech fast food can usually be found in the numerous stands and stalls in Prague’s downtown area. On my first trip to such a stand, I tried a grilled sausage. I was hooked instantly. Just the thought of the salted meat and spicy mustard on a sourdough roll still makes my mouth water. The next day I tried bramborak, a potato pancake with chicken, onions and garlic mixed in. Delectable. On my third trip, I tried a smazeny syr, which immediately became my favorite food in all of Europe. A smazeny syr is a fried cheese sandwich with either mustard or tartar sauce. Basically, you’re eating a gigantic mozzarella stick. I now recommend it to anyone I see who’s traveling through Prague.
I know what you are thinking (and by “you” I mean “my mom”): “I’m happy you found food you like, Nat, but it sounds incredibly unhealthy.” Well, you’re correct, eating fried cheese is probably not something a nutritionist would recommend. On the other hand, I have to walk far more than I ever have before just to get to class in the morning. And the food stands are fairly far away, so I can’t eat it every day. Just allow me the occasional pleasure of approaching my favorite stand at the Narodni Trida tram stop and triumphantly saying to the man behind the counter (he knows me by now), “Jedno smazeny syr, prosim!”
Aside to my fellow blogger, the esteemed Mr. Alberg: You think the weather is bad in Dublin? In Prague, it’s gotten above 50 for a grand total of two (2) days this year. Today, for instance, it was about 40. And rainy. And windy.