Koliba

Welcome to Koliba, the best Czechoslovak restaurant in the New York City area. We offer authentic Czech and Slovak dishes and drinks. Come and enjoy our casual and friendly atmosphere, and get a feel of a true central European dining.

Koliba is the second Czech restaurant my grandmother recommended in my neighborhood. I've jogged by it several times before, but it always seemed closed...turns out my Monday jogging route corresponds with their one day off. I was coming home late from work and thought I'd take the long way home and see what the menu had to offer.

The restaurant was homey with a cabin-like atmosphere; there was lots of Czech paraphernalia on the walls–wooden toys, mounted game, plates. The space wasn't very large, I'm guessing there were seats for about 40 people and a small bar. The menu is short, and it seems they focus on a few standard specialties. If you want a 'special order' they advise there will be a longer wait for preparation. Everything was modestly priced, the most expensive entree being $16.75, and most closer to $10-12. The imported Czech beers were cheap too. I had a half-liter BrouCzech for $5.

I ordered beef with cream sauce (pictured) which was simple but tasty and hearty. It was three slices of pot roast with plenty of gravy. There was a lemon slice with cranberry or boysenberry jam for garnish, and a plate of dumplings on the side. I'm not certain Koliba is "the best Czechoslovak restaurant in the New York City area" but they do a nice job serving good food at a good price. Maybe it'll just become my 'regular' bar!

Zlatá Praha

Whether it is our traditional hearty dishes, good Czech beer or our stylish and original folk decor, Zlatá Praha is your perfect escape to "Europe."

Upon recommendation from my grandmother, who immigrated to the U.S. from Czechoslovakia after World War II, we dined tonight at Zlatá Praha (which means Gold Prague). She knows what she's talking about. This meal was hearty and delicious and it brought me back to family dinners from home - and particularly reminded me of my trip to the Czech Republic a few years back when I dined with some family there on their farm.

The atmosphere in the restaurant was welcoming and friendly. V described it as almost like a church fellowship hall. It was brighter that we expected, dimmer lights and candles on the tables would have made for a more intimate setting. The walls were covered with pictures of Czech people and places and all around the room were mounted deer antlers and hooves (I'd never seen mounted hooves before).

The food was very traditional and home-style. We ordered pirogi (pirohy) as an appetizer which were served stuffed with potato and with onion and sour cream on top. The onions really made these delicious.

For the main course I had HOVEZÍ PECENE NA HOUBÁCH, beef pot roast served in rich mushroom sauce with dumplings. As I said above, it really reminded me of my mom's pot roast, though without the extra vegetables. The dumplings, half-inch thick slices of basically boiled/steamed dough, were good with the sauce, if a little heavy (though I believe that is how they are supposed to be).

My dad said that pork is big in Czech cuisine, so we also tried the stuffed pork cutlet, PLNENÁ PANENKA S NIVOU A ŠUNKOU. This was a breaded, stuffed pork cutlet with blue cheese and ham, served with potato salad. The tasty blue cheese oozed out reminding us of chicken cordon-bleu, and the potato salad was not American-style, which made it good.

We shared fruit dumplings for dessert - this was something my grandma had made for me years ago. They were filled with apricots and covered with a creamy sweet cheese and powdered sugar. We couldn't finish them because the meal was so filling, but they were good.

Overall, this seemed very authentic. The service was slow, reminiscent of Europe, but I think that is the way it should be, allowing time for good conversation and to savor the meal. The prices were very reasonable, with drinks the bill for three of us was only $70.