Koliba on the Food Network!

I wanted to share a really exciting opportunity that's happening at my all-time favorite restaurant in Astoria, Koliba.  Many of you have no doubt heard me rave about it on many occasions, as this unassuming gem boasts some of the best homemade Slovak and Czech specialties that are so near and dear to my heart.

Well I was floored when I read that a Food Network special is being filmed there this coming Friday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. I may just have to come by when Food Network's staff will be on hand with Koliba's head chef, Jano, as they explore the inner workings of authentic Eastern European specialties such as spaetzle, goulash, bread dumplings, schnitzel and more.  Everyone is welcome to join and hang around when the Food Network folks come by - you may just end up on camera with your favorite dish.  I hope I do!

Food Network Taping: Friday, March 23rd from 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Koliba - 31-11 23rd Avenue, Astoria, NY 11105

718.626.0430

N/Q Train to Ditmars Blvd (last stop)

www.kolibarestaurant.com

Homemade Slovak Halushky from the Home Country

As you can probably tell from my sparse posts this week, I'm on the go, travelling in Europe for business.  But that of course doesn't mean that the food adventures stop. Quite the opposite actually, they get more interesting.
My first stop on this multi city trip started in my home country of Slovakia.  Visiting my grandparents in Bratislava (Slovakia's capital), I spent most of the day with them and treated myself to a couple of good meals.  On this one in particular, my dad and I had our favorite Slovak specialty called halushky, or most commonly referred to in the U.S. as spaetzle.

If you know me pretty well, you'll know that my favorite halushky in Astoria come from Koliba.  That and my mom's homemade version of course, makes any others tough to live up to.  I'm happy to say that the ones at Film Hotel's outdoor cafe really measured up.  And then some.

Atmosphere:
Located on a quiet street that's just off a main road near the "old city" we happened to run into this cafe randomly, and due to the fact it was Sunday, it was one of the only ones open.  With it being such a gorgeous day, we naturally decided to take a seat outside in the narrow yet lovely courtyard that was embellished with lots of greenery.  Able to look up and see the charming balconies that belonged to hotel guests, it was a pleasant and relaxing view, offering a very quiet and laid back atmosphere.

Food:
Even for such an off-the-beaten-path place, they had everything that a proper traditional Slovak restaurant should, including nostalgic favorites such as halushky.  My dad and I ordered different version of this dish, both with successful results.

Traditional Halushky - The traditional dish that my dad ordered were the familiar sheep's milk cheese dumplings that were also topped with glistening bacon. I had a bite of course and loved the smoky quality of the bacon and the delicious way that the sheep's milk cheese enveloped everything on the plate.  The dish was a heavy one, no doubt, but it was worth every calorie.

Farmer's Halushky - I picked a slightly different variety of halushky that used the same type of dumplings as my dad's, yet instead of bacon, it substituted homemade cured sausage.  As you can see, this colored the halushky a pale orange color.  The overall effect was quite different than my dad's dish - it was smokier and a tad spicier too. I loved the paprika used in the sausage, which reminded me of something my mom would commonly make.  Paprika is used a lot in Eastern European cooking!

Service and Cost:
The service at Film Hotel's cafe was as laid back as could be.  Since it wasn't at all crowded, the restaurant had just one waitress who's attitude was very matter-of-fact but still appropriate for the type of setting we were in.  She let us take our time in general and we felt as if we could've hung around for hours without anyone objecting.

Since we were a ways off the main street near Bratislava's Old City, the prices were a bit friendlier and for both of our dishes, including drinks, we paid a total of 15 Euro.  If you translate that into dollars, you'd figure about $20 bucks.

Film Hotel Cafe - 27 Vysoka, Bratislava, Slovakia
02 5293 2794

Karczma Mlyn - Bryndza, Halusky, Smoked Sausage and All that Good Stuff

Karczma Mlyn - Hlavna 82, Kosice Slovakia
055 622 05 47
www.karczmamlyn.sk

Even though I'm happy to be back from my trip to Slovakia, I'll certainly miss the delicious food that has a special place in my heart, as it's what I grew up eating.  I wanted to bring you a little taste of that here, and being that we have 2 Slovak & Czech  restaurants in Astoria (Koliba and Zlata Praha), you can actually experience these specialties right here in our hood.

Karczma Mlyn is an authentic Slovak Restaurant recommended by my friend Ivanka. Not only did it deliver tasty Slovak specialties that I so craved, it also surpassed my expectations with respect to ambiance.

Atmosphere:
Located off the main street (Hlavna Ulica) in Kosice's town square, Karczma Mlyn is easy to find, but only if you're looking for it.  Since the signange is displayed visibly, it's not easy to miss but to enter the restaurant, you must walk through a short alley and then go down a winding staircase which leads to the actual restaurant, located in the cellar of an old building.

Once you get there, it feels as if you've entered a secret world where magical creatures (like hobbits) reside.  All furniture is rustic and handmade, with wooden tables and stools that look like they came out of a country cottage.  The ceilings are on the low side, which totally works and there are a couple of crescent shaped alcoves that lead to other equally charming dining rooms.  If you appreciate wood craftsmanship, you're going to love it here.

Food:
Mlyn's menu reflects all the typical Slovak peasant dishes that we came for, including the usual suspects such as fried cheese, halusky (spaetzle), sausage, pirohy, roasted pig, roasted goose and much more.  We indulged in the following:

Fried Olomouc Cheese - Never having tried this Czech cheese before, known for its strong scent and low fat content, Peter and I decided to go for it.  What also drew us to it was its egg flour coating, which sounded decadent and yummy.  I loved its taste and texture - the former was strong and earthy and its aroma was like a stinky cheese (OK by me, but if you're not a stinky cheese lover, you might want to stay away) and the latter was smooth and stringy.  It was nice to pair this dense cheese with fresh vegetables such as tomatoes and cucumbers which were served on the side.

Grandma Plate - Peter spotted this option, which provided all the goodies we were looking for on 1 plate, including halusky with bryndza cheese as well as meat and cheese pirohy.  We ended up splitting it because it was large and contained very filling food. 

The halusky were hands-down my favorite. They were the perfect size (maybe a half inch long) and were dripping with melted bryndza that was spectacularly creamy and tangy.  The decadence didn't stop there, as the halusky were also topped with smoked sausage that actually tasted better than bacon.

Two types of pirohy that were found on each side of the halusky didn't disappoint either.  The meat pirohy had sauerkraut and onions on top, which reminded me of the ones at the Bohemian Hall & Beer Garden.  And the other bryndza variety was simpler - topped with fried onions, it didn't need anything else.

To wash all this cheesy goodness down, we ordered giant glasses of Staropramen beer (with foam on top), which was the perfect way to complete this wonderful meal.

Service and Cost:
As is customary in Europe, the service at Mlyn was good but unobtrusive.  The waitstaff really lets you take your time and decide when you'd like to pay the check.  They won't bring the check to you unless you ask, which can be nice if you're not in a hurry but slightly annoying if you've got someplace to be. Not the case here and we enjoyed ourselves at a leisurely pace.

Costs are very inexpensive and for all the food I mention above (including drinks) we paid a total of 13 Euro, which is roughly $16.  A steal? I think SO!

3 Mmmms

Homemade Halusky - AKA Spaetzle

You've probably heard me rave about my love for Slovak dishes--and especially for halusky or spaetzle. Although I turn to the restaurants in my hood whenever I get a craving, the real halusky master is Mira--aka Foodista's mama.

My brother hosted a makeshift halusky workshop in his cozy Manhattan apartment this past weekend. It was a lot of fun, as my mom went through the entire halusky-making process from start to finish. I documented everything, of course and took tons of pictures. If you want to make your own at home, here's how to do it.

Mira's Fabulous Halusky (Spaetzle) with Bryndza (sheep's milk cheese)

Ingredients (Serves 5)
4 large new potatoes, peeled and grated
1 egg
2 cups of flower (or if you need more or less, eyeball it)
Pinch of salt and pepper
2 - 3 tbs of butter
1 Block of Bryndza cheese (you can get this at the Slovak-Czech Varieties store)

Directions:
Grate all the potatoes into a medium bowl until they have a smooth consistency. Make sure that you use the denser side of the grater - the one with the small holes.

Place the egg into the potato mixture and mix well with a fork but do not overmix. Add the flour and really pay attention to the consistency of the mixture. In the end, you want it to be somewhat firm but still soft enough that it can pass through a vegetable grater--this time on the side with the bigger holes.
Fill a medium sized pot with water, add salt and set it to boil. Place the vegetable grater over the boiling water and put the halusky batter that you just made into it. Take a spoon and with a back and forth motion, let the halusky batter pass through the grater holes and into the boiling water. Hint - use the back (or the flat part of the spoon) to do this effectively. Use all of the batter but don't do it at once--instead, separate the batter into small batches.

Once you're done with all of the batter, you'll see that within minutes it floats to the top of the pot and is instantly ready! It's like making gnocchi--very fast! Now, you're ready to drain the halusky but do not pour cold water over them.


Melt butter in a medium sized pot or pan. Add the halusky and mix for a couple of minutes until well incorporated. Make sure you watch them carefully so they don't stick to the bottom of the pot and burn. Then crumble the bryndza cheese over the halusky and mix together until the cheese melts.

After you stir this around a bit and add a sprinkling of pepper, your halusky are done and you're ready to enjoy your very own Slovak feast! Hint - these are even better when you wash them down with a good Slovak or Czech beer. I recommend Staropramen. Oh and feel free to use bacon on top of the halusky - a little smoky goodness never hurt anyone.

Enjoy!