Slovak Cuisine

There are advantages to being a foreigner in another country. You get to experience new things. Things you never knew you could possibly appreciate so much.  

A new word we learned in Slovakia is "reštaurácia". No two are designed the same, and there are no chain restaurants or buffets here. They may share common cuisine but that's about it.  Eateries are hidden in narrow alleys, disguised as pubs, situated underground in maze-like tunnels, arranged on sidewalks under canvas umbrellas, or even up steep winding stairs to an open room. 

Slovakian restaurants are warm and inviting. Interior walls are sometimes smooth and sanded others rustic and ancient. Always charming and unique. The walls are painted in warm colors, antique red brick, or uneven well fitted stones. The windows hang lace curtains with flower box geraniums. The walls have hand painted artwork, embroidered textile crafts, or traditional Slovak costumes. Baskets offer small rolled fleece throws for cooler months to come.

Lunch is the main meal in Slovakia. Daily lunch specials are served between 11 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. The meal is about half the price of dinner menu and includes soup. Each day has a different menu posted with plenty of choices. A few menus have some English, but even fewer English speaking servers. Greg tries to use google translate, but I take my chances and just point to something on the menu. I guess being from Las Vegas, comes in handy for gambling with food too. I haven’t been disappointed yet.

A few restaurant’s here have an odd practice of crowding the table. If the place is full but you see half a table open you sit down with strangers. Once we saw others doing it we joined in the fun and no one gets insulted. Of course, we’re speaking different languages so we don’t know what they were saying about our intrusion.

Servers are very prompt here, and are quickly ready to take your order. We need time to translate what’s on the menu. They rush around the restaurant to bring drinks and food to tables.  Europeans always seem to be in a hurry, especially when they drive.

If ordering water, they need clarification of gassed or not gassed. Huh? They keep bringing us sparkling water which is like carbonated or mineral water. We just want regular water but for Slovaks it is common to drink it “gassed”. Water is served in a very small glass bottle and cost more than bottled beer. No free ice water here!

A few select places will serve a large pitcher of water with a bouquet of fresh mint and a dozen citrus slices which is so refreshing.

When all the plates are delivered to your table, the server announces "dobrú chut" which is translated something like "good eats" and then we can dig in. It’s a tradition, otherwise we’d skip it. 

Eating with a fork and knife is proper etiquette. It's kind of like a dance between a fork and knife. The knife is held in the right hand and used to cut large pieces of food or used to slide food onto your fork. It is not proper manners to poke your food with your fork. You place the knife between the tongs and set horizontally to plate, to indicate you have completed your meal.

We keep trying to figure out how to pay our tab. The bill is not automatically brought to your table, and the server becomes hard to find especially if we are in a hurry. No one is rushing you out the door to seat another party at your table. We were told tips are not expected or common. So, the server assumes if you stay longer you may eat or drink more.

A favorite Slovak meal is based on potatoes, sheep cheese (Bryndza) and crispy pork. Halusky includes all three. I swear it is better than mac and cheese but heavy on the stomach. For the record, I love the food here. It is very tasty and healthy. We haven't come across any unusual food like cow’s liver, intestines, or other yucky stuff, at least not yet.

The cost of restaurant food is inexpensive. We often eat a deliciously prepared home cooked lunch for about 5 euro or less. We found if we eat lunch around 1:30, we will be full the rest of the day. Around 6:00 p.m we can’t resist to treat ourselves to one scoop of ice cream for 0,50 euro.
The eating experience in Slovakia is over the top in all my expectations. I have enjoyed the challenge of not eating the same thing twice.