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Good eats and bad art in Vinohrady By Evan Rail Staff Writer, The Prague Post (January 22, 2004) Here's a secret about restaurant reviewers: We tend to choose menu items with long, complicated names. This is done because words are the building blocks of our trade, the basic material of which every article must be constructed, and a long name offers plenty to work with. Consequently, you'll see a lot of reviews of "oven-braised, pan-seared, herb-encrusted fillet of organic South American winged batfish" or something similarly long-winded, which gets the writer a little bit closer to finishing the article -- or at least through the first paragraph. This means, of course, that restaurant reviewers are likely to skip over a menu item simply labeled "hamburger." At Mozaika, a recently opened restaurant near Jiriho z Podebrad metro, that would be a mistake. The burger, a possible nominee for the best in town, is served on a fluffy, house-made spinach roll, topped with grilled mushroom caps, fresh tomatoes, crisp romaine lettuce leaves, sweetly caramelized white onions and a dab of creamy mayo, and then speared through the center by a long, wooden skewer. That alone gives you plenty of verbiage without even having to mention that it's absolutely delicious, though far too large to eat with your hands. Prepare to use a knife and fork.
Mozaika has other dishes worth writing about, including a daily soup special for 39 Kc ($1.50) -- on one recent visit, a broccoli puree thickened with potatoes. Gazpacho, another monomial menu item, features a fine dice of fresh cucumbers and red and green bell peppers in a slightly garlicky broth, brightened by a swirl of fragrant basil oil. Other appetizers are similarly priced in the 70-100 Kc range. Main courses include the excellent above-mentioned hamburger and several salads and sandwiches, most priced well under 200 Kc. Of these, the pork cutlet is very good: served slightly pink inside, nicely browned outside, with a neat timbale composed of fried potato cubes and a tart sour-cherry sauce whose slightly acidic nature is a good foil to the rich meat. Echoing a classic serving of pork chops with applesauce, a pile of dried apple chips arrives alongside. Even better is the tandoori chicken, a boneless breast and wing covered in spicy tandoori sauce and baked until just done. Served atop a handful of fresh arugula and accompanied by basmati rice and a buttery coconut-milk dressing, the dish alternates between peppery (tandoori), sweet (coconut) and bitter (arugula) flavors.
The limited dessert menu includes a very good and very rich American-style cheesecake made with Bailey's Irish Cream. Also recommended is the carrot cake, which strangely forgoes the traditional vanilla-scented frosting for an accompaniment of vanilla ice cream and raspberry sauce. Mozaika is an informal, casual cafe-style eatery with comfortable chairs; the walls are painted a soothing shade of peach. Along with the relaxed prices, the low-volume music is also laid-back, ranging from Air to the Cardigans during our recent visits. It's worth mentioning that there is some terrible art currently on display, the kind that includes rainbows. That said, Mozaika is still an excellent destination showcasing some serious culinary technique, a relative rarity in these parts. In a word: Go.
Evan Rail can be reached at erail@praguepost.com
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