Fat is all around us

Sagi Amit and his redheaded spouse sacrificed their own blood vessels for a visit to Little Prague at Herzliya Pituah. They found an authentic Czech corner with a magical atmosphere, huge portions and an abundance of cholesterol.

By Sagi Amit

A month ago I decided to take a week off abroad. Greece and the entire Western Europe was out of the picture, I simply didn't want to waste a year's rent on breakfast. Turkey was too similar to my own neighborhood. So I let my redhead choose between the Czech Republic and Bulgaria (whatever happens it's on her). Bulgaria was chosen. A magical week on the golden sands of Varna left us wanting more, but with hardly any money. That's how we found ourselves on the way to the Czech Republic. Well, not exactly, but close. At Herzliya Pituah, right around the corner, there's a branch of the unofficial gastronomic Czech embassy – the Little Prague restaurant.

It was still early when we found it hiding behind the Max Brenner café. Little Prague is a picturesque place that draws you right into it. Dozens of authentic pictures on the wall make you stop and stare. A cute waitress comes with a nice menu and we're ready for our Czech feast.

We started with a real Czech spread (25 NIS). It's made of hard and fatty cheese grated with garlic and mayonnaise with ham, pickles and bread. To avoid being left with more dip than bread, we also ordered the Lángos (21 NIS). It's originally from Hungary, and is considered the traditional bread for breakfast. This place served it deep fried; although it is usually grilled (lang is a flame in Hungarian). Anyway, we were happy with our quite decent Czech version of this cholesterol-filled delight. We also tasted the Chopsky salad (35 NIS) – fresh vegetables, and grated Bulgarian cheese, which was quite light compared to the mountains of fat around it.

We reached the entrées with our stomachs almost full, but it didn't stop us from eating more. My redhead had stir-fried chicken liver with red wine, butter, onions and soy (44 NIS). I have to question the authenticity of that one, but it was so delicious we didn't really care. I almost settled for a salad, but ended up wolfing down a massive Chernohorsky steak (50 NIS), crispy white meat with grated cheese. True decadence. Not words can describe the joy it brought me.

We finished with tea and a traditional almond cake (25 NIS). The fatty yet tasty standards were met again. We were terribly close to ordering a Felchinky, which is actually a dish of blintzes with sweet and yummy filling. We finally decided to stick to the almond cake and spare our veins.

The dishes are anything but little, but if that's the way they do it in the Czech Republic, I guess I know where my next vacation will be.

*The writer dined at the restaurant.