The Diplomat's Guide to Dining: New York City & Beyond

Back to Astoria – This Time for Authentic Czech Cuisine

Our diplomat dining adventure recently led me to a blog, Every Restaurant in Astoria, which is someone's attempt to eat at every (non-fast-food) restaurant in Astoria. "Like Sisyphus, but with gyros." Not a bad idea, considering the restaurants we've discovered in the area, the most recent being Czech. Murray got this recommendation from a diplomat at a reception of the Consulate of the Czech Republic at some point this summer: Zlata Praha, in Astoria, serves the most authentic Czech cuisine of any restaurant in New York City.

So, what is Czech cuisine? Well, we discovered it's not exactly health food (I was two pounds heavier on the scale the next morning), but it is delicious. I think the term "comfort food" may have been invented to describe this particular cuisine – lots of meats and starches, and not too many vegetables other than red and green cabbage cooked in a variety of ways. And, there's beer. Some say Czech beer is the best in the world; I'll say I certainly liked what we had:

Our friends Carole and Wayne accompanied us on this adventure, which was lucky, because Carole, through her family heritage, knows a thing or two about Eastern European cuisine and was able to help steer our food selection.

Here's what we ate:

Appetizers

• Pirogi
• Potato Pancakes
• Sausage (Klobasa)
• Stuffed Cabbage Rollentine (served in an unbelievably delicious tomato sauce, which we sopped up with potato dumplings)

Entrees

• Chicken Paprikash
• Bohemian Sauerbrauten
• Czech Platter for Two (includes duck, pork loin, smoked pork, assorted cabbages, and dumplings; the duck was particularly noteworthy)

Dessert

• Crepes a la mode
• Apple Strudel a la mode
• Fruit dumplings

We didn't eat everything (we carried the leftovers home, of course). But those two additional pounds are not so surprising, are they? Nevertheless, I'll definitely go back. The food was beyond delicious, and our waitress was helpful and excited to share the food and stories about the restaurant with us. Plus, I'm learning to love Astoria, even though Zlata Praha is not in the most picturesque neighborhood (right next to the above-ground N train).

We were probably the only non-Czech-speaking table in the place.  A famous Czech singer, Karel Gott, was in town as part of his 2009 American Tour, and he presided over a nearby table. (His September performances in NYC graced both The Town Hall and the Bohemian National Hall.) And when we asked our waitress about the Czechs who play for the NY Rangers, she told us that their bar on nights of Rangers games is filled with fans.  Certainly Zlata Praha wears its heritage with pride; decorations like this cover the walls:

Our bill, including tip, was about $175 -- not too bad for four of us, considering the quantities we ate.  And those two pounds, they were easily taken care of over the next couple of days through a little extra exercise and a little restraint.

In case it's not already obvious, this is not a good spot for vegetarians, but a definite "must-try" for carnivores, especially in those autumn and winter months when comfort food tastes especially good. 

Where and When  

Zlata Praha
28-48 31st Street
Astoria, NY 11102

(718) 721-6422  

N Train to 30th Avenue  

www.zlatapraha.cc  

Note: The kitchen closes at 11:00 pm all nights, but you can stay and drink as indicated below.

Tuesday to Thursday
11:30 am - 2:00 am

Friday and Saturday
11:30 am - 4:00 am

Sunday
12:00 pm - 2:00 am

Zlata Praha is closed on Mondays.

"Beyond" New York … To Cambridge, Mass for the Most Authentic Portuguese Food

I quietly added the “And Beyond” to the title of this blog over the summer when Murray made a trip through New England visiting various consulates in Hartford, New Haven, Providence, and Boston. Countries generally maintain consulates in areas where they have a significant population.  And where a country has a significant population, it probably also has a significant restaurant.  Based on that logic, Murray asked each consulate he visited about restaurants serving authentic cuisine, and got several recommendations – including one from the Portuguese consulate in Boston about the most authentic Portuguese restaurant in the area.

On Labor Day weekend, when we joined thousands of other families with college-aged children in the fall migration to campuses in the Boston area, we had the pleasure of eating at the diplomat-recommended Portuguese restaurant – Sunset Café, in Cambridge.

Portuguese people started coming to Massachusetts during the colonial times and continue to immigrate there today.  Four areas in particular – Martha’s Vineyard, New Bedford, Fall River, and Providence, RI – have had significant Portuguese populations for about two centuries.  Portuguese have generally come to New England to improve their standard of living – at first going after opportunities in whaling, and then in industrial and factory work. Over time they have established churches and other culturally Portuguese institutions (like restaurants), which in turn have attracted more and more Portuguese and Portuguese-speaking people (from Brazil and Cape Verde as well as Portugal).  Two good internet sources of information on this community are this chapter of the "Reports of the Immigration Commission," Vol. 22, by the U.S. Immigration Commission (1907-1910), and this article on everyculture.com.

The food of Portugal includes a lot of fish, especially cod, sausage, and meats cooked with plenty of garlic and a variety of spices and herbs.  This is what we ate at Sunset Café:

Chourico a Corisco, hot sausage marinated in a red wine sauce

Bacalhau a Sunset, barbecued codfish with potatoes

Mariscada a Chefe, lobster, shrimp, clams, scallops, and mussels in a red sauce

Frango Assado, roasted Rock Cornish Hen

The food was wonderful.  The chourico was spicy without being overwhelmingly hot, and the Cornish hen was tender and flavorful.  And, just look at that pot of shellfish!  How could anything that looks like that be anything but superb?

Oddly, the restaurant had very few customers the night we were there.  I’m chalking that up to the fact that it was Labor Day weekend, and – although many out-of-towners descend on Boston at that time for the same reason that we did – Inman Square in Cambridge may be a bit off the beaten track for anyone not terribly familiar with the area.  Live Brazilian jazz (a singer and a keyboard player) started at around 7:00 pm, another clue that this restaurant probably is used to more of a crowd than we experienced.

In any case, you may want to note that we had phoned in reservations, and I suggest you do so as well. It’s hard to imagine food this good being a secret.

Our bill, including a bottle of white Arinto wine, one chocolate mousse dessert (which we shared), and the tip, was just over $90 – not bad for three people eating so well.


Where and When

Sunset Café
851 Cambridge Street
Cambridge, MA  02141

(617) 547-2938

www.thesunsetcafe.net

Sunday – Thursday
11:30 am – 10:00 pm

Friday – Saturday
11:30 am – 11:00 pm

 

A Trip to Harlem and New York’s Most Authentic Senegalese Restaurant

The recommendation of the most authentic Senegalese restaurant in New York had two different sources – one, a diplomat from Senegal who happened to visit Murray’s office recently, and the other, a diplomat from nearby Cote d’Ivoire.  Both agreed that the place to get the most authentic Senegalese food in New York City is Africa Kiné, on 116^th Street in Harlem.

A quick geography lesson: Senegal is in West Africa; in fact, its capital, Dakar, is the westernmost city in Africa.  Senegalese cuisine is evidently quite similar to the foods of the rest of West Africa, but Senegal is a former French colony and so its food also exhibits a strong French influence. As an Islamic nation located on the Atlantic Ocean, Senegal enjoys fish and also chicken, lamb and beef, but never pork.  Rice, couscous, plantains and sweet potatoes are quite common as well.

With some advice from our waitress at Africa Kiné, here’s what we decided to order:

• Dibi, grilled lamb with salad, tomatoes, eggs and onions

• Thiebu Guinaar, chicken with stewed vegetables and rice

• Poisson grillé, grilled tilapia served with fried plantains in a mustard sauce

The waitress also recommended Thiebu Djen, which is Senegal’s national dish, a fish stewed in a rich tomato sauce with eggplant, carrots, cassava, and cabbage.  This dish appears only on Africa Kiné’s lunch menu, but the night we were there, some was left over for dinner.  I’m sorry to say that we skipped this dish, already having our hearts set on the items mentioned above, but I’ll definitely try it when we return.

Africa Kiné does not serve alcohol.  To drink, Murray ordered the beverage called “Ginger (homemade)” on the menu.  It was a strong, ginger-flavored cold drink, which we found easier to enjoy once diluted by melted ice and additional water.  Otherwise, we drank iced water.

Service was fairly slow even though the restaurant was hardly crowded.  Fortunately we were not in any rush, and it was fun to take in the scene – African music videos and pictures of Senegal playing on the flat screen TVs at each end of the dining room, and mostly African clientele, some hosting Caucasian American guests.

Our bill totaled a whopping $60 for three of us, including tip, making this one of our least expensive diplomat dining adventures thus far.  Major credit cards are accepted.

Africa Kiné is most definitely not the place to bring your vegetarian friends, but a fun experience, good food, and yet one more example of the diversity that is New York City.

 

Where and When

Africa Kiné
256 W. 116^th Street (between Adam Clayton Powell and Frederick Douglass Avenues)
New York, NY 10026 

(877) 666-9400

 

www.africakine.com

 

Open 7 days a week
12:30 pm – 2:00 am