by Rachel Staggs - Travel Tracks
( March 22nd, 2012 )
Our pilgrimage to Czech wine country nearly made us late for our set. The tour manager in me was panicked when we were set back even further after being pulled over by the police on our way into the college town of Olomouc. Luckily, Carlos had learned enough Czech to say that we didn’t speak Czech and had all of the official papers (rental car, international driving permit, passports). We still have no idea what was going on, but they were staked out on the road leading into town. They were polite and let us go after viewing all of our documents. We made it in time to set up at a rapid pace, sell a few copies of our LP, and perform our set, which included a ghost sighting.
But let’s get back to the wine!
We began our Czech wine tasting in Prague at a wine bar called Vinograf, where Jan Culík schooled us on Czech wines. I am a (very particular) red wine drinker and was able to learn about a grape I’d never heard of, Frankovka. Frankovka satisfied my taste for a dry red, where I can almost taste the terroir. I really loved the vibe at Vinograf. It was intimate and warm, not touristy at all, and felt like a local secret. Carlos had stumbled upon it earlier in the day while looking for a market. He brought back two bottles of wine and said if we had time we should stop in for a drink later. I’m glad we did because it kicked off our desire to make a stop in the heart of wine country. While at Vinograf we also enjoyed a local cheese plate and an authentic bramboráky (savory potato pancake).
The other establishment that lit our wine country fire was CODA restaurant in Prague. The sommelier at CODA was kind enough to give us the name of a winemaker in the village of Mikulov. Unfortunately, by the time we made it to the village the sun was beginning its slow decent for the day and we had just enough time to find a place to eat as I photographed the gorgeous buildings.
So, we made it to our destination, but didn’t have enough time to partake in the ritual of wine tasting at a proper Czech winery. I think this sort of pilgrimage tends to need a different pace than touring allows. Next time!
We settled in on our night off with a bottle of Czech Cabernet Sauvignon. We got this one at a gas station and it was good!
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by Rachel Staggs - Travel Tracks
( March 14th, 2012 )
When I was a kid, we would drive down to the Texas Gulf Coast to visit family and eat fresh seafood, right off the boat. Looking for some small town Texas flavor, Carlos and I attended the 33rd annual Fulton, Texas Oysterfest this year. I found us a hotel room with a kitchenette, so Carlos (who has become quite the chef) and I decided to pick up fresh squid at Captain Joe’s Seafood Market in Aransas Pass. He made a delicious pasta with greens from our CSA, garlic, heirloom tomatoes, and squid that was caught earlier in the day. We love squid and eat it quite often. The fresh squid, which hadn’t traveled but a few miles to the market, was superb. We could taste the difference.
After the squid was cleaned and prepped for cooking.
Carlos researched how to clean the squid and discovered they each have a beak, an inedible piece of cartilage. They use their beaks to drill holes in their prey. I never would have guessed a cephalopod to have a beak!
WanderFood
Related links: Isla Mujeres, Quintana Roo, Mexico: All I Want For Lunch Is Octopus Ceviche!
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by Rachel Staggs - Travel Tracks
( March 6th, 2012 )
Apparently I have a nose for Michelin approved restaurants. Too bad I nearly fell asleep in my delicious 3-course meal.
Carlos and I were wandering around the maze of streets in Old Town Prague trying to stay awake long enough to get our jet-lag under control. I really wanted a glass of wine and as we rounded a corner, it was as if the universe lit up and spoke to us when we saw the sign for Le Terroir. In my foggy mind, I thought, “terrain, earth, wine vines!”, so we entered the door hoping to spend about half an hour with a good glass of wine.
What we didn’t realize was I had led us to a restaurant with Bib Gourmand status. We had heard of the Michelin star rating system, but didn’t know what Bib Gourmand was and that it’s quite a rarity in Prague. Exhausted and somewhat hungry, we decided to stay. We were led to a beautiful underground wine cellar turned restaurant. Unfortunately, I only have a couple of photos from my phone of the interior because we had just arrived and wanted to get our bearings before carrying around cameras.
Diners can choose from a 3, 4, 5, or 6 course meal and the menu changes about every four weeks. They use seasonal ingredients and everything we had was super fresh. We were a bit worried with our limited diets of no dairy and only seafood that the staff may be frustrated, but it was quite the opposite. They saw it as a challenge and created a special 3-course meal for us featuring a beautiful salad, sea bream, and a scallop dish that blew my mind. I don’t usually like scallops, but the dish they created was divine.
(photo credit: Carlos Jackson)
As we were enjoying our last course, I suddenly started to fall asleep. I’ve had jet-lag before, but this was heavy duty and I was quite embarrassed as I fought my body’s urge to nod off. Carlos told our waiter that I was fading fast and they asked if we had time for dessert. They had started making a special dessert for us during our first course since all of the desserts on the menu had dairy in them. We did not expect this and felt so taken care of. I hung in there for dessert, which was a delicious fruit sorbet. They swiftly brought us the check, called a cab, helped me into my coat, and the manager walked us out to the cab, holding the door as we got in.
A few days later, we stumbled upon the restaurant again and considered a second round before taking off for the Czech countryside. Sadly, they were closed.
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