The name was absolutely apt. It wasn't a diner at all -- it was just a kitchen attached to a small storefront that had like 5 huge cold-cases full of homemade Czech food.
The owner was very nice, but kinda in that gruff no-nonsense eastern european way. There was a sign saying $15 minimum credit card charge, but my order only came out to $10 or so. I felt bad and wanted to make up the difference, but she waved it off. Then I asked if I could take a picture of the store, but she didn't want to be in it :[
This is looking the other way. There's one tiny little cafe table + 2 chairs, but I think it's for show. All the food is cold/frozen, and the owner said they were takeout only!
For all that Czech Kitchens didn't look like much, the food was absolutely fantastic. I wanted to try their duck dinner (of course), but they were out. So I got stuffed cabbage instead, which I took back to my hotel. It was a struggle finding a microwave, but eventually one turned up. Then there were noms:
I know that looks fairly gross, but it was actually really, really good. It was cabbage wrapped around a beef-and-rice stuffing (mostly beef, from what I could tell), stewed with potatoes and chunks of beef. It was really awesome.
And of course, kolaches:
They were actually smaller than I'd thought they'd be! They're like... the size of slender pigs-in-blankets. But they were so fucking good. I ate three of them before I thought to take pictures. Then I ate three more and forced myself to stop *LOL* I'll probably scarf the rest for breakfast tomorrow. I'm seriously considering stopping by again and getting another dozen to bolt down on my way to the airport *dies*
On my way out of Stickney, I ran across this frozen pond in yet another forest preserve (I think it was Cermak Woods off US-34):
...and this is a view off the bridge over the Des Plaines river, with snow on the banks. The river itself hadn't frozen. It was really beautiful, but assfreezingly cold on that bridge:
After I took that pic, I headed back to Chicago. Next up: Grant Park, plus Bronzeville and the Mile!
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