A Family Affair
by Michelle Gilles

At Praha Restaurant and Bar, the bold combination of Old World European cuisine with global and American notes serves as a charming culinary allegory of how this Longmont restaurant came to be.

Formerly known as the Old Prague Inn, the restaurant was founded in 1977 by Vladimir and Jitka Smetana. The story begins in 1957 when Jitka, then a fashion model, and Vladimir, her husband, escaped their home in Prague. Czechoslovakia was a Soviet satellite state at the time. Making it seem they were going on vacation, the Smetanas headed first to Hungary and then to Rijeka, Yugoslavia (now Serbia), where they boarded a ship. When the ship reached Italy, they disembarked despite intense questioning by secret police, Jitka says. With nothing but the clothes on their backs, a little money in their pockets and toothbrushes sewn into the hems of their jackets, the Smetanas found asylum in Italy.

After two years in a Milan refugee camp, Vladimir and Jitka were finally able to sail for America, where they raised two daughters and realized their dream of becoming business owners. (The Pink Flamingo, a coffee shop in San Diego, was their first restaurant.) Fast forward 17 years. The Smetana family had relocated to Hygiene, Colo., whose former schoolhouse, an 1890s red-brick building at 75th Street and Ute Highway, kept calling to them as a nice place to start a Czech restaurant. Luck and timing were on their side, and in 1976 they bought the little schoolhouse. Jitka laid the foundations of the restaurant’s menu with old Czech and German recipes such as Wienerschnitzel, Sauerbraten and traditional Czech dumplings made with eggs, flour, milk and tiny chunks of French bread mixed together, shaped into a log, sliced and boiled.

In 1992, 15 successful years in the restaurant business, the family decided to sell the Old Prague Inn and retire. But in 2004, when the Smetanas got an opportunity to buy the restaurant back, they took it. Their daughter Monica Smetana, who had cooked for the restaurant from 1985 to 1992, took over as chef. Her extensive restaurant training includes studying in Salzburg, interning for several grand hotels including the Astoria in Vienna, and working as an executive chef and trainer for Vienna’s Hotel de France. Her sister, Judy Smetana, who lived for four years in the Wachau region, known as the Napa Valley of Austria, serves as the restaurant’s wine specialist. She is happy to suggest a wine to accompany dinner, believing that “there’s something romantic, sensual, about a good wne that lends itself to a good time. It complements the meal and conversation.”

“Life Is Hectic Enough”
The sisters changed the restaurant’s name to Praha. “It’s Czech for Prague,” Monica explains, with the infectious smile and slight European accent she shares with her mother and sister. “We chose it because our parents are from Prague. We wanted to keep that part of the restaurant alive.” Monica says she likes to use traditional methods of European cooking but recreates the recipes with an innovative flair. She tries to focus on lighter meals and incorporate seasonal vegetables and local meats, cheeses and herbs.

Menu items that express her vision include escargots Kokoschka, in which six tender snails are served in fresh herb garlic butter and topped with a puff pastry; Chilean sea bass with a horseradish crust and miso-yuza sauce (blond soybean paste with soy sauce, honey and lemon juice); and filet tips Krumlov: scallops of beef tenderloin flamed in cognac and served with a red wine demi-glace sauce, mushrooms and spätzle. Monica’s personal favorite is roast duck Czech style, which is a young duckling roasted until golden brown and served with red cabbage and Czech dumplings.

When it’s time for dessert, Judy’s favorite is the Mohr im Hemd (“Moor in a skirt”), a chocolate hazelnut soufflé with a warm chocolate-rum sauce served with freshly whipped cream. And while a soufflé takes time, that’s what a good meal is all about, says Monica. “It’s not an in-and-out. You come in and enjoy your evening and relax, because life is hectic enough.”

At Praha it’s a family affair, from the traditions that Vladimir and Jitka brought over from Prague, to the European influences that guide Monica’s culinary inspirations, to Judy’s philosophy that enjoying a fine wine with dinner makes for good conversation. The feeling, flavor and flair of the Old World mix with the newer tastes of today, flowing through the restaurant and onto your plate in a rewarding concoction of culinary arts.

| Praha Restaurant & Bar, 7521 Ute Highway, Longmont, is open for Happy Hour Mon – Fri 4 pm-6pm, Early Bird Specials Mon-Thurs 4 pm-6 pm, and dinner Mon-Sat 5 pm-close. Reservations recommended; walk-ins welcome. Phone: 303-702-1180.

| Michelle Gilles, a freelance writer for several local publications, specializes in food, home and garden stories. She lives in Boulder with her husband and golden retriever.

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