europe & food

Let me talk about food for a minute…

I fell in love with the food in the UK.  The first time I went to Ireland & Scotland in 2014-2015, I had this preconceived notion that the food would be bad…bland & boring, but I was dead wrong.  The food was absolutely delicious & not just tasty, but also beautifully presented with garnishes & a nice plate.  This time, I knew what to expect & every place I ate the  food didn’t disappoint.

When I flew to Krakow, I was getting into a whole other region of cuisine.  The hearty food…stews, soups, goulashes, roast of pork or beef, potatoes prepared in various ways.  Every dish I ordered came seasoned perfectly…you can taste the pride in each bite & I knew that the chef was not doing a job, but working from the depths of his soul with each dish that he belted out. I honestly felt that I was eating my mothers cooking & she is the best chef in the world.

I had to see what else was out there besides the classic plates that were so perfectly executed at every restaurant I went to.  In came Piwnica Swidnica…the oldest restaurant in Europe, established in 1275 located in Wroclaw. This is where I happened to be when I learned that turning the classics into fresh modern dishes was how this place stayed relevant.  I honestly was almost disappointed in the place until I gleaned what they were doing. They were reinventing the foods they invented.  They were taking the classic dishes & putting a modern twist on them.  They weren’t reinventing the wheel, they were putting spinning rims on & watching how people would react to it all.

This is how these old world places stay at the top of the heap…they ensure the dishes they’re presenting are perfectly executed using new techniques.  I found everything absolutely lovely.  Every dish.  Every cocktail.  Every cup of coffee.  I loved it all.  I am learning.  I am day dreaming about so many things here.

Prague another day…another bite of perfection…