113. A Polish meal is hardy, substantial and has cabbage involved somehow! Over our 10 day trip we enjoyed several of these robust meals. I realized how very similar these meals were to those growing up in my home. Though, there are faint memories of whining, "cabbage again!" or "I hate potato soup!"...each meal was delicious!
Our first meal consisted of pan sauteed pork, boiled potatoes and a fantastic cabbage, green apple, celery, corn and onion salad with a creamy dressing.
Soup is usually served each dinner meal before the entree. We had the opportunity to have "Zurek", a traditional soup to Poland. We had this soup in three separate restaurants, each was slightly different but all were fantastic. This soup had small pieces of kielbasa, chopped boiled egg and sometimes cubes of cheese.
Pierogi is a staple and one of my favorites!
We were told of a fantastic restaurant in the Old City in Warsaw called "Pod Samsonem" or "Under Samson"...we found it and loved it!
Sitting at our seat we looked around at others meals and wanted to go and sample everything we saw. Beet soup called "Borscht" is a favorite of mine and I determined to order this soup. I was delighted when my soup came to the table and floating in the ruby broth was tiny pierogi called "Ucho" or little ears. They were filled with meat and were about 2 inches in size. It was fantastic! I dropped a dollop of sour cream in the center and completely enjoyed every spoonful!
Yes, cabbage was part of this meal...three yummy salads...each one of them was so delicious.
We ordered "Pork with Mushroom Gravy" and Spatzele,
"Beef Knuckle" served with Sauerkraut and Boiled Potato, and
"Sauteed Pork" with Roasted Potato and Sauteed Mushroom and Cabbage
Everything tasted fantastic! Our waitress was so gracious and helped us with our menu choices.
The very end of our trip was epic! The meal that we experienced was like nothing you could ever imagine.
The Restaurant was called "Karczma BIDA" near Lublin, Poland. You have to check it out on-line! When we walked in the huge double doors we felt like we were transported in time back to another land. This restaurant is decorated in a Polish Highlander and Polish Folklore style and the waiters and waitresses were all in costume. Directly in front of the entrance was a huge wood fired grill.
Meat was hanging over the grill...ribs and roasts. Our waitress, who was dressed in traditional Folk dress, directed us upstairs to a larger room.
The tables and chairs were huge wood hewn pieces.
We were overwhelmed by the decor and everywhere you looked there were logs and animal skins, carved statues and Polish Folklore pieces.
We were seated at an incredible table...the chairs were so heavy you could hardly pull them or push up to the table.
We were told to sit back and enjoy...that the meal would be enough for 8 people. First the cabbage salads came...I am getting use to this daily dose of cabbage!
Then the fantastic sauerkraut and polish pickles.
And then the "Podglᾳd" came, a massive platter of flaming meat and potatoes!!! (They took sugar cubes and soaked them in alcohol and lit them on fire!) What a presentation!
The potatoes were roasted and layered the bottom. The meat was piled high including roasted pork, ribs, kielbasa, sausage, beef knuckle, and pork cutlet. WOW!!!!! It was delicious!
As we were leaving, I snapped one more picture and was told that pictures were not permitted...oops!
This food adventure was unforgettable! Poland is filled with marvelous food...every day and every meal was an experience!
just good food from fresh ingredients."
~Julia Child
