Wierzynek- The Place We Still Can't Pronounce

Another day, another meal.  This time it was at the oldest restaurant in Krakow, Wierzynek.  I still have no clue how you actually pronounce it.  We headed over there somewhat late for us, about 7:30.  We were going to see a jazz concert later that night and it started at 9:30.  Wierzynek was founded in 1364 after a local man hosted visiting dignitaries from Europe to a feast at his house.

The ground floor is given over to a coffee bar/chocolate shop that had some very tasty looking chocolates for sale.  The first floor overlooks the Market Square.  It was especially nice at dusk, with the soft lighting and being able to see some fantastic old buildings.

If you are smart, or very early, you can get a table by the window.  We didn't have that option, so I had to zoom in over a customer's head.  

The food was actually very good (in my opinion).  For an amuse bouche, we got a basil cream with a pepper sauce.  The pepper sauce was more of a red pepper than spicy pepper sauce.  It went very well with the basil cream.

For starters, I got the spinach filled pierogies in a cheese sauce.  Lynn opted for the beetroot carpaccio with a cauliflower ice cream.  The ice cream had no flavor to it, but the beetroot was excellent.  I tried some and I agree with that feeling.  The pierogies were very good.  The spinach inside wasn't from frozen and was done very well.  The cheese sauce was good and I was tempted to like my plate.  But, we still had another course to get through.

For the main course, I chose the beef sirloin with courgette (zucchini) pancakes, spinach and a wine sauce.  The meat was done perfectly and well seasoned.  There was a bit of gristle on it, but overall it was a good piece of beef.  The courgette pancakes were more like potato pancakes.  I couldn't taste any courgette, but there were still fried up perfectly.  The spinach was spinach.  I know, I just raved about the pierogies stuffed with them, but by the time I got to the spinach on this dish, I was full and also just done with spinach.  

Lynn got the pike perch flamed in mead with apples.  I don't ever recall seeing mead on any menu at any place that I have eaten-ever.  The mead did lend a sweet flavor to it, but didn't overpower.  However, the fish itself wasn't that good.  That's not to say that anyone got sick.  I was told that it was way to fishy-tasting and that paired with the mead and apples- probably not the best combination.

We opted out of dessert since we were happily full and didn't want to get that "I've just eaten my weight in food/after Thanksgiving coma" feel.  We did choose to have some after dinner drinks- a rare occurrence to be sure.  

On the left- my mead.  On the right, plum vodka.  There was also something on the menu called bison vodka (more on that in a bit).  The mead was good.  Could I have cut it in the middle ages and drunk a lot of this stuff?  No.  Not at all.  The smell was something to get used to, while the flavor itself was good.  It probably would have been better in small amounts, like a shot of vodka that we Americans are used to.  The plum vodka took my breath away, literally.  The first sip of it and the alcohol began to evaporate off my lips.  Strong stuff.  Did I taste the plum?  Not really.  I was still getting past the burning sensation that it caused when it went down my throat.

Bison vodka-not really what it sounds like.  If you have ever been to Poland (or have just looked up images on the internet), it looks like it might me flavored like, well, bison.  It's not.  It allegedly has a grassy, floral flavor to it and since bison eat grass, well they called it bison vodka.  Whatever.  Maybe Grass Vodka was vetoed in the naming meeting.  If you don't like to drink vodka straight, you can mix the bison vodka with apple juice and get something that tastes like apple pie.  I never tried it, and I probably should have.  I guess I could have gotten it at the bar/jazz concert that night, but I got something more up my alley.