• Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Snapchat
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

MsMarmiteLover

  • Food
    • Recipes
    • Vegetarian
    • Vegan
  • Travel
    • France
    • Italy
    • Spain
    • UK
  • Wine
  • Gardens
  • Supperclubs/Events
  • About
    • Published Articles
    • Books
  • Shop
    • Cart

The Czech and Slovak club

July 10, 2009 8 Comments Filed Under: Uncategorized


Czech club, West Hampstead,

It looks like an ordinary house from the outside…

Czech club, West Hampstead,
I’ve been meaning to go to this place since I moved to this area nine years ago. In the evening there is music and a great atmosphere I’ve heard.

I went at 6pm on a Tuesday night. It possessed that forlorn air that you get in deserted cafes abroad; the odd sound bouncing off the formica tables, dusty faded calendars pinned up, a lone man sitting in the corner, a TV booming news you can’t understand.

These are places I seek out on holiday…I like to savour the bitter-sweet pleasure of loneliness in a different dialect. It reminds me of driving through France as a child, gazing from the back of the car at towns in the middle of nowhere ‘La France Profonde’, with a cafe-tabac, a group of houses, straddling a route nationale, their only entertainment the rush of cars going past to more exciting things. Imagine a life watching people with direction, a destination, passing you by. I couldn’t imagine it. Places like this, without a car, you are fucked. Places like this, the kids take heroin, because there is nothing else to do.

In fact life in rural France is horrific without transport. When I lived in the South of France, despite it’s proximity to glamorous Saint Tropez, the area surrounding it was as dull and grim as anywhere outside a town. One ex-pat woman who volunteered at the local branch of a British club told me:

“I got a call early this morning. It was a woman who retired here with her husband. They live in an isolated but lovely house, up a dirt track. The usual French dream, ‘A year in Provence’, do up a country shack.

Her husband went to hospital last night, felt unwell.

The hospital called her this morning. She couldn’t understand what they were saying.

This woman can’t speak French nor can she drive. Her husband spoke the French and did the driving. I called the hospital for her.

They were calling to tell her that he had died in the night. I had to call back and break the news.”

She pauses, looking upset:

“Why do, lets face it, mostly women of a certain age, do this to themselves? Move to another country without basic life skills necessary to survive? I’m going to have to sort it all out. She can’t survive here on her own. “

A few years ago I went on a four-day road-trip with a dozen anarchist drummers to Serbia. I had the same disturbing, sad and lost feelings about Mitteleuropa… there’s simply loads of it, country after country. They speak different languages, have minor variations in national diet, here a bit more cabbage, there a bit more beetroot, but essentially they are the same; Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Belgium, Austria, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia, Croatia, Serbia. It must be weird for Americans to think about Europe, a landmass that supports so many different countries and languages, so many piddly little nations.

I don’t think I could bear to live so far from the sea. At least Britain has an edge. Literally. A place where it ends and the sea starts. I rarely go to the sea. It’s the idea. I like boundaries, tightness, confinement, it makes me feel secure.

The Czech and Slovak club used to be the Czechoslovakia club; ridiculously separated as countries, they are still eating together in West Hampstead. On entering we were given the choice of the bar, the back room cafe or the dining room. We chose the cafe. On the walls there were portraits of grand looking men..

“Who is that?” I asked the waiter, pointing to a picture of an important looking man.

“I don’t know. Somebody.” giggled the waiter.

We ordered Turkish coffees and a snack; ‘Langoš (deep fried dough topped with mayonnaise gratted(sic) cheddar, garlic and ketchup)’.

“But you cannot order here” said the waiter “you must come over here” he said beckoning to the hallway where stood a little podium desk.

I go to the desk. He moves behind it. Scribbles something on a piece of paper and hands it to me. “You pay immediately please. For the snack £5.50p”

“But it says £5 on the menu” I nitpick.

“Yes but you must pay service so £5.50”

“But we have had to come over here to pay for it, which is sort of self-service so, where’s the service?” I push, stifling a smile.

“We bring it to your table.” says the waiter proudly “I not in charge here” adding “I don’t make rules”.

Later we ask if the TV can be turned down a little so that we can chat. In the empty room the sound reverberates off the lino and plastic tables.

“I ask” replies the waiter “I ask permission. I not in charge here” he repeats.

I get the impression that there is some kind of politburo in the back making all of these decisions centrally.

The Turkish coffee is the biggest I have ever seen. You need two hands to pick up the cup. This is not a complaint.

The dough thing was…interesting. It covered the plate like an alien creature from Star Trek, randomly shaped and huge.

There is a lengthy menu here, you can order wild boar for instance. I will have to return in the evening.

74 West End Lane
London NW6 2LX
020 7372 1193

Sorry about blurryness. Maybe I was overcome with emotion about this fried dough…

Recent posts

Dutch Baby apple and cheese pancake

September 17, 2023

La bomba paella rice

August 25, 2023

No-churn ice cream recipes

August 7, 2023

Previous Post: « What to eat now more please by Valentine Warner
Next Post: A sting operation, tracking down Kilburn honey… »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Scarlett the Heavenly Healer

    July 10, 2009 at 11:30 am

    Another local eating place I have never ventured into, mainly because being Eastern European there is lots of meat and not much (if any) vegetarian dishes.

    From your pics I can see it looks exactly how I thought it would look – like the large, empty, once-grand restaurants I've had the misfortune to try and find something I can eat in when travelling in and around Russia during pre-coup soviet days.

    I'll live the Czech & Sloval Club's meaty menu vicariously through you! I've been told it's very good in the evenings…

    Reply
  2. MsMarmitelover

    July 10, 2009 at 1:35 pm

    Thanks Scarlett, yes it's an interesting local haunt.
    But I don't eat meat so you'll have to live that one vicariously through someone else.
    There are a few veggie things…

    Reply
  3. Canal Explorer

    July 10, 2009 at 2:44 pm

    Wow, amazing. Yes, I also like to seek out the hidden lonely places when travelling.

    Frankfurt, a Pakistani cafe, on my own, the only non-flyer travelling over land and sea to the samba festival in Coburg, killing time until I can meet Samba Ya Bamba to blag a lift on their coach from the airport. It's cheap, it's tasty, it's vegan-friendly, and I'm the only customer. The news on the TV in the corner blares out in German, and the Pakistani staff seem no more able to understand it than me…. "That's pictures from where I live!" I exclaim… "why are they showing pictures of Kings Cross? What's happened in London?" A burnt out bus… a man with a bandage on his head… At last English police speak with German subtitles; It's the 7/7 bombings.

    Buenos Aries, where I unexpectedly found myself with my Australian ex-boyfriend after he was refused entry to Brazil for not having a visa. Arriving late, our first night, we rejected the only places we found open – huge touristy pizza joints, despite ravenous hunger, and at a stroke of luck stumbled across a tiny cafe-come-grocers, with his lights on and door open, no other customers. I explained to him my vegan diet, and he invented on the spot an amazing dish of some sort of maize based mush with vegetables. I didn't believe it didn't contain cheese or cream. He showed led me to the freezer to examine the ingredients list. He chattered away to us in local Spanish dialect, which neither of us could follow, showing us his posessions, giving us free tasters of his favourite wine, and getting out a map to show us his recommended overland route to get to Brazil once the visa was secured. Perhaps my favourite memory of the whole cross-continent trip, and certainly my best meal. The thrill of being on holiday was still fresh and we had not yet gegun to get irritated with each other.

    Reply
  4. Scarlett the Heavenly Healer

    July 12, 2009 at 10:04 am

    I wonder where my head was! I was a bit confused as I had thought you were veggie but your mention of wild boar had me wondering if you'd suddenly taken up meat-eating. Hahaha! 🙂

    Reply
  5. Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella

    July 13, 2009 at 12:25 pm

    This place looks fascinating! I love discovering these little places 🙂

    Reply
  6. theundergroundrestaurant

    July 13, 2009 at 12:30 pm

    Welcome to my blog NQN (you look as gorgeous as Nigella btw). I've just discovered your blog which is great and all importantly, funny!

    Reply
  7. Jenny

    July 13, 2009 at 4:14 pm

    I love these kind of places too. We went to a British pub in Spain once, the only problem was that the town was popular with Germans and there were no British people needing a theme pub. It was almost deserted apart from a few middle-aged expats drowning their sorrows. We got thrown out for not spending enough money and taking up too much room. Fair enough if the place is heaving, but only about 1 in 10 tables had anyone on them!

    Reply
  8. fingersandtoes

    November 10, 2009 at 6:03 pm

    Mmm, there was a Czech stall back home at a market I used to practically live at. I think they had those dough things, but I usually got a potato pancake (with loads of toppings), and they had sweet pancakes too. Sooo good.

    The service does sound extremely weird though! If you order at the counter you should not have to pay service. And they can't whack a compulsory service charge on there anyway – isn't that illegal?

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Jenny Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

MsMarmiteLover aka Kerstin Rodgers.

Chef, photographer, author, journalist, blogger. Pioneer of the supperclub movement.

This is my food and travel blog, with recipes, reviews and travel stories. I also stray into politics, feminism, gardening.

Subscribe to my mailing list

msmarmitelover

Kerstin Rodgers/MsMarmiteLover
Apple rose blossom tarts with rose jam. Rose Appl Apple rose blossom tarts with rose jam.  Rose Apple Blossom Tarts

Serves 8

Equipment: 
Microwave
Cupcake or muffin tin

I use a red-skinned apple to make these, to get a hint of blush at the edges of the ‘petals’.

Ingredients:
4 Pink Lady or Royal Gala apples, cored, cut into quarters, sliced thinly into half moons
1 lemon, squeezed
1 pack all butter readymade puff pastry 320g, on a roll, cut into 8 strips about 6 cms long
100g of melted butter
1/2 jar of rose jam
1 or 2 tbsp cinnamon or cardamom, ground 
Pinch maldon salt
2 or 3 tbsp icing sugar

Instructions

Prepare a bowl of acidulated water (cold water with lemon juice) to prevent browning.
Core the apples, and cut them in quarters. Slice thinly into half-moons (a mandolin is useful for this). 
Put them into a large bowl of cold water with the lemon.
Microwave the bowl of sliced apples for 5 minutes until soft enough to bend slightly but not cook them.
Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
Roll out the puff pastry. Divide into 8 sections by cutting the roll into quarters then halving each quarter. You will end up with 8 approximately 6cm strips.
Brush the strip with melted butter then paint with a layer of rose jam. You can then dust with either ground cinnamon or cardamom.
Lay the apple slices along the top of the pastry strip, overlapping them. Fold up the bottom half of the pastry strip to make an pleat with the skin side of the apple half moon poking over the top.
Roll up the folded pastry strips until they look like a rose made of apple at the top
Place ‘rose’ side up, in a buttered cupcake tin
Repeat until all are done and bake for 20 -30 minutes.
Using a tea strainer or small sieve, sprinkle with icing sugar.
A lovely vegetarian recipe from @lulugargari - a g A lovely vegetarian recipe from @lulugargari - a green bean and basil pesto with Italian lemon 🍋 pasta. Fresh, light. This was at an Italian cooking class/demo @eatalylondon hosted by @ilovefruitandvegfromeuropecouk @flickflock #london#italy🇮🇹
Digital chefs came from Italy yesterday to teach h Digital chefs came from Italy yesterday to teach how to make pumpkin, chilli, taleggio fondue Paccheri pasta- warming and filling for autumn days. Thanks to @ilovefruitandvegfromeuropecouk @flickflock @eatalylondon @danielerossichef @lulugargari for the event. We then got to go shopping in Italy with a £50 voucher. I spent it on mostardi di frutta, burratta, carciofi, cheeses,. My sis in law @bro0907 spent it on two bottles of wine. 😂 #italianfood #italianingredients #cookingclass #campaniafood
Inspired by @kathybrownstev’s book on edible flo Inspired by @kathybrownstev’s book on edible flowers I did an edible flower supper club featured in my first book ‘supper club’ This weekend I briefly visited her garden. Decades of work and creativity went into creating this English oasis. It’s an hour and a half out of london near Bedford. It closes at the end of September: open Tuesdays and this coming weekend. It was odd to go on holiday so near to where I live! We had a beautiful Airbnb in Pavenham. The countryside starts nearer to home than I thought. #uk #england #gardens
Visited The speciality fine food fair today for th Visited The speciality fine food fair today for the first time. So many tastings! Great to see new products. Particularly impressed by @lamiriharissa which is smoked and delicious run by Jo Lamiri’s children and @quirkymonkeycoffee which is mushroom infused coffee and hot chocolate run by an autistic guy Darwin setting up his own business. Good for him. #foodexplorer
Bones and all. Just made tomato sauce pasta from m Bones and all. Just made tomato sauce pasta from my home made sun dried tomato concentrate made @tenutacammarana in Sicily last summer. It’s the taste of sunshine. Plus my English home-grown tomatoes. #Tomatoes 🍅 🍅 🍅 #dinner #babyledweaning
I’ve made a South African/ Botswana dish that is I’ve made a South African/ Botswana dish that is creamy samp with chakalaka. Samp is corn like hominy or pozole a native Indian or Mexican food. It’s strange that it’s a staple food in Africa. Corn is a new world food I think. Samp itself is quite bland, often eaten with beans. Chakalaka is delicious with peppers, Piri piri seasoning, ginger garlic onions tomatoes and carrots and baked beans.
Samp from Botswana. It’s husked corn and makes a Samp from Botswana. It’s husked corn and makes a porridge like carb- creamy samp. I’m rinsing, soaking and cooking today and will combine it with chakalaka tomorrow. #southafrica #botswana #samp #newworldoldworld
Did my living room floor with @woca_denmark_uk_ire Did my living room floor with @woca_denmark_uk_ireland natural floor soap yesterday which smells lovely. But high traffic areas need rewarding. This is a Scandinavian technique- regularly waxing pale wood floors. I did this floor during the first year of lockdown. I prefer waxed floors to varnished. #interiors #woodfloors
Handbag condiments: @tajinuk , salt @maldonsalt do Handbag condiments: @tajinuk , salt @maldonsalt do a great little handbag tin, soy sauce bottles, and of course a handbag @marmite . I’ve also been known to carry a handbag @wd40uk and a handbag @cremedecassis to make poor white wine drinkable. What do you carry in your bag? Are you like Beyoncé and carry hot sauce in your bag?
Alliums in a purple pot. Note to self: plant more Alliums in a purple pot. Note to self: plant more bobble headed alliums. Love the colour and shape. This is in a neighbours garden who I met on Saturday while working in the front garden. Traditionally the British have front gardens but now they are turned into driveways and building are developed into flats. Only very rich people in london can afford houses. But the front is very important for the community- it’s how you meet your neighbours. On Saturday I visited 2 different sets of neighbours gardens- the first time since I moved to this street 23 years ago. Our front garden is communal and has been an unloved space- I’m trying to change that. Tonight I cleaned all the wheely bins. A yucky job but otherwise they smell so bad in summer. I was thinking about all the terrible dirty jobs that someone has to do- clearing up after a road accident, or sorting out sewers, or unblocking toilets. The stuff that nobody likes to think about. #frontgardens #neighbours #londoners
What I’ve been up to: awning from @victorianawni What I’ve been up to: awning from @victorianawnings which has transformed our al fresco eating possibilities. Also been working on the front garden of our building using talented work men I found on fb marketplace: railings by @lincsecproducts ( the gates were bought by me some years ago and I’ve scraped off the rust and repainted), the arch, which took me 3 years to find on fb marketplace for the right price and size. The wisteria which will grow over the arch planted by @christina_erskine ( I’ve always wanted a wisteria and they apparently add to the value of your house), the Swiss style bike/buggy shed. Needs to be painted dark green to match the walls. My friend Jim repaired the walls, the coping, and laid the  concrete plinth. Now need to find coping for the pillars or perhaps urns for more plants. 47cm2. #interiors #exteriordesign #gates #railings #bikeshed #awning #design
Made a vegetarian paella with La bomba rice from @ Made a vegetarian paella with La bomba rice from @brindisaspanishfoods I used red and green peppers, saffron, sherry, Nyora peppers, smoked almonds and green olives #vegetarian #vegetariansummer #paella
Quick snap of my bedroom chimney wall with the @sa Quick snap of my bedroom chimney wall with the @sanderson1860 wallpaper - finally done. Never wallpapered before. By the way I’m totally open to interiors collaborations email me: marmitelover@mac.com #interiordesign #wallpaper #london
I was sent some incredible olive oil from Sicily b I was sent some incredible olive oil from Sicily by fattoriabaronemocciarolidestri Terrediequila wonderful quality. Intense new grassy flavours. #oliveoil #sicily
Cooking powders or flavour bombs: two of my favour Cooking powders or flavour bombs: two of my favourite are ‘chaat’ which you can buy in Indian shops- here I’ve sprinkled yoghurt with lime/achaar chaat and decorated with day lily petals. My other favourite culinary powder is @tajinuk which gives instant mexicanness to any dish. #tajin #chaat
Me and my beautiful granddaughter Ophelia. I look Me and my beautiful granddaughter Ophelia. I look a mess ( really need to dye hair but it’s sooo expensive) but I don’t care because my heart just bursts when I cuddle this little being who has been in my life for 8 months. Babies are a blessing. #granfluencer pic: @clairebelljar
Made arepas last week with masarepa, a precooked m Made arepas last week with masarepa, a precooked maize meal, topped with Wensleydale cheese which isn’t too dissimilar to a fresh Latin American cheese. I also added fresh corn kernels for texture. #colombia #venezuela #arepas #vegetarian
Quinoa salad cooked in a mushroom stock cube solut Quinoa salad cooked in a mushroom stock cube solution with hazelnuts & preserved lemons, home grown curly parsley. I’m not cooking most of my grains in a rice steamer. Turn out fluffy & perfect every time. #quinoa #grainbowl #summerfood
I took this photo of Jane Birkin when she performe I took this photo of Jane Birkin when she performed at @theroundhouse in 2008. Shabby chic with a sweet voice. #RIP #janebirkin #concert #london #rockphotographer
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Archives

Copyright © 2023 msmarmitelover