Eating in the Czech Republic, A Review

I have too many thoughts, so I'm going to start with the most important one: food.  Prague has one of my new favorite restaurants: Cerny Kohout, or the Black Rooster.  It was also briefly reviewed here by the NYTimes, but I don't think they did it justice.  

This is a family restaurant, and you feel that the minute you walk through the door.  We were welcomed with warmth, music ranging from Strauss to Elvis, and freshly baked rolls served with garlic-and-herb butter that even I ate (I, who have not eaten bread with butter in about 3 years).  The meal could have ended there; I cannot begin to describe the goodness that was that butter.  Incidentally, the menu comes in Czech, English, and German, so travelers from almost anywhere will be just fine.

I also discovered a new wine: Austrian and Czech Gruner Veltiner, a white wine I liked en pareleil to riesling, the only other white wine I enjoy, not being a fan of dry, chardonnay or pinot types.  I'm going to have to find this one in New York (which, despite the waiter's info that it's not sold in the US, I am confident did not include NYC).  

Now for the main courses: it is indeed a blend of Czech and French cuisine, taking very familiar (to me) Central European dishes and lightening them up considerably.  We sampled duck, lamb, and two types of fish, and I would be hard-pressed to choose a favorite.  Given that there were three of us, we were able to try that variety because we actually went back to it again -- how's that for a recommendation!  We ate there twice in the 4 days we were in Prague.  

Mrs. Petrikova, in case you find this review, this is my mom enjoying her cup of tea: