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The street where we live

Štěpánská spiffs up, and other spots of local interest

By Dave Faries
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
October 31st, 2007 issue

KURT VINION/THE PRAGUE POST
The walls are down and the sidewalk almost complete on the corner of V Jámě.
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Until recently, and unless you happened to wrangle reservations at Alcron in the Radisson, Štěpánská existed as a passageway to some more interesting destinations.
Oh, there were sights: stag party drones retching free of their innards outside Rocky O’Reillys, bricks toppling from the communist-era opulence of the Prague Post’s offices, the eternal construction site on the corner of V Jámě — that sort of thing.
But now, as workers pound in the final sidewalk stones and remove construction barriers in front of the new Charleston outpost, things look different.
The makeover began with the installation of Charleston, a mediocre albeit colorful restaurant. Then the wraps came off a small, streamlined coffee shop called UM Café, which doubles as a tidy little cocktail bar. Following that, Best Western opened a four-star hotel. Inside: a restaurant (Asmera), street-level bar and late-night club.
Across the street, another spanking four-star hotel, Amarilis, houses Afrodite Restaurant.
Last week another spot launched: People, a restaurant/disco, serves Czech fare — including steak and pasta, of course — in a once-downtrodden bar. And work is under way on another dilapidated space.
All of this within the past six months.
Days of change
It’s the time of year when Prague’s top chefs start shaving bulbous fungal matter — otherwise known as truffles — over just about everything they serve, up to (and perhaps including) coffee. The first: CzecHouse in the Hilton Prague. And chef Roman Paulus didn’t just settle for any old truffle, mind you. No, he purchased a batch of white truffles from Italy’s famed Piedmont and created a menu around these sought-after items. White Truffle Days start Nov. 8 and runs through Nov. 18. Call 224 842 700 for details.
You won’t find any of the prized fungi at Jáma. Chef Martin Lev is, however, planning a few changes to the pub’s regular menu. Gone? Whatever doesn’t sell. In whatever’s place? Well, he’s taste-testing garlic bread, quesadilla wraps, steak nachos and a few other items. Look for him to tweak the lineup of steaks and add a “fitness menu” as well ... although the latter seems somewhat of a stretch, considering.
Burgers — well, one style of burger — suddenly appeared on Le Patio’s always-curious menu. This one comes with golden-fried sweet onions.
Looking ahead
Voting begins in November for Restaurant magazine’s annual ranking of the world’s top 50 dining spots. The panel is rather prestigious, including such notables as John Mariani, Andrea Petrini and Dirk de Prins. Last year, Spain’s El Bulli earned the No. 1 slot, followed closely by The Fat Duck, an English destination, which also reaped “chef’s choice” honors. No restaurant from this country made the list.
Final (slurred) words
Heard at a posh black-tie event in the Prague Castle complex: “I’m not impressed with restaurants here” (from a South American expat) and “Chain restaurants in America are better than the best restaurant here” from someone of unknown origin — but guessing the good ol’ USA. And people complain that I’m a tough critic.

Dave Faries can be reached at dfaries@praguepost.com


Other articles in Night & Day (31/10/2007):

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