Here am I with Sister #2 toasting our beer heritage at our first dinner in Prague.

Long before we actually landed in Prague, we had been researching the best spots to eat. The way I knew to check out Mincovna was this: I have a friend (who I have never met in real life). We go to the same Mexican Island every year but miss meeting each other. I have been an admirer of her photos of the island for many years and finally had the gumption to introduce myself to her on Facebook. We have kept in touch ever since. When she heard that I was travelling to Prague, she consulted her nephew’s significant other who had once lived there. What came back was an extensive list of her suggestions. Some were out of our way, and we couldn’t get into others without a reservation, but we did visit two of her favourites, Mincovna being one of them.

I had read in advance that Mincovna means “mint” and the 200 year old building that once housed Czechia’s mint was beautifully adorned with posters of Koruna, the Czech currency. Coincidentally, the Royal Canadian mint is situated in Winnipeg where we are from, and they had the pleasure of minting commemorative coins for the Czech Republic in previous years.

I also found out that the Chef’s vision was to prepare tradition meals with a modern twist which I eagerly anticipated. The restaurant also boasts many local and Moravian wines. Moravia is the area that my dad was from but that was not enough to tantalize me away from ordering a Czech beer.

My son who is a brewer back home suggested that I go to a beer spa or at least take one of Prague’s many beer tours. But with limited time and wanting to focus my spending on food, I settled for ordering Pilsner Urguell that evening. I love blonde beer, so I was delighted with my choice.

When Sister #3 told me that she was looking forward to a good goulash I was surprised when she ordered Svickova, but here is Chef David Kalina’s modern twist. Whereas goulash is a Czech meat stew often served with dumplings, Svickova is the name of the root vegetable sauce served with this braised beef and topped with sour cream and cranberries as tradition warrants. The ode to dumplings were the bread and dough towers at the back of the plate. She was in heaven.

Sister # 2 opted for pork tenderloin in brown sauce and was well pleased.

I was concerned about the richness of these gravies and opted instead for Wienerschnitzel. Schnitzel has been a favourite all my life as I remembered my Polish Grandma’s mastery of breading meats. The tender veal came with a side of potato salad which too must have had a Czech twist as it tasted nothing like the potato salad by Norwegian influenced mother-in-law makes.

I was appropriately stuffed after our meal and couldn’t even consider tasting the apple strudel which my sisters shared. I said to myself, “Oh, I will have another chance at strudel” but that chance never came. Lesson learned.

We stayed close enough to the restaurant to walk home, and the stroll helped us digest our hearty meal.

Kath’s quote: “Blessed is the mother who gives birth to a brewer“. -Czech saying, author unknown

Love-that is all.

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