Venison Feast in Little Prague

Amidst the quintessential melting pot that is the Queens neighborhood of Astoria (home to much of the borough's Egyptian, Persian, Moroccan, Ecuadorian, Thai and Greek populations) is a small strip of Czech and Romanian restaurants and tiny food markets. Zlata Praha (28-43 31st St., Astoria, NY 11102) is one such establishment which just hosted its annual February Venison and Wild Game Festival. 

Never one to pass an opportunity for knoshing on woodland creatures, Susan M. kindly picked up Cafe Drake and drove us over to Astoria for a mid-afternoon beltbuster of a meal. Amidst old school decor (see above, framed collections of Czech currency adorning the dining room walls) and an even more aged clientele, Susan and Cafe D. put away venison liver pate, housemade venison sausage and cold slabs of venison meatloaf served with pickled sweet red peppers. Light but softball-sized dumplings followed along with wild boar leg in a tangy rosehips sauce and a woefully overcooked casserole of venison stewed with red wine and bay leaves. The latter was really the only misstep of the day and was more than made up for by several glasses of dry and surprisingly bold Hungarian red wine.