Budget-conscious seekers of Central Europe’s savory pig-and-potato cuisine will roll out of Bohemian Crystal well satisfied. Any diner who polishes off the sausage appetizer ($4.25 for a grilled brat and a Polish-type link on a bed of kraut) before persevering through the all-inclusive menu of soup, vegetable, main course, dumpling (or potato pancake) and kolacky (or pound cake) has my admiration.
Bohemian here means Czech and Slovak, not black turtlenecks and coffeehouse angst. The menu is all business and mostly meat. The frilliest title is chicken breast Praha (grilled, then served in a Dijon vinaigrette, according to the menu); other dishes are plainly described: roast loin of pork, breaded veal cutlet, etc. The “buttcakes” appetizer ($3.25) turns out to be delicious despite the name: two shoe-sole-size potato pancakes hide chunks of smoked pork butt; the dish comes with applesauce for dipping.
Four seafood dishes are listed, and roast duckling and chicken are offered as well.
Dinners are all-inclusive as described above, minus any appetizers. Diners have some latitude in their starch and vegetable choices, most of which also are available as sides at extra cost ($1 to $1.80).
Two Thursday-night specials cost $7.50 for the goulash and $7.90 for the leg of lamb. The meats were tender and mild, though the goulash gravy was heavily salted. The lamb comes with a barley pilaf fragrant with sage.
With the goulash, the potato-pancake option was overcooked and greasy when compared with the more successful buttcakes. Well-textured potato dumplings, resembling slices of unbaked French bread, were a good match for the lamb.
The tasty potato soup consisted of chunks of potato and mushroom suspended in a meaty base laced with caraway. The not-very-beefy noodle soup was still flavorful.
As you might expect from a place that does a lot of banquet business, service was pleasant and efficient, with a ready-or-not-here-I-come quality that can crowd your table top in a hurry. That’s an advantage, though, for those who like to hopscotch from appetizer to side dish and then over to their companions’ plates.
Some Bohemian advice: Have a light lunch and take your appetite to Westmont early. (The night we visited, the place had pretty well cleared out by 8, the deadline for seating.) As for a thirst: Though nothing is offered on tap, bottled Czech and Slovak beers ($3 and $3.25) are available, along with several Czech wines. Rulander Red ($9 a bottle, $1.75 a glass) proved a good match for the goulash.
Coffee and dessert are included too. The apricot kolacky was a bit tired by the time we got to it and the poppy-seed pound cake was on the dry side, but who had room at that point anyway?
Bohemian Crystal
(two forks)
639 Blackhawk Drive, Westmont 708-789-1981
11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tues. – Sat.; 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday
Credit cards: AE, DC, MC, V
Wheelchair accessible
———-
RATINGS KEY: 4 forks: Top of the class 3 forks: Better than most 2 forks: Very good fare 1 fork: Middle of the road
