Return to Poland

I'm now on my third trip to Poland in as many years, but have only managed to produce one blog post in that time, so I thought it was time for another. Between my first and my second visit I discovered that my grandfather was from Poland, so my affinity for Polish fare suddenly made sense and seemed like something I should embrace. On my second trip I visited Warsaw again, my ancestral village Przedborz, and Krakow, the heart of Jewish tourism in Poland. This time I was determined to try as much Polish Jewish food as I could, which it turns out is very much like traditional Polish food, but with less pork.

Stuffed goose maw at One Upon a Time in Kazimierz

The Kazimierz neighborhood in Krakow is the old Jewish Quarter and is now more like a Disneyland version of olde-tymey Jewish life. Once Upon a Time in Kazimierz is a restaurant that is set up to look like your old Jewish grandfather's shophouse before Krakow was purged of Jews. What's bizarre about this entire part of town, which has klezmer music drifting out of windows and latkes on every menu, is that it's almost entirely run by non-Jews (because of course there are very few left in Poland) and touristed by Jewish diaspora. Hebrew writing was on the walls, and a Hebrew-style font was used on many menus and labels.

"Jewish" font face in Krakow.

Traditional Polish food gets a bad rap. Yes, it's hearty, but it's delicious. During my culinary travels in Poland I've found several restaurants who are trying to "elevate" Polish food, with mixed results. My favorites are the ones that focus on elegant decor and leave the food as-is. Case in point, Zalewajka Restauracja in Krakow. Lovely atmosphere, sparkling silver, and stuffed cabbage. (Delicious, of course.)

Zalewajka Restauracja, Kazimierz, Kraków

Next, we headed to my ancestral village of Przedborz. This is not a town I can do justice to on a food blog, but suffice to say it was bizarre. There was one restaurant in town with a waitress who spoke English, so we ate there when we weren't barbecuing back at our "agroturystyka."

At the restaurant we ordered potato pancakes and goulash and pierogi, with "salad" on the side, ie. lightly pickled cabbage and carrots and beets. This was country food. It wasn't going to win any prizes, but we never left hungry.

Warsaw was like another world. I had to take my companions to Gessler Resturant U Kucharzy, because I had spent the last year salivating over the thought of their blinis with sour cream and wild salmon roe, and my friends were impressed with my Instagram feed that sang the praises of the place. The blinis were just as good as I remembered.

The blinis at Gessler Resturant U Kucharzy with wild salmon roe.

I don't know if the restaurant had a specifically Jewish angle, but their fish dishes, such as the pickled herring in linseed oil with with boiled potatoes and sour cream and grated apple slaw had a very Ashkenazi vibe. Other dishes, like "Jewish-style" carp, were more explicit. I would love to know more about the interchange of Polish and Ashkenazi cooking (ie. who is biting whose rhymes) but whatever they are doing at this restaurant is fantastic, and very good value for such a swish place.

For our final meal in Warsaw we went to another bar bar mlcezny, this one called Bar Zabkowski. Even though it felt like we were still on our tour of communist Warsaw, they had an English menu and a website.

The real deal when it comes to Polish food.

These places drive me to gluttony. The dishes are so cheap that I feel compelled to order everything on the menu, even if that means pierogi three ways. This time, I ordered blueberry pierogi for dessert, along with cheese and meat pierogi, and pork goulash on a potato pancake and cucumbers smothered in dilled sour cream and a lightly pickled coleslaw. This is the good stuff. This is the stuff that young, hip Polish youth want us not to associate with the term "Polish food," and that young, hip, Israeli youth turn their noses up at, but I hope they know that this heritage, stuffed with potatoes and sour cream, is a delicious one.