Certified CZECH's ???

Mr.Major,thanks for the fast reply. By the way, I like those T-Shirts. I am sorry,that I am not Czech.

Don't miss the Klobase-Kolache festival in East Bernard, Texas...held every year on the second Saturday in June!

One of my best roadfood experiences was in a Czech restaurant in Vancouver B.C. we were enjoying our meal when a couple Armanai clad Canadian slicksters arrived with two men speaking what I assumed to be Czech to one another. Their conversation consisted of talk about hockey equipment endorsements, television rebroadcast rights of NHL games and other assorted hockey matters. I took a second look and recognized Dominek Hasek, the goalie. This convinced me the Czech food was authentic.

I was born and raised outside of Chicago. My grandparents are both from the Bohemia. When you are in the western suburbs of Chicago, the Bohemian Crystal is not a bad place, however if you truly want traditional Czech food you need to visit "The Riverside Restaurant" in Riverside, IL. My second suggestion would be “Little Europe” on Ogden Ave, in LaGrange, IL. For the best rye bread in town you need to go to a place called “Fingerhut Bakery” in Cicero. This bakery is now located in a bit of a shady neighborhood so be careful where you park and what you leave in the car.

DK,
Thanks for the suggestions for the Czech food in the Chicago area...and Welcome to the Roadfood Site. My grandparents lived, and my Mom went to High School back in the 20's in the Cicero-Berwin area. I find it hard to believe that the community they described to me as we talked of the family life back in those days, was the same community that I see in all the gangster films.

I see that you are located in Minnesota. We have enjoyed a couple of visits to New Prague, south of you, and found some good Czech food there. I will dig back thru our travel files to get the name of the place that my mother said made Dill gravy as good as any her Mother had ever made.

For those of you who may have missed it, this was Mr. Mayor's very first post on Roadfood. He started a topic and "stuck his nose in" here.

Texas has a lot of Czech heritage. One of my best friends is an Urbanovsky from the Wharton area. The music and the kolaches are my favorite things!

The Germans and the Czechs were actually the original settlers that made Texas what it is, along with people from Missouri, Tennessee, and Kentucky.

West, TX is known for great kolaches, but there's an awesome place just up the road from me in Taylor that is the real thing; The Kolache Shoppe. (I still can't figure where they came up with that name.) The poppy seed kolaches are my favorite!

DK: you brought back many memories for me. As a highschooler, I worked at Fingerhut Bakeries. Got to this forum because I'm looking for an authentic raised dumpling (made with yeast) recipe. Anyhow, am a 100% Czech, raised in Berwyn. Live in central Kentucky now with my spouse raising racehorses. No Czech food around these parts--I told my family that the Czech meal I made for Thanksgiving was probably the only one they would find within a 300 mile radius. Happy to hear there are several good Czech restaurants in Texas.

Mary Anne,
Welcome to Roadfood. I wish I could brag to you about the great Raised (Bread) Dumplings I make...but the truth is I've not tried to do them. I have a couple of Czech cookbooks that I picked up at the Czech festivals in Nebraska and Iowa. They have a few recipes for the raised dumplings. If you would like them , let me know and I will try to post at least a couple.
We have cousins in Delaware who have the skills and use them !! We enjoyed a dinner last summer that included Duck and Dumplings and Red Cabbage.
If you find any good Czech food here in the Kentuckiana area please let us know, Chicago is a bit far to go for dinner!!

I live in San Antonio, TX and my girlfriend is Czech. She lives in California but is coming to Texas next weekend. I'd like to take her to one of the Czech towns in Texas, but do not know which one has the most 'Czech ambience' and authentic Czech restaurants. Can anyone give me any suggestions?

Geordie,
Two Suggestions.
WEST is a small town right beside I-35 just north of Waco. It has a restaurant, a butchershop and a bunch of stores and a bakery with Czech names, and the window treatment that seems to be common in many Czech towns (bordering the store-windows with painted flowers etc) At the Freeway exit is the Czech-Stop A small truckstop/convenience store and bakery.

Schulenburg is on I-10 where it crosses US 77 (exit 674) between San Antonio and Houston. Plenty of food in town and a suggested 'U-drive' tour of several small crossroads communities surrounding it. The tour focus's on Six Churches in the area that are painted in the 'Old Czech Mural Style'. One of the tiny communities is Praha, not much there but the Church...but that is worth a visit. Plus SHINER is closeby and should be a definite YES when it comes to visit. Take the Brewery tour and enjoy the samples.

It would be hard to do both places in one day. But one one day and one the next day would be two great "Day-Trips"

My wife leaves for Milan then into Prague on Atalia Sat afternoon from O'Hare (ORD). Her 14 y/o son lives there.Pretty cheap RT at $569.I'll ask her what she ate when she returns.Probably she'll eat at the hotel mostly unless she can find a Chinese place nearby-she's from Shanghai.[|)]

quote:

Originally posted by Al-The Mayor-Bowen


Geordie,
Two Suggestions.
WEST is a small town right beside I-35 just north of Waco. It has a restaurant, a butchershop and a bunch of stores and a bakery with Czech names, and the window treatment that seems to be common in many Czech towns (bordering the store-windows with painted flowers etc) At the Freeway exit is the Czech-Stop A small truckstop/convenience store and bakery.

Schulenburg is on I-10 where it crosses US 77 (exit 674) between San Antonio and Houston. Plenty of food in town and a suggested 'U-drive' tour of several small crossroads communities surrounding it. The tour focus's on Six Churches in the area that are painted in the 'Old Czech Mural Style'. One of the tiny communities is Praha, not much there but the Church...but that is worth a visit. Plus SHINER is closeby and should be a definite YES when it comes to visit. Take the Brewery tour and enjoy the samples.

It would be hard to do both places in one day. But one one day and one the next day would be two great "Day-Trips"

Seems I remember attending a Kolache Fest in West, Texas a few years back... in the middle of Summer and hot as heck... the Polka playing accordianist from The Lawerence Welk Show was there... great food and lots of fun!!! (I actually danced!)

By the way, I'm half Czech and Proud of it!!!... The Havorka Foundation helped put me thru college...

Mr. Mayor, you might dig up some good information on www.chowhound.com/main.html . I just search "Czech" on the Chowhound board and found 51 posts via a "Powered by Google" search and 555 posts via a "Classic Search".

quote:

Originally posted by jeepguy

My wife leaves for Milan then into Prague on Atalia Sat afternoon from O'Hare (ORD). Her 14 y/o son lives there.Pretty cheap RT at $569.I'll ask her what she ate when she returns.Probably she'll eat at the hotel mostly unless she can find a Chinese place nearby-she's from Shanghai.[|)]

Well my wife just called from Milan.She arrived last night at 11pm Chicago time.She had a two hour layover and she missed her flight to Prague.She said the workers at the transfer gate were terribly slow and there was a huge line.After an 8 hr flight and a two hr layover she must now wait until 3pm to depart-nine hours later!She said many people missed their flights also,by 10 minutes.I'm glad she's gone but not real happy with Atalia right now.Normally a flight would check the passenger list and hold off for 10 minutes but not them.Now she's stuck,"all 95lbs of her" by herself in an airport in Italy! ****!

Sorry to read of the flight problems! When we brought family members over last spring we did a pretty decent connection thru Paris from Cincinnati to Prague and return. The Cincinnati airport has a large number of international flights originating there (Delta)...We'll see if that continues considering Delta's financial woes.

She's sleeping soundly in her hotel now.Her ex-husband,son and new Czech wife met her at the airport and all grabbed a bite to eat-"i'll ask later".She had quite an experience with this one though.Thanks.

I am planning to be in Prague the last week in March.
Anyone have recommendations for roadfood places there?
Lovemefood: Since I live close enough to Dover, do you remember the name of the
Czech restaurant?

CZECH CENTER NEW YORK invites you to:


10th ANNUAL BESEDA BALL 2006 -- THE CZECH SOCIETY BALL in New York

WITH THE BIG BAND OF ONDREJ HAVELKA & HIS MELODY MAKERS from Prague

FEBRUARY 24, 2006
Rainbow Room, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York

Reception at 7 pm, Dinner at 8 pm

The 1896 Society and the Czech Center New York invite you to the 10th Annual BESEDA BALL 2006 - the CZECH SOCIETY BALL in New York. Come and enjoy the breathtaking view over Manhattan from the 65th floor and dance to fabulous live music provided by the Big Band of Ondrej Havelka & his Melody Makers.

White or black tie.

Guests of honor:
H. E. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Petr Kolar
H. E. Ambassador to the United Nations Hynek Kmonicek
Consul General Ales Pospisil
General Manager of Czech Centers Jan Bondy
The Honorable Peter Gandalovic
Hon. Consul Peter A. Rafaeli

Organized by the Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association in cooperation
with
the Czech Center New York.

Tickets for Open Bar and Dancing at $ 85 per Person
Tickets for Dinner and Dancing at $ 250 per Person
RAFFLE Tickets at $ 5 per Ticket
For tickets call (212) 288 0830 ext. 100

Source: http://www.csplanet.com/index.php?page=9

Here's a partial U.S. restaurant Czech list:

http://foodpages.us/?SearchDD=1&far=1&zip=&stno=&addresst=&city=&prov=&namef=Czech&subcategoryf=&itemsf=&GoGuestB=Restaurants&advsrch=1

Also,no rubbber Czechs accepted here:

http://foodpages.us/121093?showmap=1

quote:

Originally posted by dk

I was born and raised outside of Chicago. My grandparents are both from the Bohemia. When you are in the western suburbs of Chicago, the Bohemian Crystal is not a bad place, however if you truly want traditional Czech food you need to visit "The Riverside Restaurant" in Riverside, IL. My second suggestion would be “Little Europe” on Ogden Ave, in LaGrange, IL. For the best rye bread in town you need to go to a place called “Fingerhut Bakery” in Cicero. This bakery is now located in a bit of a shady neighborhood so be careful where you park and what you leave in the car.

http://www.martinsrestaurantmb.com/about.html
My boss is Czech, and he and his nephew run a sweet little restaurant in a resort here in Myrtle Beach.
I enjoy working for them, and look forward to being with them for quite some time.
He also runs the poolside cafe, which is where I work.

I have made West, Texas (town not a part of Texas) a stop several times before. The last time was with RickF. This time I went into downtown and stopped at their only grocery store which had a ample supply of Nemechecks sausages.

I made a stop at the Czech Stop at their bakery, service station and gadget store. I bought some great fresh Kolaches (all sausage and cheese), a great Dr. Pepper and across the interstate was a brand new hotel call the Czech Inn.

I can see why the Mayor stops there to observe train traffic as there is a major rail right through the middle of town.

I am in Austin today and I think I might make a drive tomorrow over to Fredericksburg, TX for a little ride which takes me through Johnson City where Bushie showed me a great chicken fried steak place along with a place that makes Texas Jerky.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

aah... now we're talking about REAL FOOD!! I'm tired of eating Mexican, Italian etc... I'm Czech also.. actually 1/2 Czech and 1/2 Ukraine..
I've eaten at the Czech American Restaurant in West.. here's a pic of some good food.. lol

http://www.bartonekdragracing.com/webfilez/oklahoma090404/DSC00011.JPG

I'm always looking for some authentic Czech food..I dont know of any in San Antonio though.. seems as though you can find dessert everywhere but not some good food..

btw, if you want to eat some Russian food there is a deli in Austin called Sasha's Russian Market and Deli 512-459-1449..good food there also.. not for a entire family dinner but lunch is fine.

If anyone knows of any Czech restaurants in S.A. feel free to email me.

-Alex

Hi Alex, VITAME' VAS...(Welcome to Roadfood.)
Other than WEST, TX we have found that there are several SMALL vllages in the Schulenberg (SP?) area between San Antonio and Houston just off I-10)- Praha, Morevia and others. I am sure that a day-tripover to that area would prove 'foodworthy'. There is a great Czech-Museum in Temple TX in the Sokol Insurance building that is worth a visit also.

One of the better Czech dinners (in a restaurant) that we have enjoyed on our trips was/is in New Prague, MN. I can't recall off hand the name of the place but it was a LARGE place on the edge of that small town and the Liver Soup and Dill Gravy was outstanding. New Prague is south of the twin cities about an hour.

A couple of years ago a co-worker and his wife attended a family get together one weekend out in the Czech belt between Houston and San Antonio. All the relatives showed up on Saturday morning with boxes of kolaches from their local bakeries and he had the chance to sample kolaches side by side from about a dozen small town bakeries.

He reported the best were from a bakery in Hallettsville but he didn't get the name, just that it was 'a few blocks from the WalMart.' Well, everything in Hallettsville is just a few blocks from the Walmart .

I've found three listings for bakeries in Hallettsville, including City Bakery, which is right next to a meat market bbq joint (Novosads) and the closest to WalMart I think, Kountry Bakery and Pam's or Jane's or Somebody's Sweet Shop (forget which).

I drove through there on Mother's Day heading up to visit relatives in Austin, but everything was closed up tight and I didn't get a chance to sample anything.

I'll second the New Prague Restaurant in Georgetown, CO (just off I-70).

George, the owner, was friendly even though we arrived just at closing time. The pork schnitzel was spot on (especially loved the red cabbage), the pork chop "vtlava" had a tasty plum sauce, and they serve Budvar (Czechvar in the US) to boot. Everything stood up to the best versions I've had in Prague.

New Prague Restaurant
511 Rose St
Georgetown, CO 80444
(303) 569-2861

I am bumping this thread back to life so I can ask a question about "the name" of a restaurant in New Prague, MN. We stopped there twice back in the mid-90's with my Mom. The place had the appearance of a 'Western Steak House' Lots of log cabin trim and open beam construction with a large dining room. It was fairly new at that time. The menu included some good Czech staples as well as the usual American Minnesota food ! I am hoping that one of you Lukefisk lovers will recall the name of this place and post it for me.

AL

quote:

Originally posted by Al-The Mayor-Bowen


I am bumping this thread back to life so I can ask a question about "the name" of a restaurant in New Prague, MN. We stopped there twice back in the mid-90's with my Mom. The place had the appearance of a 'Western Steak House' Lots of log cabin trim and open beam construction with a large dining room. It was fairly new at that time. The menu included some good Czech staples as well as the usual American Minnesota food ! I am hoping that one of you Lukefisk lovers will recall the name of this place and post it for me.

AL

Albertoooo, I bet it's got to be this place...hell there aint much more in New Prague. It was on my shot short list this summer ....but settled for the Black Forest in Minneapolis
SCHUMACHER'S HOTEL AND RESTAURANT

Frank,
I wish it was that easy. No, we have been to Schumacher's twice...enjoying both visits. The place I am talking about was on (or beyond) the edge of town and had a natural wood (log) siding. It also had a "Wall's Drug Sign xxx miles" on the side of the building facing the parking lot. Rerally feel dumb that i can remember that, but not the name of the place.

I drive back and forth from my home in Dallas to Austin quite often. I always stop in West for gas (cheaper there) and something to eat in one of the local Czech restaurants.
Al, you told me once about the place you like in West. Could you refresh my memory? I think you said it was on the way into "downtown" West from I-35.