Osteria Ai Galli

"A rooster crows only when it sees the light. Put him in the dark and he'll never crow. I have seen the light and I'm crowing." Muhammad Ali

It's been a few years since I visited Ichnusa Botega & Bistro. I had some great meals there -- what I remember of them, anyway. They always involved copious amounts of wine and lasted at least three hours.

The other thing I remember about Ichnusa was the lack of a written menu. The chef would come out, tell you what ingredients he had available, and what he could make out of them. There was usually some back and forth with the customer before the order was settled.

That's essentially the concept at the Italian restaurant Osteria Ai Galli in Holešovice, up near Letenské náměstí.

The restaurant is on busy Veletržní street.

Inside the entrance, there is a small shop. There are cases with cheeses, salamis, mortadella, and dried fish.

There are also shelves with pasta, balsamic vinegars, coffees, and more.

A few steps further in, there are two small dining areas. One is lined with racks holding wines for sale.

There are just five tables here. They go with paper napkins in this restaurant, rather than cloth.

The other dining area is also quite small. Reservations are recommended. I called once in the afternoon for a Friday night reservation and was told they were full.

The restaurant is dog friendly. I believe this is the owner's friendly dog.

More canines came later.

We sat in the wine rack room. We started off with the house red and white wines.

Both were dry, crisp, and tart. It was a total of 290 CZK for the house-labeled bottle and the carafe. They were simple but drinkable.

The bread was fine, but nothing special.

However, the thick, sweet balsamico and quality olive oil were great complements.

For the first round, we had a cutting covered with mortadella, beautifully soft and silky prosciutto from Marche, and excellent salami from Piemonte (145 CZK).

The cheeses were Asiago and Pecorino. A dish of plump and tender sun-dried tomatoes sat in the middle.

We also had clams in a broth of white wine, garlic, and parsley (165 CZK).

The little clams were fresh and meaty. Very enjoyable.

For a main course, the waiter recommended the monk fish. Miss P asked if it could be done alla Gallipolina --- a style she enjoyed over the summer during a trip to Puglia. He hadn't heard of it, but she described it, and they made it.

The fish rolled in bread crumbs and lightly cooked.

It wasn't done quite the same way as in Italy -- there were no little black grill marks -- but it was fresh, delicate, and much appreciated. The rich sautee of porcini was fantastic. The mix of tomato, aubergine, and celery was tasty.

I had the double veal chop.

One the positive side, the flavor was wonderful. The meat was salted just enough to bring up its rich flavor. On the negative side, the chop was run through with gristle and fat.

With the dull knife I was given, it was hard to cut satisfying and easily chewable slices from it. It could have been great with better veal, but I was disappointed.

The fish and the meat cost 525 CZK and 475 CZK, but I am not sure which was which because the receipt was not clearly itemized. The service was good except it did take too long to get the bill delivered to the table. The total was 1550 CZK without tip.

We sat in the other room on the second visit. We were joined again by our furry friend.

We started with prosecco.

Then they ran out of that, so we had a raboso.

We enjoyed its light, sweet sparkle.

This time, we started with a mix of mussels and clams.

The mussels were plump, fresh, and warm. I would not describe them as hot.

I had homemade tagliatelle with Italian sausage, tomato, and parsley.

The salty sausage was fresh but one-dimensional. To be fair, I've been spoiled by a number of other great Italian sausages lately. The pasta was nice, but cooked a little past the point I like.

Miss P had the shrimp, which she liked very much.

They were cooked to just the right point and kept that special flavor you get when cooking them with the heads and shells on. It was well worth the peeling effort. The salad on the side was nothing to write home about.

I needed to try a dessert. They had tiramisu, but I went for the sweet mascarpone.

Aside from the thick dusting of cocoa on top, the name pretty much says it all. It was sweet, creamy stuff, but I wished I went for the tiramisu.

The tab for this visit came to 1025 CZK before tip.

If Osteria Ai Galli was in my neighborhood, I'd be more than glad.

Some things on their unwritten menu were great, but not everything. They didn't make me want to change my regular Italian restaurant rotation of La Bottega di Finestra and Osteria Da Clara. Miss P is Italian and felt pretty much the same way.

The bottom line is that I liked it. I'm just not crowing about it.

Osteria Ai Galli
Veletržní 71
Prague 7 - Holešovice
Phone: +420 775 439 222
Phone: +420 777 979 858

Restaurace Peperoncino

"Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work." Stephen King

The all-too-small window for outdoor dining in Prague opens too late and slams shut all too soon.

So I grab every chance I can get for eating al fresco. When my friends started buzzing about the food and the back garden at Peperoncino, I checked my weather app and reserved a table.

The Italian spot is in a residential area not far from Letenský zámeček beer garden, a favorite outdoor hang out of mine on warm evenings.We passed through the small dining room on the way to the garden.The brick arch and the black and white verses on wall are a nice touch. The poem is "Longing for the South" by Konstantin Miladinov.

On the downside, the white walls were bare and boring, the simple chairs were not to my taste, and the room was cacophonous and cramped when full. I never did eat inside there, though.

The unkempt back garden is huge, with tables sprinkled around the vast expanse. On sunny days, it's good to get a table in the shadow of a tree as there were no umbrellas.It is child friendly, with some toys including a net-enclosed trampoline in the back.I was given a table right next to it with four shrieking children bouncing inside. The waitress kindly helped me carry the table to the other side of the garden.

We started with some crisp, dry Pinot Grigio (55 CZK/.1 liter).

Then we had the bruschetta pomodoro (85 CZK). This was not the typical version you'd find at many other places around town.On the good bread were cherry tomato halves, rucola, shaved Parmesan, and olive oil. I was hoping for some basil. It was more like a simple little salad on toast.

I got what I usually get at Mediterranean-style places, the risotto frutti di mare (150 CZK). It was stocked with mussels, clams, and calamari.It wasn't bad and the price was a bargain. I did think it was on the bland side, especially compared with other versions around town.

Then we had the grilled calamari, shrimp, and octopus (190 CZK). This was good.The seafood was very fresh and had great smoky flavor from the grill. The calamari was even slightly charred. We ordered spinach with ricotta on the side (55 CZK). It was a nice complement.

For dessert on the first visit, I avoided my usual tendency toward chocolate. I ordered the cake with mascarpone and strawberries (66 CZK). It was pure heaven.The light, springy homemade cake was a great platform for the sweet strawberries and cream. I've been dreaming regularly about this dessert.

The bill for this visit was a very reasonable 740 CZK.

On the next visit, we started with the grilled octopus alla Peperoncino (165 CZK).The tentacle came in a tomato sauce with green beans and potato. The octopus was very tender, but had a fishy flavor.

Of course, I had to try a pasta. I got something I've never had before: Spaghetti Caprino (99 CZK). It had tomato sauce, fresh basil and goat cheese.My Italian friend pronounced the pasta properly cooked. The cool cheese melted and mixed in with the sauce, making it nice and tart and creamy. I liked it, but my only gripe was that I wanted more than two basil leaves.

Then, I had the 200 gram filet steak with green pepper sauce (345 CZK). The meat was excellent. It was very tender and had just a little smoke flavor from the grill.However, the sauce was not good. It was thin, with the cream separating, and it was too salty. The grilled vegetables were fine (55 CZK). There were peppers, eggplant, and zucchini.

On another visit, I had the same steak but with the balsamic vinegar sauce.The steak was tender but had no grill flavor this time. The sour sauce was also too salty. I didn't like it. The caponata siciliana was mostly tomato sauce (60 CZK).

My friend got the veal with porcini mushrooms (245 CZK).Again, the meat was very good. But the sauce on top was way too salty.

For my final dessert, I could not resist the chocolate cake (66 CZK).It is homemade and simple, but good stuff. I liked it, but the confection could not displace my highest affection for the strawberry cake. I must have more of that.

In the end, I have very mixed feelings about Peperoncino. The prices for many offerings were great, though you have to consider that side dishes cost extra.

I'll be more than happy to return while the weather stays good and sit and the garden, drinking wine with grilled seafood and pasta.

I just think the kitchen needs a little more talent. Or a little less salt.

Restaurace Peperoncino
Letohradská 34
Prague 7 - Letna
Tel. (+420) 233 312 438

Il Gattopardo

**This restaurant has moved to Vojtěšská 9 in Prague 1 - Old Town near the river. The old location in Prague 7 is closed.

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." Leonardo da Vinci

G-Man told me he would be drinking at Fraktal until 6 p.m., and then he'd be free for dinner. Of course, they do a good burger there, but I saw my opportunity to finally try an Italian place just down the street on Šmeralova.

"Let's go to Il Gattopardo," I said. "It's gotten some good reviews, and a lot of the pastas cost around 220 crowns so it doesn't have to get too expensive."

He said that sounded fine, so we met at Fraktal and walked over.The street-level entrance by the front door has a few tables, but I'd only eat there as a last resort.The downstairs is a much more eye-grabbing proposition, with gold and white table cloths, gold picture frames, and busy, patterned wallpaper.Some of those frames hold pictures of scenes from the 1963 film, "Il Gattopardo."In Italian, it means "The Leopard," It's the story of a prince and his efforts to preserve his family and position during the wild 1860's Sicily.

This is appropriate because Il Gattopardo is not just Italian. It is proudly Sicilian. And this is where most of their wines are from. And the most important red grape from the island is the Nero d'Avola.

We ordered a bottle made with them from Tarucco (370 CZK).The smooth, drinkable wine was a great buy. We also got a big bottle of Mattoni (80 CZK) to go with it.

For a starter, we split a Bruschettone Alfonsia (180 CZK). This was a toasted slice of Italian bread the size of a small pizza covered with artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, mozzarella, and a "pistachio pâté."It sounded like a simple snack, but we were both surprised how much we loved it. The secret was the so-called pâté.

I asked our waiter what the creamy spread on top of the crunchy toast was made from. He told me it was mascarpone cheese. While I didn't taste a lot of pistachio, there was the hint of good olive oil.

Our waiter brought out a plate of pasta we could choose from and described each one in detail.
He was super helpful and patient throughout the meal. When we were talking about Sicily, he almost sounded apologetic that he was from Sorrento.

G-Man got a special pasta called "fazzoletti" (220 CZK) which translates as tissue paper. It is folded into pockets which our waiter said were filled with chopped king prawns, mussels, and clams.The filling was creamy like ricotta with only a slight seafood aftertaste. Or as our waiter described it, the "retrogusto."

Even though I expected more seafood flavor, we were both amazed both by the taste and texture of this fresh pasta. Also, the simple sauce was bursting with the essence of the best fresh tomatoes and basil.

I ordered the Pasta di Don Totucci (220 CZK) from the regular menu. The waiter told me the pasta type would be decided by the kitchen at the last moment. On this night, it was rigatoni.It came with excellent, anise-accented Italian sausage, diced eggplant, and mushrooms in tomato sauce. While very good, we both preferred G-Man's selection, hands down.

For dessert, I got the chocolate "soufflé" (120 CZK). It was really more of a fondant soaked with intense chocolate syrup.What really made it special was the topping of creamy, tangy mascarpone cheese and a sprinkling of pistachio. It was eye-rolling goodness.

I'll make an observation about the music. It is Sicilian and selected by the waiters. But to my ears, some of it sounded corny and odd, with one song sounding like Alvin and the Chipmunks.

The bill for this visit was 1360 CZK, before tip. Along with the wine, the price included a cover charge of 30 CZK each.

I was so impressed, I went back again with J a few days later.First, I wanted to try something the waiter said was very popular, so we shared the Bruschettone Don Sedara (180 CZK). This was topped with buffalo mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, anchovies, olives, and capers. It also had a creamy base.

It was much too salty for my taste. I couldn't conceive of eating the whole thing myself. I much preferred the bruschettone from the previous visit.

I was so curious about the menus many offerings that I went a little crazy ordered the Degustace Vévody z Palma or the tasting of the Duke of Palma (360 CZK per person/minimum two persons). It consists of six dishes. I'll list them in the order that I liked them.

First, there was the arancini or fried rice balls.They were beautifully crisp and filled with creamy rice. The filling was somewhat bland.But the risotto between the two balls was just amazing. I told the waiter I tasted lemon and wine.

"There's a little," he said. "But the recipe is a secret."

We had a plate of fresh Italian ham and sun-dried tomatoes with a pile of Lardo di Colonatta.Yes, the white stuff is pure pork fat all the way from the Apuan Alps. When you place it on your tongue, it dissolves almost instantly, leaving a wonderful nutty flavor in its place.

The eggplant parmesan included the very good tomato sauce and grated parmesan.The fried sardine filets, coated with bread crumbs and almond slices, were crunchy and tender.The chopped octopus was just OK, with the strong flavor of olives.The calamari in tomato sauce was slightly rubbery and had a very strong, fishy flavor I didn't really like.The last three dishes were barely warm. I wished they had a little more heat.

My curiosity was really out of control at the beginning of the meal. I also ordered the lamb chops (320 CZK).I had a long conversation with the waiter about how I liked my lamb medium-rare. But I had a feeling it would be for naught. The four, thin, but large chops came cooked all the way through.

They were coated with extremely buttery bread crumbs mixed with a little pistachio. They were tender and tasty, but I'd hoped for something a little better for the money. On the side were decent roasted potatoes, and excellent, delicate, corny polenta.

Of course, this was way too much food. I ended up taking half the bruschettone and two of the lamb chops home to eat for lunch the next day. The bill for this huge meal was 1265 CZK before tip.

While I enjoyed my second visit less than my first, I am still impressed some of Il Gattopardo's straightforward, authentic Sicilian dishes, its pleasant dining room, and charming waiter.

If you are looking for the taste of real Italian pasta, it's one of the best places in the city.

It's as simple as that.

Il Gattopardo - Taverna Siciliana
Šmeralova 15
Prague 7
Tel. (+420) 222 986 596 or 774 999 027