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June 17th, 2005
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Garish incarnations

This new brasserie brings the French touch to Old Town

The former Banana Bar enjoys a new life as a stylish French brasserie.
By Evan Rail
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
March 2, 2005


Unless you're a big fan of table dancing, you probably won't miss the now-defunct Banana Bar, once located above Old Town's la Provence. In its bootie-shakin' place is an established-looking (though entirely new) brasserie in the Parisian mold: a high-ceilinged dining room most recognizable in such garish Art Nouveau incarnations as the City of Lights' Bofinger and Lipp.

Despite the grandiosity of the big names, brasseries are in fact of modest, Alsatian origin, and the originals were often more beer hall than Baroque — the name actually means "brewery." Consequently, brasserie cuisine — even at renowned places such as Lipp — is usually hearty, meat-and-potatoes food pointing back to the Franco-Germanic cultural melange in Alsace.
Brasserie La Provence

Stupartska 9
Prague 1-Old Town
Tel. 800-1-52672
Open daily 11 a.m.-11 p.m.
AmEx, Euro/MC, Visa
Appetizers 185-395 Kc
Main courses 150-595 Kc
Desserts 135-225 Kc
Food
Service
Atmosphere
Overall

Brasserie la Provence takes a similar approach, especially in the case of the choucroute. This is a plate of sauerkraut spiced with whole black peppercorns (and cloves?) and garnished with half a sausage, slices of juicy roast pork and boiled potatoes. It's close to versions I've tasted at Paris' Bec Rouge, Lipp and Maison d'Alsace, though with a bit less meat (and no blood sausage). In Paris, choucroute often comes in a monstrous, impossible-to-eat portion. This version is more human-sized, though you may end up taking some home, as I did.

Appetizers include a run of seafood — oysters, lobsters and crab, all available separately. Big spenders should try the "grand seafood platter," which includes a half lobster, a half crab, prawns, a half-dozen oysters, some mussels and a bowl of cooked shrimp, along with three sauces: vinaigrette, cocktail sauce and a Hollandaise-like creamy dip. It's a pleasant excuse to eat with your fingers, and an easy hour (or far longer) meal for two.

Soups round out the available starters; both the vichyssoise and the French onion are two of the best I've had. The former, served warm, features the fragrant scent of leeks in a creamy, slightly oily potato puree. The latter includes tons of clear, slow-cooked white onions in a sweet-sour broth brightened with fresh thyme and bay. A handful of crunchy croutons and rich melted cheese form something like a thick lid on top.

In addition to the choucroute, other main courses include a very rich beef bourguignon. The meat was somewhat tough when I tried it but still mysteriously evocative and flavorful, featuring lots of roasted shallots, garlic cloves and two tangy gherkins. Accompanied by a side of potatoes, it's also quite a large portion.

All of the above, especially the seafood platter, go especially well with riesling. Our server steered us away from a domestic version ("Too acid," he said) and toward one from Alsace, available by the carafe or bottle: a crisp, slightly dry white with a pleasant mineral aroma. (Philippe Bourguignon, writing in l'Accord Parfait, calls chocroute a "trap" for riesling and recommends instead a sylvaner or pinot blanc. Call me a savage, but I thought they went well together.)
FROM THE MENU

French onion soup 155 Kc
Vichyssoise 145 Kc
Grand seafood platter 1,395 Kc
Choucroute with ham, sausage and potatoes 355 Kc
Beef bourguignon 355 Kc
0.25-liter carafe Alsatian riesling 250 Kc

Service here is excellent, kind and helpful, though it still seems to be working out some kinks. Though la Provence has seemingly existed for eons and eons, the brasserie has only been open for a couple of months.

All told, Brasserie la Provence is a most welcome new arrival. However, it does bring with it some questions along the following lines: Why would you import meat-and-potatoes cooking into the land of meat-and-potatoes cooking? Why serve a riesling if it's too acidic? And isn't 355 Kc ($16) quite a lot to pay for roast pork and sauerkraut? But once you look up at the room's (literally new) Art Nouveau murals and sip your delicious riesling (Alsatian), all such questions will be banished from your mind. As will all thoughts of table dancing. Recommended.



Evan Rail can be reached at erail@praguepost.com


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