Swimming in Saturated Fat in Vienna and Prague

The fare at U Fleků in Old Town Prague

It is the season of indulgences. But when I think of the ultimate death-defying, healthy-eating-be-damned food orgy I have ever partaken in, one that surely augured a future cardiac event, it is not a holiday meal but rather our 2008 trip to Vienna and Prague that comes to mind. 

Me at Café Landtmann

It was one of my favorites. From sitting in Freud’s booth in a Vienna café to beholding the astronomical clock in Prague, it was enriching.

But one thing that was just too rich, even for me and especially for Joe’s and my arteries, was the incredibly heavy, saturated fat-laden food. If you eat like this, ask not for whom the astronomical clock’s bell tolls.

It tolls for thee

I am half Hungarian and grew up loving Wienerschnitzel with dumplings. I’ve never met a schnitzel I didn’t love, and I still dream about my grandmother’s dumplings. After she was gone, my family occasionally ate in Cleveland’s Balaton Hungarian restaurant. You can get a decent schnitzel and some tasty dumplings there, though nothing to rival my grandmother’s.

Joe — who is, and always has been, more health conscious than I — balked at the Balaton fare. He may be part German but did not get the heavy food gene.

Nothing could have prepared either of us for the swimming-in-fat food in Vienna and Prague.

The schnitzel that ate the plate

One might eat Wienerschnitzel once a year, twice if you want to push it. But to eat it several times in a week — you would have to have a death wish. Some of these schnitzels were so large that they exceeded the size of the plate. 

Beyond the schnitzels, there were some weird wieners and sausages. Some were artfully arranged and came with sauces and condiments, while others just seemed like, well, hot dogs. 

Glorified hot dogs

The most fattening meal of the trip was at the brewery and restaurant U Fleků in old town Prague. It was also the most evocative experience — straight out of a movie. The original building dates back to 1499. It is obvious why people didn’t live as long back then. Check out the menu. Circulating musicians played oom pah pah music while we settled into old Bohemia. What this place lacked in health consciousness, it made up for in atmosphere.

Once we came home, it was salad time. I remember how eating crisp lettuce and fresh vegetables seemed, paradoxically, indulgent. We ate only healthy fare for a long time to compensate for the artery-destroying stuff we had just escaped.

Funny thing, though. As off-putting as some of my food photos may seem, I could go for a schnitzel right about now. And some dumplings. 

Anyone? Joe?

Chicken and "Dumplings"

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