Poland: Land of Poets, Pancakes, and Pierogis

Hello again everyone-

This week we have had the amazing opprortunity to be in Poland. We began our Polish journey in Warsaw, a booming cosmopolitan city far removed from the days of Soviet rule, and then journeyed south to Krakow, one of Poland's oldest cities that now has incredible night life. The sights of course have been amazing, from memorials of kings, fallen soldiers, and poets, to castles, churches, dungeons, dragons, and more. But of course, we have also been doing quite a bit of food tourism as well, and Polish cuisine has been absolutely to die for and nothing short of amazing.

Warsaw

For our first meal in Warsaw, we went to a place that our hostel suggested, called Cafe Lemon. It was delicious to say the least. Ianna got an amazing salad similar to what Helaina ate in Dresden. It was a lovely mix of fresh lettuce, grilled salmon, bean sprouts, carrot, raddish, egg, tomato, and pumpkin seeds, topped by a light vinaigrette. Helaina had scrambled eggs and smoked salmon on toast. It was a simple, yet delightful and filling breakfast to begin our first day of exploration in Warsaw, Poland. From the taste of the food, to presentation, atmosphere and price, Cafe Lemon is definitely a place that Love Handling Food suggests if anyone ever lucky enough is to visit Warsaw.

For dinner, we decided to eat some traditional Polish cuisine. After walking around the old historic district, we found the perfect place, called Restauracja Ceprownia. There, we ordered a starter of kiełbasa with a sweet honey sauce and mustard. For our main dishes, Ianna ate grilled chicken with a sheep's cheese topping, paired with "chips" (fries), sweet red cabbage and white cabbage, and a side of pickles, carrots, and corn. Helaina had pancakes, or crepes if you prefer, stuffed with spinach and sheep cheese that also came with a side of sweet red cabbage salad.Our meals were perfectly paired with the popular Polish beer, Zywiec, with Helaina ordering the dark porter style. Zywiec beer was refreshing with a crisp taste, with the porter having a smooth coffee flavor, and was perfect after a long day of walking around the marvelous city.

 

On our second day in Warsaw, we ventured to a "self-service" style bistro. The food was very affordable, but it certainly did not lack in quality! Ianna ate cooked cabbage stuffed with pork and rice, covered in a tomato sauce, known in Poland as a golbaki. As a side, she enjoyed wonderfully seasoned roasted potatoes cooked with bacon and spices. Helaina enjoyed another pancake filled with roasted peppers and mushrooms, topped with sheep cheese, also with a side of the same roasted potatoes. Abosolutely delicious! Later in the day, we ate at a quaint Polish cafe by the name of U Pana Michata. Ianna had a beef tripe soup with carrots and a side of a roll, and Helaina had tomato soup with noodles and spices. As a a treat, we finished our meals with some dessert! Warm apple pie and ice cream, covered in caramel and whipped cream for Ianna, and warm cheesecake with chocolate and cherries for Helaina.

 

For dinner, we found ourselves back at Cafe Lemon, which transforms into a swanky bar in the evening. There was some dance music playing and a Chelsea-Barcelona football match on the projector for us to watch while we waited for dinner. It was here that we had one of our favorite meals to date: salmon stuffed pasta in a cream-based sauce with sun dried tomatos and spinach.The soft pockets of pasta were stuffed (appropriately) with lemon marinated salmon, and were beautifully complimented by the rich but not overpowering spinach sauce. The sundried tomatoes added the perfect degree of sweetness to offset the creamy taste of the sauce. It was a delicious way to finish off our experience in Warsaw.

Krakow

Although we only got to stay in this historic Polish city for a couple of nights, the food itself will serve lasting memories. We arrived in Krakow in the late afternoon, and decided to have a late lunch-early dinner meal in an underground restaurant called Boheme that lied beneath the streets of the Old Town Market Square. We enjoyed together an appetizer of fresh mozzerella and tomatoes topped with a sweet and tangy mustard sauce. For our main courses, Ianna ordered pork covered in a gravy, with rice and vegetables as a side, and Helaina tried pierogis stuffed with spinach and topped with a sweet sour cream and herb sauce. Pierogis are dumpling-like pockets that are stuffed with meat, potatoes, cheese, or other delicious combinations, and are a specialty in Poland.

Later that night we ventured out to experience some of Krakow's nightlife along with our new Iclandic friends from the hostel, and enjoyed some complimentary shots of a blue colored rum drink at a crowded disco called Diva. After we tired of the club scene and wanted to return to a more quiet location we returned to our hostel, but not before stopping by a 24 hour grocery shop to grab a few extra beers. We both got beers of the Polish brand called, Tatra. These beers were impressive and were surprisingly good for the cheap price of about $2 a pop.

On day two of our stay in Krakow we enjoyed a complimentary breakfast from our hostel which consisted of bread, cheese, ham, cucumber, and tomato. It was light but filling, and best of all, FREE! For lunch we sat down at a hidden little restaurant with polite and speedy service called Pub Podkowa. We each had a bowl of soup and a plate of pierogis. Helaina had a tomato cream soup that was full of carrots and onions, and Ianna tried a traditional Polish soup called zurek that had egg, cream, sausage and spices. They were both great appetizers to get us ready for our potato and cheese stuffed pierogis. Even more delightful than Helaina's spinach pierogis from the night before, these ones were topped with carmelized onions and just a touch of olive oil. The presentation was beautiful, the food was great, and the waiter was easy on the eyes.

 

As we continued to stroll the streets of Krakow's historic Jewish district, our sweet tooth started to tingle and we eventually succumbed to the allure of a little Jewish sidewalk cafe called Awiw (or, Aviv, according to Polish pronunciation). At Awiw, we got some dessert to round off our afternoon of exploration. Ianna got a cup of chocolate and vanilla ice cream served over a bit of Bailey's Irish Cream Liquer, and Helaina felt adventurous and sampled some Jewish cheesecake, which was litterally full of suprises. It was served on a plate and looked something like a few scoops of ice cream covered with chocolate sauce. The cheesecake was something like a less sweet version of the filling of American style cheesecake, but with raisins, apricot chunks, and walnuts in every bite! It was an unexpected but pleasant desert.

 

Poland has been one delicious surprise after another, so delicious in fact, Helaina baught a Polish cookbook to bring back home so she can attempt to recreate some of the experience for herself and others back home. Our next stop on this adventure will be Bologna, Italy, with many more sights and foods just waiting for us! Until then, cheers everyone, or as the Polish say, Na Zdrowie!

-Love Handling Food

Guten Tag to German Beer and Bratwurst

Hello All!

Since leaving the beautiful city of Prague, we recently found ourselves in Dresden, Germany.  We had a nice time strolling the beautiful historic district there, which was full of neo-classical scultptures and fountains galore. Most to our liking though, was the German take on food! Saturday, we went into a small restaurant, where Ianna tried a Bratwurst with sauerkraut and mashed potatoes, and Helaina had a delicious salad with salmon, walnuts, and a dill dressing. Ianna paired her meal with a Duckstein beer, which was of amber in color and Helaina chose a darker Schwartzbier. We found these to be enjoyable with a more complex flavor profile than many of the beers we tried in Prague. Sunday, we had an amazing breakfast that we shared in a restaurant by the name of Schwerdtner in a central part of town, which consisted of a meat, cheese, and vegetable platter, with a basket of freshly baked bread and a side of juice and coffee.

 

At the bar in our hostel, we also shared a long conversation with Andre, our bartender. He told us a lot about German history and politics, and we exchanged a lot of our knowledge about the USA as well. He also prepared many complimentary shots and cocktails for us, such as a Pina Coladas, Jagermeister shots (in true German fashion), 43s (which tasted like vanilla), and B-52s, which he set on fire! We tipped him well, of course!

Overall, the sights in Dresden were breathtaking, the people were friendly, and it will be one delicious memory from our trip.

We now find ourselves in Warsaw, Poland. Pictures will come...eventually.

-Ianna and Helaina

Prauge, Czech Republic: Pilzners, Kilbasa, and Kraut!

Hi all you foodhandlers out there-

We are currently in Prague, Czech Republic. Unfortuantely we do not have the capability to upload the awesome pictures we have been taking of all the sights and food. But not to worry, we will as soon as we can. We have been sampling the local fanfare which consists of lots of breads, sausage, and of course, beer! Czech Pilsners have a light and refreshing taste, and are a dramatic change from the hop-heavy North American beers we have grown accustomed to. Altough it is of course always great to try new things, at this point we both agree that North America still holds first place in our hearts. But.... our next stop on this tour is Dresden, Germany... so maybe we will fall in love with the way Germans handle beer. 

  

 

As for food, like we said, very bread and saugsage central. Kilbasa sausage on a toasted baguette with loads of mustard may be a new favorite of ours. In Prague's Old Town Square we have been sampling these sausages along with some potato-kraut-ham concoctions that are amazing and definitely something different! We have only tried one Czech restaurant here called the Korkovna which is in the Jewish Quarter of town, an area rich with history and culture. At the Korkovna Ianna tried some cabbage kraut pancakes that came with a sot of spiced sour cream condiment and were absolutely delicious, although a bit greasy for our American sensibilities. Helaina tried a toasted rye bread bowl filled to the brim with some hot potato vegetable and mushoroom soup. With a little craked black pepper on top, it was a perfect lunch on a cold and drizzly day in this gorgeous city. All the castles, statues, clock towers, and street art are putting us in a sort of awe-struck surreal state, and we still cannot believe we are actually in Central Europe! Although we got into a bit of trouble with the public transit system here, and the language barrier has presented mild problems, it is still an experience we are incredibly greateful for. 

 

To all of our friends, family, and loyal foodhandlers, thank you for your support so far. We love and miss all of you...but we are so glad to be where we are as well. The next five and a half weeks will go by so fast and we will try to update, and add pictures, as often and as soon as possible!

-Love Handling Food

Beercation Graduation Celebration

Helaina and I have just finished undergrad at UCSC, and after almost four long years of hard work, we have decided to take some time to unwind. We thought that a perfect way to do this was to go on a trip, and of course discover great food and drinks everywhere we go. A little less than a week ago, we began a road trip to Oregon with a couple other close friends of ours. It has been tons of fun so far, and we are only mid-way through our trip.  As we stop and experience different cities and towns, a goal of ours is to visit as many breweries and foodie hot spots as we can. Because of this, our new flavor of the month is: Beer.

So far, we have hit the Sierra Nevada Brewery in Chico, CA, as we made our way towards the Oregon state line.There, we participated in a great tour of the facility, where we learned a whole lot about the brewing process. We also tried great beer selections, some of which are only offered in Chico, and had some great food too! 

  

Some beers that we tried at the Sierra Nevada Brewery included a Persimmon Ale, and the Torpedo IPA. We also all shared a pitcher of a brown ale, which quenched our thirst after dishes such as fish and chips, a hearty salad, mushroom chive pizza, and a lentil burger with beer cheese! We highly recommend visiting the Sierra Nevada Brewery if you have the chance. The beer, food, and service were all spectacular.

 

After leaving Chico, we have stopped in Bend, Oregon, where we visited the Deschutes Brewery for a beer tasting and informative tour. If you haven't tried their Black Butte Porter yet,you must do so ASAP. They also are moving towards organic initiatives, and if you would like to drink an all organic beer, try their Green Lakes Organic Ale. Some brands can label their beers as organic when they don't use organic hops. Rest assured that at Deschutes, all organic hops are used specifically from the Central Oregon region. While in Bend, we made time to stop by the Boneyard Brewery, where we tried a tasting "flight" that included their Diablo Rojo, RPM IPA, Experimental IPA, and the Shuge Knight Stout. Their beer was tasty, and unique in that many of their offerings had a sweet finish.

Leaving with beerlicious memories from Bend, we made our way to Eugene. If you ever find yourself in the area, you have to visit the Beer Stein, which carries an impressive selection of brews from all over the world. 

Currently, we are in Portland, about to embark on a day filled with delicious food, beer, and sights. Portland has the most microbreweries in the country, so this should be a great day. 

Please keep checking back to stay afloat on what were drinking and eating in our other Oregon destinations!

-Ianna and Helaina