As if the town of Mělník, the beautiful, wine-producing regional capital for Central Bohemia, needed much more going for it. Just an hour north of Prague, the town is a great day trip, is the gateway to the stunningly beautiful Kokořin National Park, and now it has Buffalo American Restaurant, a friendly place just off the main square with kick-ass burgers, quesadillas, chicken wings and other Stateside specialties.
Like with the opening of Blackdog Cantina in Beroun, which has garnered rave reviews from many Czech media outlets and foodies in the local blogosphere, there’s apparently enough growing interest and demand for reasonably priced, authentic American fare outside of Prague. Mělník’s Buffalo was busy with locals and families on a recent Indian summer weekend visit, and adds to the town’s already interesting options for food and drink (For more on Mělník, here’s a travel piece I wrote a while back).
It was served at the proper level; I just couldn't resist a big gulp before taking this picture.
I first heard about the place over the summer after reading an entry in Grant’s Bike Blog, and when I went there myself it was after an appetite-boosting hike in Kokořin rock maze and a trip up to the terrifying Houska Castle. That was just a few weeks ago, and while the weather may be turning more decisively cold at the moment, Buffalo’s garden is worth wrapping up in a few layers for come a sunny day: It’s a sprawling portico of covered seating with a great kid’s area, complete with little trucks and playhouse for children to tool around with while parents can enjoy a pint of Holba 11° lager for 22 Kč.
Indoors is inviting, too, with brick accents and wheat-colored walls that hark back to the address’s previous incarnation as a Czech pub cum restaurant.
Buffalo’s menu is the type that expats — or any fan of pub-style American grub — will go wild over: chicken burgers, double burgers, bacon and cheese burgers, wings served by the kilo; ribs, burritos … as well as a pizza menu, which on our visit we were told apologetically by the waitress wasn’t running yet. There’s also a comprehensive kids’ menu, as well as an obligatory amount of Czech staples to pacify the culinary nationalists.
Our party of four, hungry after the day’s adventures, ordered a starter of nacho chips. I wasn’t expecting much from these, but suspiciously they tasted of homemade. Hot and salty, served with bowls of both a piquant salsa and — gasp! — hot cheddar cheese sauce, needless to say it was gone within seconds. Even the crumbs didn’t last; I’m pretty sure I piggily licked my thumb and mopped them up. It was a refreshing change to the almost ubiquitous store-bought variety found here, and the cheese goo was a welcome surprise.
30 wings = 15 chickens.
The Buffalo chicken wings come in two sizes: 15 pieces or 30 pieces, and do justice to the restaurant’s name. For around 130 Kč (Unfortunately I don’t have the exact prices as I assumed, wrongly, that the restaurant would have the menu online, which it doesn’t yet), the larger portion was an amazing deal for those with amazing appetites, or to share. The sauce was laced with fire-engine tones, tasting of an actually skilled preparation to the marinade and sauce as opposed to just baking with chili flakes. I found the heat too unrelenting for my taste: the kind that burns the taste-buds beyond recognition and gives you heartburn afterward. But my friend who had ordered the plate lapped up all of it and said it was much like the wings he missed from the States, with an authentic-tasting barbecue sauce.
It also came with a cooling and light blue-cheese sauce that tempered the heat well, as well as carrot and celery sticks. A hand bowl certainly would have been appreciated with this dish.
"The name's Casey ... Casey Diaz."
The chicken quesadilla, at around 115 Kč, was really good. The tortilla was crisp and flavorful, and the vegetables (red and green peppers, red onion) were perfectly cooked, the chicken tender and in manageable pieces, and the sauce was lightly spicy. Bowls of salsa and sour cream provided some options for each bite.
Would you like a side of mayo with that mayo?
I was, to start, slightly wary of ordering one of Buffalo’s burgers. Firstly, because I had a cast on my right hand that meant it would have to be managed one-handedly, and secondly because it said it came with mayonnaise and barbecue sauce on it, which sounded even messier and not particularly appetizing. I was proved wrong on both fronts.
Up close and personal.
Once I had cut it in half, the burger held together so well that I was able to eat it with one hand. The sauce, mayo and barbecue sauce mixed together, ended up being excellent, a tangy and unique blend that set off the smokiness of the beef. The bun compacted enough with a good grip to hold on to the fixings. There was also real cheddar cheese, caramelized red onions, lettuce and tomato onboard. Needless to say, I came away from that burger excessively proud that it had ended up in my stomach and not on the floor or all over my shirt.
We also tried the chicken burger, which was the same deal but with a tender, nicely grilled patty of chicken breast. The french fries that accompanied many of the dishes were the one downside: While acceptable, they were pretty generic, slim-cut style in the line of McDonald’s fries. Nothing wrong with that, but they hardly elicited any wows like the other dishes.
Although there are plenty of places that serve American food in Prague, it’s nice to know there’s now a place in Mělník serving some great grub. Now I just need to find an excuse to go back.
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