For Foodies: Halloween Eating

While all of us—ok, most of us—let go of cherished childhood traditions at a certain age, we never abandon them entirely, just allow them to take on a different shape. Though you may have hung up your trick-or-treat bucket awhile ago, you’ll likely be on the hunt for autumn edibles and other grown-up thrills come October. From Prague’s most ghost-storied restaurants to local baked goods bursting with the pick of the pumpkin patch, enjoy our guide for “spirited” appetites.

Dinner and a Tale: Prague’s haunted restaurants and pubs
Many of Prague’s Gothic cellars prove most frightening for their tourist trappiness. And yet there’s something about this time of year that calls for a little seasonal fun. Strahov is a good place to start. Its monastery is supposedly haunted by Mary, a local unfortunate who lost her children to the plague. A hymn for the cursed woman is said to mysteriously emanate from the chapel on moonless nights. Prick up your ears and settle in for a pint of autumn dark at Klášterní pivovar Strahov.

Nearby, Restaurace Peklo (Hell), once the wine cellar of King Charles IV, may be haunted only by high prices these days, but the twisted stone figures built into its vaulted ceilings and dim ambience are befitting this “passage to the underworld”.

In neighboring Malá Strana, the ghost of the Obese Merchant hangs out near the Valdštejnská Hospoda, where once he feasted on old Bohemian fare, still the house specialty. It was here that the merchant declined to share his ample meal with a hungry beggar only to later meet a Monty Pythonesque demise. The spirit of the greedy gourmand is now doomed to wander the quarter begging.

Tavern U krále Brabantského, a medieval restaurant below Prague Castle, isn’t just famous for the historic clientele that once drank beneath its skull-bedecked ceiling (the alchemists of Rudolf II , Mozart, Hašek, K. Čapek,)—it was recently featured in an episode of the British television show “Most Haunted Live,” where the host conducted a séance in the restaurant’s cellar; a place so creepy even the staff refuses to enter it.

Across the river at Dům U Zlaté studny (House at the Golden Well), one of Prague’s best-preserved Baroque burger houses, lurks the water-logged spirit of the Drowned Maid. Following a hot tip that the house hides a well-concealed priceless treasure, the young woman peered in a tad too deep and fell to her death. Upon having the well cleaned, the owner discovered a cache of gold coins. Now the miserable maid stalks the halls of the hotel, sobbing and soaked.

Follow-up dinner at the Golden Well’s Gothic cellar restaurant with a drink at Pivnice U Kata (The Executioner’s Alehouse). Formerly the ancient watering hole of ax-wielding hood-wearers, it’s now one of the few Old Town pubs with a local feel.

Got the subterranean pub-sick blues? Head to Jindřišská Tower for a bite in its original 15th-century belfry, which houses Restaurant Zvonice. The wooden eaves recall a creaky old attic while the area surrounding the tower is loaded with lore. According to Stověžatá Praha (Prague of 100 Spires) author Josef Podzimek, the tower was built over a swampy cemetery that smelled of “nothing but rotting corpses and mire.” Dobrou chut’!

Seasonal Treats: A taste of home
There’s reason to celebrate: the holy grail of harvest baking, Libby’s canned pumpkin is now available in Prague. Offered by the folks at newly opened The Candy Store, importers of American staples like Mountain Dew and Doritos, the traditional pie filling takes its place on the shop’s shelves alongside Halloween goodie bags stuffed with Czech and US treats. They’ll also be selling homemade pumpkin pie and Halloween cupcakes.

The holiday is coming to Culinaria, another spot on the American-import circuit, as well. Pumpkin pie, iced pumpkin cookies, and savory pumpkin soup will be on the menu; Reese’s miniatures, Jelly Belly, and a variety of “pre-packed specialty treats with a Halloween theme” are available for purchase.
Bohemia Bagel never disappoints when it comes to seasonal goodies. Just in time for Halloween, they’ve got decorated cookies and brownies, pumpkin cheesecake, and, while not exactly associated with any Halloween festivities I’ve ever taken part in, pineapple upside cake.

Botanicus isn’t just a purveyor of heavenly scented lotions and potions: a short jaunt from Prague, in Ostra, lies the Botanicus farm and medieval village. Here they’re hosting a family-friendly autumn party (October 29) with pumpkin carving, a magician, and other autumnal activities. But what caught my eye is the planned tasting of cakes and pastries not just prepared from pumpkin (pie, compote, marmalade, and chutney) but also...beets. Sample beet cakes and fritters, and an old-school Czech pastry called Řepánky, a sort of donut filled with a sweet beet mixture, along with mulled wine and Botanicus tea.

For those who observe All Soul’s Day, which goes by the name dušičky in the Czech Republic and throughout Europe and the rest of the world by various different monikers, Las Adelitas is making pan de muertos, or bread of the dead, a traditional Mexican sweet bun, decorated with “bone-like” pieces, that’s eaten on Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), at the gravesite or altar of the deceased. The restaurant will be adding slices of pan de muertos with Mexican hot chocolate to its dessert menu around Halloween. If you’d like to order an entire bread for take-away, call Las Adelitas two days in advance.

Pumpkin beer: You’ll have to travel
If you’re looking for pumpkin ales along the lines of Sam Adams or Harvest Moon, you’ll have to go to Jihlava where for the second year in a row Radniční pivovar is brewing up its Pumpkin Ale 12º. I asked publisher and founder of Pivní magazín Jarda Večerníček for his picks of the autumn beer crop and he pointed me to the Radniční brew, described in press materials as “a top fermented, unfiltered, and unpasteurized beer of American origin, similar to American pumpkin pie, with cinnamon, nutmeg, and coriander.”

Autumn is actually the perfect time to visit Jihlava where the Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival is taking place from October 25 thru October 30. Less crowded and pretentious than Karlovy Vary, you’ll want to make it among your new grown-up Halloween rituals.

Check also:
Halloween Costumes & Decor - Dress up your home, your party...yourself!
Dark Tourism in Prague - Murder, magic, and mayhem: Prague's real-life horror stories
Halloween Parties in Prague 2011 - Have a devilish time at this year’s spooky events!