Mushroom trip to the Kurzeme coast ends at the Zaķu krogs inn near Jūrkalne
A writer for the Latvian daily Diena's Saturday supplement describes a long mushroom-hunting trip and a meal at the Zaķu krogs inn in Jaunarāji, near Jūrkalne. The inn got five stars in every rating category.
The Saturday supplement of the Latvian daily Diena has published a first-hand account of a mushroom-hunting trip to the Kurzeme coast and a meal at the Zaķu krogs inn in Jaunarāji, near Jūrkalne. The piece is signed by Egīls Zirnis and doubles as a rated restaurant review.
The author opens with criticism of the Latvian State Forest Research Institute Silava. He writes that the institute has felled old forest in the area run by its Forest Research Station near Rucava, including pines more than 350 years old.
Advice for distant trips
The author then turns to mushroom picking. A long drive can be wasted if you cannot know whether mushrooms are growing at a place right now. His suggestion is to pick a beautiful destination, such as the Baltic Sea coast, and find a good inn nearby, so the trip is worthwhile even without a harvest.
Coastal inns often keep different hours once the summer season ends, so opening times should be checked beforehand. The author once found Zaķu krogs closed, but this time it was open.
The inn and its menu
The inn has a Latvian-style dining room with heavy beams, a fireplace and windows with curtains. Guests are allowed to bring a dog. From the menu the author singled out fried sprats at €9.00, fried flounder at €12.00 and a bone-in pork chop at €13.50. The waiter said flounder was in season. The author found the sprats and flounder very tasty.
The inn is open from 12:00 to 20:00 and is closed on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Interior, food, service and atmosphere each received five stars out of five. The author adds that before the meal he had to wash saffron milk cap juice off his hands.
