You don't have to be in Prague long to hear complaints about the standard of service in restaurants and bars. It's an opinion shared by many visitors, almost every expat and even some of the locals. Actually, tourists run across snide comments in guidebooks before they arrive, with words like "surly" and "unscrupulous" popping up in print quite often.

To be fair, though, our city is still relatively new to the international scene. As Barbora, a bartender, points out, when drunks turn unruly, "We are taught [at Jáma] to handle it the American way, which is" — and here she feigns an apologetic tone —" 'Excuse me, could you please be a little quieter?' "

The traditional method? "The Czech way is to shout, 'Hey, can you shut up?' "

If anything, the crowds of foreigners, whether settling here for a weekend or a year, trample on established ways. Of course, like anywhere else in the world, a number of bars and restaurants simply employ ill-trained laggards. But the folks who work behind Prague bars claim that non-Czechs share some of the blame for desultory service.

"Eighty percent of the people coming in here don't even bother to greet you," complains Lada Grechová of Atmosphere. It's customary to toss out a "Dobrý den" or "Dobrý večer" (or perhaps "Dobré rano") when entering a place. "Its good manners — they don't have them, and that starts things off the wrong way."

"It's tradition in the Czech Republic to say hello," agrees Honza Krákora, bartender at Fat Boys. "If they don't, we are not so nice."

So, a bit of advice: Failure to greet your host or bartender sets you immediately at odds with the folks bringing you food and drink. "The impression is they think they have money and can behave badly toward others," Grechová concludes. "That really pisses me off."

The benefits of being a jerk

Nicholas Pledger used to operate a bar in Prague. As he tells it, expat chef Jeff Cohen would stop by with 50 Ziploc bags of homemade dehydrated beef. "He was like a little drug dealer," Pledger recalls. "He'd sell [the bags] in a few minutes; he'd have drinking money and be as happy as could be."

Watching the sad spectacle of cured meat addicts fighting for baggies of the stuff, the West Coast native saw opportunity. "I was like, 'hmmm ...' Next thing I know, I got sucked in," Pledger says.

By that, he means, he recognized the need to inject capital into an entrepreneurial enterprise. He teamed with Doug Kaufman and Nick Mitchell to support Cohen's skill with marinade and dry air. Now more than 25 local establishments stock Bad Jeff's Gourmet Beef Jerky, and the product is beginning to sell across the country. Unlike some of the sausage sticks familiar to denizens of U.S. truck stops, Bad Jeff's is done in authentic style: slices of meat parched to that irresistible, indefinable point that makes beef jerky so god-awful and good at the same time.

"Beef jerky isn't the most eye-appealing food," Pledger acknowledges. "But we've gotten a positive response." Indeed, the young company hopes to start selling the stuff in other European countries next year.

Until then, they're concentrating on brand awareness, or "playing the marketing game," as Pledger puts it. So, look for Bad Jeff's girls handing out free samples in bars, and the legendary Jeff quietly buying drinks for anyone he sees gnawing on his ... um ... product.

Foreign tastes

Chef Jiří Štift of the Radisson's cozy upscale restaurant, Alcron, is not a complacent sort. He's always trying out new ideas, testing recipes from world-renowned culinary artists. Through the end of December, he's put together a menu of dishes made famous by Charlie Trotter, the award-winning Chicago chef. That's in addition to Alcron's regular fare. Call 222 820 038 to find out more.

Everyone knows about bourguignon, caprese, paella and schnitzel. But do you recall a famous dish from Portugal? Probably not — and you may not even wish to recall fried pounded pork, for that matter. However, if you are interested in a culinary tour of the Iberian peninsula, Allegro (in the Four Seasons) is hosting Portuguese chef Stephane Hestin from Nov. 29 through Dec. 3. He and Allegro's Vito Mollica will prepare such regional classics as roasted half-salted cod and lamb breaded with parsley. Sommelier Pavel Kramář pairs each course with a favorite Portuguese wine — with port to finish, naturally. Call 221 427 000 for reservations or further information.

Clearing the air

The folks at Square recently brought out the hammers and scrub brushes and whatever else it takes to de-smog a room, and created a new nonsmoking section.

Final (slurred) words?