Koliba on Summer Vacation

Since it's the summertime, you'll see some of our local faves shut down for a little while, taking their much deserved time off.  Even though I'm sad to see that Koliba is one of these places, I appreciate that they need a break too so they can recharge their batteries for the fall and continue bringing us more greatness.

So...please note that they'll be closed from this week until August 27th.  They'll reopen on Tuesday, August 28th for more Slovak goodness.  So save your calories until then...

Koliba - 31-11 23rd Avenue, Astoria, NY 11105
718.626.0430
N/Q Train to Ditmars
www.kolibarestaurant.com

My 15 Minutes of Fame at Koliba

As mentioned to you earlier in the week, this past Friday was a big day for my beloved Koliba Slovak & Czech restaurant.  Reason being is that they were being taped for a segment of a new Food Network pilot, hosted by no other than Aarti Sequeira of the Next Food Network Star and her show, Aarti Party.  My mom was the first one to recognize Aarti, and quickly struck up a conversation with her (as did I).  Long story short, just a few minutes later, we found Aarti sitting at our table, chatting with us and interviewing all three of us, Mami, Oci and me.

Naturally, we were pretty excited, as we let all our enthusiasm and love for Koliba and the Slovak culture pour out of us, answering all of Aarti's questions with a lot of elaboration and gusto.  She was loving it, I can tell, as toward the end of the interview she remarked at just how proud we are to be Slovak. It's true - no secret there, now let's let it spread to other eager foodies too! I hope we make the show.

Besides chatting with Aarti and enjoying all the hooplah of the taping, we also sat down to a delicious dinner of homemade Slovak cuisine that we simply never tire of.  While I'm notorious for always getting spaetzle with sheep's milk cheese and bacon, this time I opted for something ligther...

Chicken in Natural Gravy with Mushrooms - Even though this dish sounded really simple, I knew it would be flavorful and interesting - and quite frankly, anything with mushrooms is always an easy sell for me.  When it arrived, I was happy, as it was a beautifully browned piece of meat, topped with chunky mushrooms and plenty of gravy.  Gravy that I knew would be awesome for dipping the knedlik or bread dumplings that we ordered on the side.  As you can see here, the portion was quite large, and I took half of it home for Dan to devour.

Vepro Knedlo Zelo (Pork with Cabbage and Dumplings) - This is my dad's favorite meal in any Slovak or Czech restaurant, so naturally he ordered it again.  A few new things that were thrown into the mix was a combination of red and white cabbage - usually you can only get one variety, but they've now mixed the two which is innovative (it's still served separately but you now get the best of both worlds).  The other new thing is that you can also get a side of smoked ham as your second protein, so again, another combination platter option, which we all enjoyed.  I had a bite of the ham, and it was slightly sweet but with a smoky aftertaste. YUM!

Palacinky with Nutella and Bananas - As we were waiting and waiting for the Food Network peeps to arrive, we had to get dessert to keep the meal going and went for the palacinky (or crepes). Traditionally stuffed with jam, we chose the Nutella banana variety this time, which was indulgent and delicious.  The palacinka differs from a traditional French crepe in that the batter is a bit thicker and fluffier, giving it that distinct Slovakness.

Service and Cost:
We couldn't sing our praises louder for the outstanding service that night, even more so given that the restaurant was completely packed and we were being taped.  Our waitress was sweet and very attentive - after we told her that we were interested in staying to check out the Food Network activities, she was happy to let us linger as long as we wanted.  The gesture didn't go unnoticed and we tried to tip generously to show our gratitude.

For the above mentioned meal, including a round of beer and coffee, the bill came out to $90 including tax and tip.

Oh and one more lovely thing I must mention - I ran into one of my readers and her boyfriend as we were leaving.  It was such a pleasant surprise, and I was happy to chat with her about our mutual Astorian food experience. Thank you for introducing yourself!

3 Bready and Delicious Mmmms

Koliba - 31-11 23rd Avenue, Astoria, NY 11105
718.626.0430
N/Q Train to Ditmars
www.kolibarestaurant.com

Koliba Gets Ready for Easter

Although it might seem far away, Easter is right around the corner - next week actually.  It's nice to see that some Astoria restaurants are getting ready ahead of time and planning special menus, such as one of my all-time favorites, Koliba.  It's a marvel to see that they'll remain open on Easter Sunday and will serve the following yummy menu:

Course 1: choice of
Beef soup
Slovak kielbasa with dumplings and turnip pepper sauce

Course 2: choice of
Smoked pork with potatoes and veggies
Baked pork with bread dumplings and greens
Chicken in natural gravy, bread dumplings and mushrooms
$20.75

Course 3: choice of
Roasted duck with red cabbage and bread dumplings
Pork or chicken cutlet with veggies
$22.75

Chicken shish-kebab a la Baca (fried)
$26.75

Course 4:
Coffee, tea and strudel

Enjoy these delicious eats, and do let me know what you liked and didn't. 

Koliba - 31-11 23rd Avenue, Astoria, NY 11105
718.626.0430
N/Q Train to Ditmars Blvd (last stop)
www.kolibarestaurant.com

Happy 10th Birthday Koliba

It's not every day that one of your favorite restaurants celebrates a milestone.  Koliba, the intimate, comfort food eatery that completely channels my Slovak roots is turning 10 today.  Besides being very excited for them, I'm also happy to find out that they're running a fun beer and wine special in honor of this double digit birthday.  Here are the deets, and please make sure to chase that big stein of beer with a crispy langos with cheese on top, a goulash soup or their famous spaetzle with sheep's milk cheese.

Koliba's 10th Anniversary Beer/Wine Special

Buy 2 beers or wine and get the third on the house

This special is good for the rest of today, so get yourself over there and drink up!

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

718.626.0430

N/Q Train to Ditmars Blvd (last stop)

www.kolibarestaurant.com

Koliba's Langose are In!

It's no secret that I love my Eastern European food.  And that's why Koliba remains one of my favorite restaurants in Astoria (and maybe of all time).  This little, mom-and-pop Slovak restaurant always dishes out some of the most amazing comfort foods that never lack flavor and delicious ingredients such as to-die-for thick-cut bacon. 

Meg and I had dinner there last week and while there isn't much that I haven't tried, we spotted a new item that made us stop in our tracks. Langos! 

I'm familiar with langos from my youth when my grandmother and I used to make them by hand.  Resembling a tortilla, our langose consisted of potatoes and flour, cooked on a hot griddle and then topped with some butter.  I later found out that this is the Hungarian way of making this dish.  The Slovak way is completely different and goes something like this:

Langos - The way Koliba's menu describes these delicious appetizers is by calling them "raised bread topped with cheese." What they really mean is that a langos is basically a hearty zeppole - instead of sweet fried dough, you've got a savory one instead.  All of this is topped with a mild shredded cheese, which if eaten fresh, melts slightly.  Overall, the langos is light and fluffy, albeit fried and a great way to start your meal here.  Just make sure you split it with at least two people, as this fried delicacy is pretty large.

Cost:
A generous piece of langos will only set you back $5.

Koliba - 31-11 23rd Avenue, Astoria, NY 11105
718.626.0430
N/W Train to Ditmars Blvd (last stop)
www.kolibarestaurant