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Beyond tradition

Patriot-X updates Czech classics with a flourish
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By Dave Faries
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
July 18th, 2007 issue

COURTESY PHOTO
Svíčková, wild game and other traditions are proven every bit the equal of country French — for the most part.
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Patriot-X

V Celnici 3
Prague 1–New Town
Tel. 224 235 158
Open daily 10 a.m.–midnight

Food **
Service **
Atmosphere *
Overall **

FROM THE MENU

Tomato soup 140 Kč
Beef broth 165 Kč
Fried goat cheese 160 Kč
Braised snails 190 Kč
Foie gras 298 Kč
Pike-perch salmon ragout 490 Kč
Svíčková 480 Kč
Roast venison 570 Kč
Pork-loin medallions 320 Kč

There’s a reason Czechs speak of svíčková with consummate longing. The marriage of meat and a root vegetable sauce, fruit and bread is nothing less than a celebration of hearty staples.
But mediocre versions abound, and many locals apologetically — or perhaps defiantly — insist the best versions require time and a grandmother’s touch.
At Patriot-X, however, this symbol of national identity is truly exceptional. Fibers of beef sirloin roasted medium-rare relax on the tongue, releasing stout, almost grassy flavors that flow naturally into the rich earthiness of the sauce. Unlike some of the suspect beige puddles served at so many pubs — thin, sloshing sauces with little eddies of grease — this has a creamy, luscious mouthfeel. Dumplings laced with berries pick up the natural sweetness of the sauce while the salty background of the latter smoothes out tart flavors.
Of course, most locals would never fork over 480 Kč ($23.20) for a little sentimental comfort when they can get much cheaper, if substandard, fare at the local pub.
Patriot-X takes classic Czech cuisine seriously, though. Pike-perch, pork and game dishes hold spotlight positions. Slow-roasted venison shares its tender, gamey nature with a beautifully structured forest-berry reduction and sticky rice, molded into a pear shape and fried to a deep golden color — a little upscale twist.
Yes, the menu strays, not only in presentation (flowers adorn just about every dish), but also to other parts of the Continent where country recipes have achieved refinement. Foie gras is prepared in paté form — simple but for thin layers of cinnamon and a hint of burnished alcohol. The taste is distinct, delicate liver paired with a grounded and faintly bitter sensation similar to nutshells. But a side of caramelized pear and smattering of wine jelly don’t have the size to hold back strong flavors for long, and the gritty, earthy spice eventually comes to dominate the palate. Braised snails also flirt with down-and-dirty elements, garden mulch and leaves and the stark sharpness of garlic … until elevated by mousse resembling fluffed Hollandaise flavored with tarragon.
These are well-considered dishes, nicely balanced yet still robust. But if there’s a reason classic presentations stand both time and creative impulse, there’s also a reason so many good restaurants in this town have trouble maintaining consistent standards.
For one thing, this market is slow to reward culinary flair when it comes with a price tag. And line cooks often lack the training and incentive to overcome old habits.
I’m not certain if Patriot-X suffers from the same malaise. But on a post-holiday visit, with Czechs still filing back from their long weekends, a ragout of pike-perch and salmon fell into the “not even fit for an animal” category. Dry, overcooked slices of salmon battled with mushy whitefish. “Roasted” mushrooms melted into slimy, nauseating lumps of gray-brown mucus. Another post-holiday order, “ecological” pork, toughened considerably under extensive cooking.
Yet it’s easy to label these as slip-ups, because other dishes sampled over four meals all struck somewhere above the norm.
Goat cheese sautéed in nutty ravioli uses serene, malty flavors as a counterpoint to the assertive filling. Hearty tomato soup is dressed with herbs and an amuse bouche spoon filled with vegetable tartare that provides a candied background, along with a palate-cleansing shot of astringent sweet basil buttermilk. And the “strong” beef broth has surprisingly gentle flavors and a silky mouthfeel, supported by delicate — one might even say servile — pieces of sweetbread.
Though the broth could do without waterlogged debris of egg “pancake.”
All in all, there’s a lot to hold your interest here: toys for the kids, a deli and coffeeshop area and an elevated patio. Patriot-X serves breakfast and offers vegetarian items. Design elements run from modern art to old photos with “haphazard” being the apparent unifying theme. Service can be trifling on some evenings, efficient others. And the atmosphere is conducive to conversation, with the soundtrack kept to a minimum.
If you don’t mind paying for a lesson in the Czech culinary arts, flaws and all, it’s worth a visit.

Dave Faries can be reached at dfaries@praguepost.com


Other articles in Night & Day (18/07/2007):

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