For Foodies: Wine Food Market

I have Jiří Jelínek, owner of Wine Food Market, to thank for this unexpected treat. Mr. Jelinek has been supplying the Czech Republic with specialty Italian products—from truffle butter to octopus ink pasta—for five years now, and he’s done it with style.

In the entryway, I grabbed a funky plastic shopping cart and rolled inside. I quickly realized the no-frills name Wine Food Market doesn’t do justice to the variety of products on offer. The cheese section alone boasts 120 different items. I put a wedge of 20-month-aged Grana Padano parmesan cheese (550 CZK/kg) into my cart—a safe purchase for practically any Italian recipe I chose to prepare.

I continued walking around the u-shaped deli counter, ogling the selection of cured meats, when I spotted a little plate with pieces of dried sausage. I looked back to the cheese section and saw there was one there too. Since this isn’t very common in Prague, I wasn’t sure about the protocol. I snagged a chunk of Asiago cheese and then waited to see what would happen—nothing, no shop assistant appeared to breath down my neck. I tempted fate by sneaking another one—still nothing.
 
But wait, it gets even better: no dirty looks or grumbling for ordering a sample plate of all the deli goodies. They actually encourage it and let you take your food over to the market area where you can sit at long, wooden tables with benches and nibble on it at your leisure. The same goes for the wine—buy a bottle from the shop, grab some bench and they’ll open it and serve it to you in proper glasses. Wow!—goodbye Albert, goodbye Billa, this is grocery shopping taken to a whole new level.

I continued my aimless wandering and found myself in the pasta section. All sorts of interesting shapes and sizes are available. I amused myself by reading aloud the different names with a heavy, Italian accent—vermicelli, scialatielli, conchiglioni, linguine, spaghetti…. I was suddenly craving some penne all’ arrabbiata (literally: “angry” pasta because of the spicy tomato sauce) so I grabbed a bag of penne pasta (85 CZK) and a couple cans of Graziella crushed tomatoes (32 CZK each).

All that remained was to pick up some bread so I could politely sop up any excess arrabbiata sauce on my plate. I cut across the market area to get to the bakery and was impressed by the lofty space, with its high ceiling and glass skylight. The uneven cement floor betrays the building’s previous use as a tire service, and in the 1920’s it was used to park the milk wagons and horses for Parní Radlická mlékárna na Smíchově (Steam Radlická Milk factory in Smichov).

(Side note: Later, after biting into a slice with its crunchy crust and perfectly spongy interior, I wholeheartedly forgave them.)

I won’t lie to you. If you’re the kind of person who’s satisfied with špagety s kečupem, this isn’t the place for you. Mr. Jelinek mostly works with smaller, regional suppliers—a lot of the brands you wouldn’t even find in an Italian supermarket—and it definitely shows when getting the final tally at the check-out counter. Personally, I don’t mind putting my money where my mouth is (when I convert the prices into euros, I feel better) and I get a chance to show off to my friends and family by serving them restaurant-caliber food at home.

My Shopping List:
Parmesan cheese: 119.90 CZK (0,218kg)
Crushed tomatoes: 64 CZK (2 cans)
Sausage: 120.22 CZK (0,416kg)
Penne pasta: 85 CZK (0,500kg)
Ciabatta: 47 CZK (1 loaf)
Wine: 199 CZK
TOTAL: 635.12 CZK

WHERE: Strakonická 1 Smíchov 
PUBLIC TRANSPORT: tram stop Plzeňka or metro station Smíchovské nádraží
OPENING HOURS:  Mon-Sun 9:00 – 21:00 (market – bar, rosticceria, fishery, gelateria, fruit & vegetables), 9:00 – 22:00 (bar inside the shop, bakery)
WEBSITE:http://www.winemarket.cz/produkty.php

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