Food in Slovakia

I think it is high time to say something about food and drink here in Slovakia.

In Slovakia the main meal is lunch. Every day I go to the cantine with some of the other IAESTE trainees working at the University, sometimes their co-workers, and sometimes my co-workers. Lunch usually consists of a light soup; a main dish with either rice, potatoes, or french fries; maybe some vegtables; lemonade or juice; and maybe a desert or chocolate bar. The meal must cost over 3.32 euros if I am using my student card to pay for it. There is some sort of reimbursement by the school or government for student meals so the day after the purchased meal 2 euros are put back on the card. Thus, each meal only costs about 1.32 euros. The cantines usually have a number of choices for the main meal. There is often chicken or pork. Sometimes there is fried cheese or fish. There is often a sweet dish such as the pancakes that I describe below.

The most traditional Slovak meal is called Bryndzove halusky. It is small potato dumplings with sheep cheese, topped with scrabbled bacon. I have had this meal at a couple of restaurants and I really like it. You can also order it with a sausage on top instead of the bacon but this isn't as traditional.

A similar meal to the Bryndzove halusky is the Bryndzové pirohy. This dish is made of dumplings with cheese inside and topped with bacon. The cafeteria has this dish quite often.

Another meal that I have had several places is a type of pancakes, which are more like French crepes than American pancakes, with jam and chocolate sauce on top. They are called palačinky.

Another sweet meal that I have had at the cantine is Parené buchty. This meal consists of steamed dumplings filled with jam that have a chocolate sauce on top.

The slovak national drink is Kofola. This is a soda pop similar to Coke in color and carbination but not very similar in taste. I think that I prefer Kofola to Coke.

Beer is very popular in Slovakia. A couple of Slovak beers that I see everywhere are Šariš and Zlatý Bažant. The name of the second, Zlaty Bazant, means Golden Pheasant and this bird is pictured on the green bottles.

Wine made in Slovakia comes from the southern region or Tokaj region. This region also extends into Hungary. The Tokaj wines are white wines and can be either dry or sweet. I haven't yet found a Slovakian Tokaj that is sweet, however.

Two typical Slovak liquors are Borovička which is made from juniper berries and Slivovica which is made from plums. Also a popular shot is Tatranský Čaj.