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Wait in the lobby

Real hotel dining at the new Best Western
Restaurant Review | Search restaurants | Archives

By Dave Faries
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
November 28th, 2007 issue

Asmera

Štěpánská 33
Prague 1–New Town
(inside the Best Western Majestic Hotel; second entrance on Školská)
Tel. 221 486 100
Open daily 11:30 a.m.–11 p.m.

Food **
Service ***
Atmosphere ***
Overall **

KURT VINION/THE PRAGUE POST
Looking in at Asmera's alternative to restaurant dining.
FROM THE MENU

Stuffed jalapenos 130 Kč
Spring rolls 120 Kč
Zucchini soup 60 Kč
Chicken with foie gras 195 Kč
Smoked ham 190 Kč
0.5 L Pilsner Urquell 50 Kč

It never happened, my second visit to Asmera.
Turns out the monopolistic folks at Microsoft booked the entire space one recent Tuesday eve and restaurant management decided against posting notices. They simply locked the doors on a room in waiting, well-lit, fully staffed and very, very empty.
Another corporate entity almost disrupted a third attempt, but wait staff ushered me toward the lobby bar.
Obviously, one of problems with dining in the new Best Western Majestic’s restaurant is competition from the banquet crowd. Unlike the Hilton, Four Seasons or other expansive facilities, Asmera offers limited seating — 30 or 40, tops. So calling ahead is a must.
But is it worth all the fuss?
Well, a skewer from their Czech menu includes “home smoked” ham surrounded by a phalanx of bramboráky (potato pancakes), along with sauerkraut. Wafts of sweet yet acrid smoke permeate the meat, becoming more pronounced in ribbons of silken fat. The sauce brings out something more masculine, almost brawny, from the cured flavor, while golden brown fried onions cater to the natural composure of ham steaks. The bramboráky draws sharp flavors from the pan, oil and heavy doses of herbs — as well as the blank slate absorbency of potatoes. Before this astringent character develops, however, soothing notes calm each bite.
You end up with pancakes strong enough to hang with cabbage and onion, but with a refined background willing to accommodate ham.
From the “international” side of the menu, tame chicken finds in a stuffing of foie gras the rich earthiness of a real free-range bird. It’s as if a few slices of loosely textured, almost gritty liver lures the chicken back toward a natural state. Dried fruits and confit celery compliment the foie gras and good, acidic orange sauce cuts through the fatty aftertaste.
These are surprisingly well considered midrange dishes, glimpsing at sophistication without sacrificing broader appeal. Few Prague restaurants manage to accomplish this feat.
Zucchini soup with gorgonzola, for instance, presents an overripe bitterness cooled by cream. The pulpy, broken vegetable debris floats in a gentle, thick base. Sharp flavors build from two directions — from the cheese and, far more subtly, pureed zucchini — layering one on the other, over and over, until they blend into an indistinct yet complex whole.
“Thai” spring rolls, part of the Asian influence to Asmera’s menu, are tight and crisp (perhaps a fraction thicker than necessary), encasing a musty fill of mushrooms and root vegetables. Sweet chili sauce, served on the side, has fangs and, although it bears a suspicious resemblance to the stuff you find in bottles at Albert, it blasts away the oily residue carried by sautéed fungi.
If there’s a downside, it’s the kitchen’s near-perfect sports bar interpretation of jalapeno poppers. Really, the uniform coating, monsters broken by pickling and tangy, processed orange stuff oozing from the casing should never be imitated. In an effort to further the ethos — and as a bonus to annoy fans of good Tex-Mex — they throw a pile of shattered, chewy corn chips on the plate, with a squirt of “guacamole” (or the watery, sour goo sold by that name in local groceries).
Funny, but good guacamole is so easy to make. Many American restaurants indeed allow teenage wait staff to mash it up tableside.
Purchasing fresh avocados, however, would probably upset the delicate, tricky balance of price point and quality. And, for the moment, Asmera has the tightrope mastered. It’s a decent, middle of the road, reasonable restaurant: clever up to a point, pedestrian when called upon and proficient enough to satisfy the “good, but not too fancy” crowd.
And, if you’re fortunate enough, they’ll point you to the lobby. Not the coziest setting, mind you — more like the Waldorf in its heyday: bright, trim, coated in marble. One could easily imagine the tailored manners of Barrymore and Garbo.
In such a space, middle-of-the-road meals take a more sophisticated turn.

Dave Faries can be reached at dfaries@praguepost.com


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