Category: Culture

The Communist Cookbook That Defined Prague’s Cuisine

Cooks that wanted to deviate from these recipes had to get approval from the Ministry of Health, a request that could take years to go through. Most people opted for the easier route, which is how thousands of nearly identical menus came to be established across the country.

The old-fashioned Czech cuisine which was around when I first visited Prague gets a lot of criticism. I quite liked a lot of it, so I’m more interested in seeing a revival and re-imagining of that Czech food rather than any Italian restaurant no matter how many Michelin stars it gets. I hope I get the opportunity to see Czech Cuisine: A Modern Approach.

P.S. I didn’t know there was a Prague Gastronomy Museum!

Source: The Communist Cookbook That Defined Prague’s Cuisine | Atlas Obscura

‘Cabin fever’ drives young Czechs out of Soviet-era housing

“It’s something like (cabin fever), but let’s say it lasts for 15 years or so…”

“South Town, also known as Jizni Mesto or Prague 11, is an endless field of these buildings, called panelak ”panel buildings” in Czech, which sprung up in the early 1960s and now make up more than 30 per cent of the nation’s housing stock.”

During my first two trips to Prague my wife and I stayed in an apartment in a “panelak” and it was a perfect short-term place to stay: Just enough space for two travelers who didn’t have many possessions. It was in the Pankrác neighborhood, right next to the Metro and an open-air market.

It was perfect then, but now that I have a family of my own I can understand the cabin fever.

Speaking of moles

In the news this past spring: Space is the final frontier for Czech child icon

The 19-centimeter (7.5-inch) toy version of the character, created by Czech animator Zdenek Miler, has been chosen to accompany U.S. astronaut Andrew Feustel on Endeavour’s last mission as NASA ends its shuttle program.

I like the Post’s headline much better than the Wall Street Journal’s, Space Shuttle Stowaway Is a Commie Mole.