favorite czech & slovak cuisine

instead of write about my all-time favorite food while traveling, i chose to narrow the focus a little: czech & slovak cuisine (and no, that’s not czechoslovakian cusine because although the two countries were intertwined for decades, they’ve been doing their own thang for over twenty years). and i have to say: czech food is so much more than just pork and dumplings. in fact, i’ve been doing a “no pork” thing for almost a year now and there are still so many dishes to try that would please carnivore and vegetarian alike.

some of my favorites include…

česnečka (garlic soup). a garlic lover’s dream! the czechs don’t skimp on the garlic. add to that a good broth, tasty croutons, and lots of cheese and you have my favorite dish that i will probably be struggling to replicate after leaving the country. but there’s no reason to learn how to cook it now when i can walk down the street and have a bowl for a mere $1.25.

zelnečka (sauerkraut soup). the epitome of something that is way tastier than the name suggests! this will make a believer out of a sauerkraut hater. the broth is to die for, and if it’s not orange, you’re doing it wrong.

bramborák (potato pancake). a delicious and hearty fair/market food when you want something more of a meal than trdelnik but not quite an all-out meat dish.

pečená kachna, zelí, a knedlík (roast duck with cabbage & dumplings). this one’s for my meat-eaters: don’t miss the opportunity to have this favorite traditional meal of mine! it’s so rich i usually only eat it once per year, but it’s unmissable. often served with either bread dumplings (light, fluffy, looks like round slices of white bread) or potato dumplings (thicker, denser, still round slices, slightly more familiar to the kind of dumplings you may have had in the past)

bryndzové halušky (little dumplings in sheep’s cheese). the creme de la creme, and slovakia’s national dish. if you venture into slovakia (which you definitely should- it’s quite underrated), do not miss the opportunity to eat dumplings in the richest cheese sauce you ever did have. it’s so rich i always quit halfway through but the delicious flavor keeps me coming back time and time again. counting down the days until “slovak cuisine days” returns this winter… or until i get an opportunity to adventure into slovakia some more.

and to wash it all down with…

kofola. everyone knows about czech beer (pilsner! budvar!) but do you know about czechoslovakia’s answer to coca-cola? it tastes very similar but much more herbal. for a non-alcoholic czech beverage experience, a nice cold kofola really hits the spot on a hot day!

these two countries in the heart of europe certainly do not disappoint with their cuisine, especially if you love the typical meat and potatoes fare, but as you can see there is truly something for vegetarians as well. ps, check out czech eats for more on my favorite czech snacks i’ve discovered.

happy travel tuesday, folks! today i am featuring jessica of curiosity travels for her post about meteora, greece and the other-wordly sandstone mountains, some with monasteries atop. this almost made me decide to scrap my greek island plans and turn back to the mainland… almost. 

if you’re a blogger, join us for travel tuesday this week! here’s how it works: share a post about travel, link back to co-hosts bonnie, courtney, yalanda, & myself (cynthia) in a link. add your link & hop around.

as today is the last tuesday of the month, it’s a themed prompt day: best and worst cuisines abroad. tell us what food you’ve loved (and/or hated) and link-up! (you can feel free to continue with your regularly scheduled programming if you’re not feeling it, but consider joining in next month)