I was born in New York City and grew up in the area. It is certainly one of the greatest mixes of cultures from around the world. My father was born in Europe, and I recall a lot of relatives and European influences growing up. We went on a family trip Europe when I was 10. I think I caught the travel bug from some of those experiences. When I went to college, I studied in London for 6 months and then spent a year working as a waiter and fruit picker on a farm while backpacking around Europe and Middle East. It was so much fun to move so easily between countries and cultures, and I liked that expat/outsider feeling. Moving to new places also gives you an opportunity to reinvent yourself in a new environment, which I did.

My work at the time was rather dry and intense and I was looking for a creative outlet. I enjoy creative writing, word play, good jokes, bad puns, alliteration – and I was trying to find a way to express that. I was reading some blogs at the time for entertainment and my favorites were anonymous insiders telling stories about what it’s like to be a bouncer at top clubs in New York or to be an attorney at a major law firm. I didn’t have work stories like that to tell and I didn’t want to write about my personal life. Then, one day in early 2007, I read an article in the New York Times about the city’s top restaurant bloggers. A lightbulb went off over my head. I realized that there were no English-language food blogs in Prague and I would be the first (though there were already Czech-language blogs). I always loved eating out and I knew I would have endless content. Also, telling stories about my dinners from the perspective of my personal taste and experience took pressure off. I didn’t have to see myself as a professional food credit. I was just a storyteller sharing opinions informed by extensive experience.

Well, I’d question whether I’m „famous.“ I’m probably well-known in the foodie community and among other restaurant influencers.  But there are plenty of others in English with much bigger numbers on social media platforms and haven’t been around nearly as long as me. I think part of the reason is because I’m not interested in using apps to produce fast-paced videos set to music and making myself the main character. That’s the hot thing these days and putting a face in there is much more engaging than photos and text. My concept from the beginning was to be anonymous and mysterious, so it would spark people’s imaginations and curiosity. Also my feeling is that if I was famous and restaurants recognized me, they’d treat me better than regular customers and it would not be a real or true experience.

When I first started, comments could sometimes get under my skin if they were insulting or disrespectful. There are very few of those these days. I’ve tried to keep my replies positive and light. If a commenter is insulting, I’ll occasionally use humor to deflect it and say something like: Mom (or Dad)! Stop leaving comments on my page!“ But if someone gets too nasty and negative, I give them one warning and if it continues, they get banned. But that’s rare. It is my platform, my hobby, and meant spreading knowledge and enjoyment, including mine.

When I like a place, I sometimes get a big thanks from an owner. They could usually figure out who I was after I published a story because I usually ask a lot of questions. They remembered that and realized who it was. What I say to them is that I’m just recognizing that they did good work. If I didn’t like their food or restaurant, they wouldn’t be so happy with me. So on the negative side, I had a restaurateur put out a message to his friends that if they ever saw me to let him know where I was. He was angry about my negative story and wanted to confront me. Another very well-known restaurateur knew who I was, and I thought things between us were quite friendly. I was a regular at his restaurant. But I wrote something carelessly negative at one point. I didn’t realize it immediately, but it made him very angry.

I wouldn’t consider myself a top expert on the Czech food scene. But on the high end, I’m a big fan of Vycep on Korunni, even though the prices there make me a bit dizzy sometimes. There are a bunch of sophisticated places I just haven’t had the chance or time to try like Alma, 420, Marie B, or Stangl. Believe it or not, I’ve never been to La Degustation.

I’ve lived in Prague for 25 years now and I’ve tried most Czech dishes. I ate a lot of Czech food in the first years I was here. For example, I used to get koleno at a dirty old pub in Mala Strana (that no longer exists) after playing basketball with friends. But I haven’t had koleno in 15 years. My all-time favorite is probably svickova. I like judging the sauce, in particular. They are all so different. I also love rizek and potato salad – fried food has a big pull on me.

Czech Please is like a bad pun and a bit of a cliche. I love that. Then, the phrase „check please“ is so deeply associated with restaurants and then to have the double meaning with the country made it too good to resist. But when I first started, a friend said, „Technically, to be grammatically correct, it should be ‚Czech, please, with a comma.'“ Very annoying. We are no longer friends (just kidding).

I get offers from time to time in my DMs from restaurants. I just never feel comfortable with it. I like treating this as my hobby and like journalism. So in that spirit, it doesn’t seem right to take money. Deep down, I wish I made little money from it. But I’m too much of a purist for my own good. This is now I think: How can I write anything negative when I’m getting free food or money? If you can’t find something that needs improvement and the review is 100% positive, then I usually don’t trust a review.

El Camino, Sodo, Kantyna, Burgerman, Mr. Hot Dog, Sandwich Rodeo, Sumi Garden, La Bottega di Finestra (most of the La Collezione restaurants), Da Pietro, Wokin, Megablast, Golden Egg, La Focacceria,

A post with a lot of writing and photos might take me 30-40 minutes to do. But sometimes just want to highlight one food item like a great croissant and that only takes about five minutes. And it funny – one of the most popular posts I’ve had in recent months was about my love of kremžská hořčice. I knew it was an unusual post, but I didn’t expect the huge outpouring of love and opinions on that. I also caused some controversy (and engagement) by misidentifying my favorite brand as being Czech when, in fact, it was Slovak.

 A lot of people have thanked me and that they look at my accounts and posts when looking for ideas on places to go out to eat. And I love to share knowledge about good and tasty things. And occasionally about problems or things to avoid. So I do think about the „community“ – helping people. And I love to talk about food with just about anyone.

This actually started as a blog on Google’s old Blogspot site. But the readership of websites like that declined and I was getting more engagement from social media accounts to I stopped the website blog. I also noticed something a bit sad for me. When I’d write a long story with some pictures, I’d get only a small amount of engagement and readers. But when I’d just post a photo gallery with minimal comment, the numbers would be much bigger. Conclusion: reading was dying. The lazy part of me would just like to post a photo and say, „This was a great hamburger from Mr. Hotdog“ and leave it at that. But I always feel the need to explain in more detail, whether people want it or not.

No plans to change. I’m busier than ever with life and work outside of blogging so it is challenging to keep it up. And yet, after 17 years, I can’t let it go.

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