by Ellen Kozisek
Okay, now some comments on Czech foods. First, foods they do eat, but that you won't see in restaurants: Sausage (I saw plenty at the grocery store, but never saw it on a restaurant menu) and apple strudel (It was served when we visited someone's house--a friend of a friend of one in the group--, and we saw it at a bakery, but not on the menu at a restaurant.) Sauerkraut is also not that common, thought I did have it once. I think it may be more common in South Bohemia. It was more like my Grandmother's sauerkraut than our typical American sauerkraut. They do commonly serve cabbage as a garish (a small serving of various vegetables served along with the meat).
As for dumplings, bread dumplings are the most common variety, and you will also see potato dumplings. I never saw cracker dumplings like my family makes. Perhaps it is one of the foods that real people make but you don't see in restaurants. It could in addition be a regional dish. I did get to have liver dumpling soup once, and it was good. It's something that's on the menu some places but not others. You will always see gulash on the menus if it's a restaurant that serves Czech food (as opposed to places like pizzerias).
On the menu usually you order your main dish and side dish separately, though you will sometimes see complete meals, which have the meat and a side dish. You can also order separately soups, appetizers, salads, and desserts. Dessert should be ordered at the same time as the meal, because they don't come around and ask if you want dessert after your meal.
For a side dish you have a choice of potatoes (boiled, fried, or croquettes; never mashed unless you count the croquettes, which are like fried balls of mashed potatoes), dumplings (bread, or a choice between bread and potatoes), and rice (almost always plain white rice, though one place had mushroom rice). In actual Czech cuisine you will only see pasta in soup (thin short spaghetti type noodles), but you will sometimes see Italian dishes at the restaurants.
The common desserts are crepes (somehow usually translated pancakes) with jelly and whipped cream, or sometimes with ice cream; and ice cream with fruit. Ice cream, crepes, and fruit are the basic desserts. I don't think I ever saw cake on the menu at a Czech restaurant. (Though the zuppa inglese--an Italian dish--which I got at a pizzeria was a cake).
As far as meats goes, I mentioned you don't see sausage, you also don't see ground meat. You see steak, roast meat, other ways of cooking large cuts, plus dishes with cut up meat, but always actually pieces of real meat. Beef, Pork and Chicken are universal. You also sometimes see Turkey, Goose, and Venison. A lot, but not all, of the restaurants also have fish.
There's seems to always be an extensive drink menu, though we usually stuck to the non alcoholic drinks. They do not have free water in Czech Restaurants. Also, if you want plain uncarbonated water you have to specifically ask for it or you will get carbonated water.
The prices are cheap. Sometimes less than $1.50. Even at the expensive places (with the exception of Planet Hollywood, which is an American Restaurant) most dishes are under $5.