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