Next Time You're In ... Prague

The narrator in Saturnin, a beloved Czech novel by Zdenek Jirotka, groups people into three categories, by their reactions to a plate of doughnuts: those who just stare at the doughnuts, those who wonder how it would feel to throw them at other customers, and "people for whom the idea of a doughnut whistling through the air is such an enticement that they get up and actually make it happen."

Inspired by the zany book, Prague's opulent Café Imperial caters to the third kind. For $72, you can buy a bowl of day-old doughnuts and take aim — at friends,

other patrons, staff. (The café picks up the dry-cleaning tab if guests complain.) Doughnut battles break out at least twice a month. In between volleys of pastry, you can admire the café's 1914 Art Nouveau tiles, featuring leaping stags, nesting birds and cherubs on donkeys. Remember to duck when the doughnuts come flying. Café Imperial, Na Porící 15, Prague 1. tel: (420) 602 368 702