Espresso Style Recommends: U Parlamentu Restaurant, Prague

In the historical and administrative centre of Prague, on the Valentinska street, right on the corner you can find U Parlamemtu restaurant. A quick glance through the window will give you a hint that the restaurant is a genuine  Prague eatery, not too fancy and not too shabby. Why? Because at the tables placed not too close together sit Prague locals. You can tell by the faces, the clothing etc. There are bearded men drinking beer, women, and one or two whole families.

Ok, once inside, you sit comfortably on squeeky wooden chairs at wooden tables next to wood plated walls. Atmosphere is genuinely friendly, people go about their business eating and drinking the good stuff.

A young waitress with a smile on her face welcomes you and she knows the house specials without checking the menu. Just two brands of beer on the menu, one light pilsener and one dark. Both Prague genuine delicious beers.

You get a pint and unwind a bit. As a tourist that has just walked a few hours you are hungry and want to taste some Prague local traditional local specialities. Get the rabbit and duck roast with the omnipresent bread and potato dumplings. 

Good choice: the roast meat is tender and doesn't feel old, dumplings are incredibly light and fluffy. The spinach  on the rabbit dish is real spinnach (fresh, not frozen). Sauerkraut is sauerkraut!

Espresso Style verdict: a bouchon like restaurant in the muddle of Prague, honest, genuine, not a rip of like many other joints around there, packed with locals where you can enjoy good beer and perfectly done Czech traditional specials. 5 stars out of 5 for food, 5 for service, 5 for atmosphere! 

  

Espresso Style Recommends: Irish Pub, Constanta, Romania

I recently visited the Irish Pub in Constanta, Romania, my home town. It has long had a reputation for being one of the best places to eat in town. The relative notoriety and high standards are possible to uphold because of two reasons, in my opinion: one is that they are a franchise and therefor have to maintain a good joint and second because the notoriety of the brand is such that they attract a large number of people from out of town (note, the capital city, Bucharest) and, more important, expats and western business people.

That being said, let's get to the food and drink. We were a party of four, located in the non smoking area (not entirely separate, but good enough) for a semi festive lunch.

I arrived first and ordered an espresso.

First gold star they get for the attention of the waitress who asked me if i wanted my espresso normal or stretto (I already asked for a short one). So far, so good. The water was given as asked, not too cold, and served in nice tall glasses.

Then, when everybody was at the table we were served some fresh baked buns with Lupark (premium brand) butter. They were sooo good! We just ate them right away so I didn't have time for photos.

When it was time to eat, we ordered and the food was brought to us in reasonable time. We started with some salmon crostini, served with a generous helping of green salad, onions and tomato, dressed with a yogurt sauce.  It was good, regarding both taste and presentation.

The others had some eggplant dip and a lovely looking pumpkin cream soup with croutons that I never tasted.

For the main course I ordered a leg of duck (comfit) with orange and blood orange sauce. It was good, the meat fell wright off the bone and the little slices of orange were cut professionally and served without the little skins. The sauce a little too sweet, but ... who am I to complain. On the side were gratinated potatoes, cut in thin slices.

The misses had some carbonara, made with penne as a special request (in the menu were spaghetti) which she said was a little salty from all the parmesan cheese, but very tasty otherwise.

 The other couple had a roll of chicken meat with salmon in the middle (oddly tasting, strong fish taste, nice enough) with mashed potatoes and a serving of pasta with sea food and red sauce.

For desert we went for a chocolate and sour cherry roulade. That was good as long as you only had two teaspoons of it, otherwise it got too sweet.

Anyway, the place gets 4 (out of 5) stars for the food quality, and 4 as well for the service and atmosphere. The chairs were comfortable for eating and lounging (that tends to be a problem in some other places), the hall was populated enough not to feel lonely but not jam packed. The bar was well maned and worked fast and good. The waitress and helpers were also fast and polite and knew the menu. Smiles are important and we received them in proper moderation.
Not the least, the music was good (lounge style instrumental) and not too loud. I was told that it shifts towards a higher  bpm and volume in the evening. They have their own DJ. 

I recommend Irish Pub in Constanta with all confidence.

EspressoStyle Recommends: Casa Cositorarilor, Sighisoara

In june this year we went for a one day trip to the medieval town of Sighisoara, Romania. Among the many things to see and visit, I'd like to recommend the most beautiful terrace I ever sat at, in Romania. No joke, that's how it seemed to me at the time. Of course there is no such thing as the absolute best, because, as we say in Romanian "you cannot compare apples and pears", but lately, there are very few places that are unafectet by that dreadful virus of bad taste. And, in this context, for me, simply the lack of bad taste in a place is a strong point in favor. And Casa Cositorarilor was just that.
 Add to that the old and weathered aspect of the little garden terrace, the proximity of the medieval buildings, the cobble street, the out of the box immaculate uniforms of the girls serving at tables, the old stone walls, the amazing blossoming plants and last but not least, the excellent quality of the food and drink... that sums up to just about the best I've seen lately, if not ever.

So, we had an excellent espresso Kimbo (the only place in Romania where I've been served this Napoli origin brand of coffee), Borsec mineral water (premium brand) and two kinds of cake.

I had a rhubarb cake topped with a light white egg foam and she had an even more tasty wild strawberries slice of fresh cheeseake. We strongly recommend Casa Cositorarilor terrace cafe and sweet shop in Sighisoara, for the summer 2011.

EspressoStyle Recommends: La Turn, Sibiu

La Turn is a restaurant terrace situated in Sibiu, Romania, in the historical center of the city. We are talking about the European Capital of Culture of 2007. It has excellent placement towards both main piazzas of the medieval city of Sibiu. We sat on the terrace in the Little Piazza. The food is good, not the absolute best, but definitely above average. It's Italian based cuisine, which in itself is a plus, especially if cooked well, but for the restaurant market in Romania that is over saturated with Italian oriented menus, it turns into a minus. Well, that being said, it's a good joint. Let's go to the food.

We started with a chicken salad for her and some salmon crostini for me. They were bot good, especially the crostini (although it could have been jut my raging hunger at the time). Anyway, they were baked just enough to melt and brown the cheese a bit. Lovely. Bread was not great, but not bad either.

Next came a dish of penne pasta al forno (baked in the oven) with chicken meat and mushrooms, a pink sauce and mozzarella on top. That was good, not too fat and totally eatable. The reason I save up on the praises is because the ingredients used were average, at best. The lean chicken breast strips, the sliced (maybe even canned) champignon mushrooms, cheap mozzarella. The pink sauce saved the dish by being light enough and smooth. Other than that, great.

The girl who served us was quick and communicative, with good knowledge of the menu. Smiles and everything.

For desert: a fried batter thing called "papanashi" (romanian classic) with cream and fruit jam for her and just espresso for me. Sadly, both of these were below average.  The papanashi was too fat and over fried and the espresso a bit bitter. Considering though that by this time we were full bellied and more indulgent, I got past very well and made it a nice lunch out. 

Scenery in the Little Piazza of Sibiu is just satisfying enough, anyway.

I give it 3 stars out of 5 for food quality, and also 3 for atmosphere. That means it was very nice. 4 stars means I was very impressed and 5 is reserved for the very best in the business.

That also means I warmly recommend La Turn, in Sibiu, Romania.

No Reservations Paris

I simply cannot believe to what amazing heights of knowledge and epicurean artistry have some people arrived to.

Anthony Bourdain rounds up his 100 episode achievement of the show No Reservations with a trip to Paris. Be sure to check out episodes 2 and 3 also. 

Where NOT to eat in Paris

Ah, Paris, with it's street side cafes and romantic bistros. I love it.

And I was there in september, strolling by through Place de la Republique. And, what do you know!? We got hungry. My wife felt like some pizza (well, even in Paris...pizza) and we sat down at a restaurant's table next to the sidewalk. We ordered fast and it came in fairly quickly: a salad for me and a pizza with spiced sausage for her. Water and a small glass of Bordeaux. It was not good, I tell you. Well to be honest, it was average. At least not what you would expect from a very well placed restaurant in Paris.

The pizza was plain, made with ordinary ingredients. The sausage was the low price supermarket (the kind with not much meat in it) and the doe was clearly not baked in an wood burning oven. OK, not every place has an wood burning oven, but even an electric oven makes a better crust.

My salad was simple, no dressing. The day before I ate a wonderfully dressed salad at another restaurant (review coming soon) and I guess i was expecting too much this time. Again the ingredients were plain, cheap, cold and with a feel of leftovers to them. Cold meat, grilled and chopped thin: it felt like it was from hours ago, at least.

And everything at a price pushing tword 40 euros, no thank you, not ever again.

The place is called PIZZA PINO, Place de la Republique, Paris. Don't go there for a feel of Paris. Go only if you're plain hungry....neah, not even so!