After living in Prague for two years, I developed a love/hate relationship with goulash.
Although Hungary normally comes to mind when most people think of goulash, the Czechs lap up a slightly different version which they consider as much of a local culinary tradition as their fine pilsners.
I ate a lot of goulash while living there, and sopped it all up with pasty dumplings (another Czech specialty). I eventually grew tired of it but still found myself wolfing it down while frequenting hole-in-the-wall pubs that have been ladling the stuff out for seemingly hundreds of years.
After returning to the states, I found I actually missed the stuff. A short-lived restaurant in Los Angeles, Czech Point, briefly fulfilled my cravings until it eventually closed after changing ownership. I haven’t had good goulash since.
Thanks to a short article and a long recipe recently published in the Prague Post, I can now relive my culinary expat adventures. Of course, I won’t be able to replicate the smoky pubs and surly waiters, but I can close my eyes, take a bite, and be magically transported back if I try hard enough. Mmmm….