My relationship with food is not very complex. I eat it, it keeps me alive. That's pretty much it. Don't get me wrong, I have dined at amazing restaurants and appreciated their fare but I don't know if I have ever had a truly time-stopping all emersive dining experience until lolo took us to Le Degustation - one of Prague's three Michelin star rated restaurants where we had an 11 course chef'so meal with wine pairings.
We arrive at 7 sharp and are immediately seated in an intimate and airy dining room. The deco is tasteful and minimal, the tables are polished wood, and the kitchen is part of the dining room.
Lolo immediately makes an observation about the lighting. It's dim everywhere except directly above the tables. The focus of this place will be food and not other bells and whistles.
They start us off with prosecco and bring out amuse-buche - pre-meal snacks.
Being the sarcastic bitch that I am, I make fun of the rocks they use as serving platters and try to tell lolo about @wewantplates twitter but my yapping trails off as I put that piece of fish in my mouth. The first thing you notice is not the taste but the texture. It's smooth at first like a very polished piece of jade, and then it's soft yet dense as you sink your teeth into it and then it just kind of disappears in your mouth, probably by osmosis since it seems like a crime to actually swallow something so beautiful. The taste kind of hits you everywhere in your body and it goes in waves. Pretty sure I felt this herring in my knees.
The menu arrives in a beautiful envelope like a letter from the chef and lists the meals and the wine pairings. We opt for the full experience in all of its 11 course glory.
The sommelier brings out the first wine - a Riesling that is so forgiving that lolo and I would gladly give up water forever and just drink that. And then comes the first course.
Towards the end of the meal I realize that the 11 courses in a way had the same progression as seasons. We started in the tomato-ee summer, edulged in a bountiful fall with duck, went through a savage beef heart winter and finished in the late berry-full spring. Perhaps it is a sign that we need to come back and live through this cornucopua of sensations again next year.
We left La Degustation fully satiated but not ready to call it a night so we made our way to the Anonymous Bar for some late night cocktails.
It's tucked away in one of these perfect Prague secret alleyways. It's dark and unmarked on the outside but cozy and sexy on the inside. The menus have white pages that you have to shine a black light on to see the writing. The bartenders are cute and friendly and put on a bit of a spectacle when serving drinks. lolo's drink is served with a side of a toy gun andn my Negroni comes in a blood bag.
We arrive at 7 sharp and are immediately seated in an intimate and airy dining room. The deco is tasteful and minimal, the tables are polished wood, and the kitchen is part of the dining room.
They start us off with prosecco and bring out amuse-buche - pre-meal snacks.
The menu arrives in a beautiful envelope like a letter from the chef and lists the meals and the wine pairings. We opt for the full experience in all of its 11 course glory.
I don't know they managed to do this to the tomatoes but it's kind of like they intensified everything about them. They looked like regular tomatoes but tasted like tomatoes times infinity. Somehow all the sauces and juices and the wine and even the mustard seeds work towards just making these tomatoes more tomato-ee.
The next wine is completely different and smells like vibrant vegetable garden on a hot summer day. I realize that I am now getting poetic when talking about food and it's a new feeling for me. Then comes an impossible egg yolk with flowers and some kind of foam that I am pretty sure is made of clouds.
More wine and food follow.
I can't remember the exact moment that we become intensely focused on how well the wines are paired with the meals. It's almost like the meal would not be complete without it. The wines are served first so based on them you anticipate what the meal would be like and then are amazed nonetheless.
The feeling of euphoria sets in. I am reduced to just basic bodily senses. All of my essence is focused on what starts in my mouth and my nose. We are incapable of having a conversation that isn't about what we are eating and drinking at this moment. It's almost like the rest of the world took a step back and we are incapsulated in this perfect moment of pure unadulterated hedonism.
Towards the end of the meal I realize that the 11 courses in a way had the same progression as seasons. We started in the tomato-ee summer, edulged in a bountiful fall with duck, went through a savage beef heart winter and finished in the late berry-full spring. Perhaps it is a sign that we need to come back and live through this cornucopua of sensations again next year.
We left La Degustation fully satiated but not ready to call it a night so we made our way to the Anonymous Bar for some late night cocktails.
It's tucked away in one of these perfect Prague secret alleyways. It's dark and unmarked on the outside but cozy and sexy on the inside. The menus have white pages that you have to shine a black light on to see the writing. The bartenders are cute and friendly and put on a bit of a spectacle when serving drinks. lolo's drink is served with a side of a toy gun andn my Negroni comes in a blood bag.
The way this place manages to capitalize on an anarchist organization is giving me a bit of cognitive dissonance or maybe it's the drinks talking.
We go back to the hotel and amuse ourselves for another hour by the kinky items in our "Love room". What a perfect finish to our first full day but tomorrow's hangover is gonna be a doozy.
No comments:
Post a Comment