gusto: Hot Time In The Meat Locker

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Hot Time In The Meat Locker

That's Sir Paul, with a few oysters.

Last year, for my 50th birthday, I took over Sansho, the hip, happening hotspot on Prague's restaurant scene. I invited as many friends as I could fit in there, and chef Paul Day prepared a special menu for everyone.

To say it was a memorable night is to belabor understatement. The food, the friends, the atmosphere. I couldn't have asked for a better birthday. And Paul, whom I now call my friend, made it all happen. Sansho was still relatively new on the Prague restaurant scene then (although it had already generated quite a buzz), and so many of my friends hadn't yet sampled Paul's food.

I loved the idea that I was helping them discover what all of Prague (and beyond) would soon be hearing about.

Paul and Sansho have gone on to even greater glory since then, of course. In May, the restaurant was awarded a Bib Gourmand, one step shy of a Michelin star. And Paul has opened his own butcher shop in Prague's New Town, The Real Meat Society, which I wrote about a few weeks ago.

So, I thought it'd be appropriate to celebrate my 51st birthday at Sansho. A bit more low-key, perhaps, with just a couple of friends, but still a chance to savor those amazing flavors. I hadn't been there in too long.

Paul had another idea.

Why not have a "crudo"night in the butcher shop? he suggested. (Crudo being Italian for "raw," btw.) Some beef tartare, oysters, and a few other surprises. The space was small, which meant only a few people and no kids (quite a departure from last year), but I didn't argue.

The main course. One of them, anyway.

So in late April, one night after the shop had closed, Paul and a few members of his staff set up a cozy table next to the graffiti-covered meat coolers in the back and Daisy and a few our friends -- Margot Buff, Karen LaMonte and Steve Polaner, to be precise -- got down to the business of some serious eating, drinking, and socializing.

We enjoyed salmon sashimi with citrus soy; pork belly and crispy oyster sandwiches; beef tatare with bottarga and yuzu sweet fried bread; Bloody Mary oyster shooters; raw oysters on the half-shell; raw oysters with ponzu; crispy oysters topped with kanafeh and wasabi cream; Angus short-rib penang and roti; and cheesecake with dulce de leche.

We brought our own wine, including some lovely Italian bottles from the Alto Adige region, courtesy of Steve and Karen.

An amazing night. I'm a lucky man.

Thanks so much to Paul and his partner, Míša, and to Daisy, Margot, Steve, and Karen.

Now, Paul, about next year ...