Florianksa

When you first walk up to this place and have to go up the stairs that also lead to a hostel, you may think "What have I gotten myself into?"  This unassuming restaurant that overlooks Florianksa St. in Old Town was one of the best restaurants that we ate at.  It and Miod Malina with its' ribs were the best two places to dine.

The interior is well done- light and airy.  We were the only people in there at the time, but again, this is due more to our time of dinning than anything.  Our waiter (who may double as a sous-chef) was extremely helpful and friendly.

We started with a bottle of wine- a semi-dry red wine that was fantastic.  It was from the Veneto region of Italy.  Very good wine to go along with our meal.

I started with the lentil soup while Lynn got a traditional Polish favorite, zurek.  Zurek is a sour soup that has egg and sausage in it.  It sounds off-putting, but it is fantastic.  The lentil soup was good, but not great when compared with the zurek.  It isn't super-sour, it just has a slight bite to it.

For our main courses, we both got the wild boar stew on courgette and potato pancakes.  It needed a bit more salt, but other than that, it was pretty darn good.  The pancakes were crispy and a great meat delivery system.  It did have morel mushrooms on the side that did nothing for me, but there were three, and they posed no problem to my eating the boar.

We did go back a second time when some friends came into town.  The second time, horror upon horrors, they only had two servings of the boar left!  What's a girl to do?  Simple, get the beef stew on the pancakes, which, let's be honest, was what I was really after.  The beef stew was fantastic and it was also topped with their local smoked cheese.  I was not disappointed in my choice.

And finally, my dinning companion.  Thanks for the photo Linda!

Indian food...in the heart of Wrocalw, Poland

Just a quick post.  We headed out of town for a few days to Wroclaw (pronounced not at all how it looks-vrawslav).  As good as the food in Poland has been, you need a little variety, right?  Thankfully, Masala came into our lives.

I don't want to brag, but save having been to India, I have eaten a lot of Indian food.  I used to live in a city that had an area called "The Curry Mile" (Manchester, UK).  Houston has some great India food as well, but this kind of blew them all out of the water.  We got chicken tikka massala, mutton palak (which was really goat), palak paneer, rice and naan.  We started with spicy biscuits with three different dipping sauces.  We got an Indian white wine to go with it.  It was somewhat sweet on its' own, but really paired well with the food.  Don't ask for the name, it was their house wine.  

Warsaw

After leaving Kiev, we headed to Warsaw before heading back to Krakow.  We spent two lovely days there and even managed to take the train there and back!  Warsaw is a nice town, but certainly not as fun as Krakow.  It is more of a working city while Krakow is a student city.  Just as an example, in Krakow, Old Town and the main square are ALWAYS going, whereas in Warsaw, it may see a light rush of people around dinnertime, but other than that, it is pretty much empty.

Nevertheless, we did have some good food and drink while in Warsaw.  Our first stop was right on the square in Old Town, Bazyliszek.  Cold beer and large portions at good prices are the draw here.

This is the small beer...the large beer was HUGE!

Lynn and I started with the crayfish with pancakes.  The crayfish were served in a tomato sauce with roasted red pepper strips on the side.  The pancakes in question were actually crepes.  It was a huge portion.  I mean huge!  Two people could have split this for a main course.  It was ok.  The crayfish were a bit overcooked and really had no flavor to them.  The pancakes did have a smokey taste from being grilled quickly after being made.  

For our main courses, Lynn opted for the salmon and I opted for the veal schnitzel.  The salmon was actually very good and the broccoli that went with it was cooked perfectly.  The rice was rice...nothing special there. The schnitzel was good.  It lacked seasoning, but was a huge portion.  The pictures don't do justice to how large the portions actually were.  Needless to say, we didn't finish a single thing.  We opted out of dessert there, but don't worry, we did get some.

After such a large meal, we walked around and did some shopping.  Nothing was bought save for some postcards.  After walking around for an hour and trying to get out of the food coma, we landed at the place that is supposed to have some of the best pierogies around.

Any place that is called Pierrogeria has to be good, right?  Well it was.  We opted for a mix of blueberry and strawberry pierogies.  They were served with a sweetened cream.  They were some of the best that we have had while we have been in Poland.  The berries were fresh, not frozen and that does make a huge difference.  They didn't go heavy on the dough either, so it was a good mix.  These things (dough to filling ratio) do matter.  

All in all, we had a nice time in Warsaw, but we were glad to get back "home."   

Cabbage Rolls

Just another quickie- cabbage rolls at Ariel in the Jewish District (Kazimierz).  So amazingly good.  Another comfort food at its best.

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.

Cyrano- French Food in the Heart of Krakow

We decided to treat ourselves to a nice meal one night (read- fancy).  We had heard good things about Cyrano and headed out there to see for ourselves.  The restaurant is located in the basement of an old building and lends itself to pretending you are back in the Middle Ages.

We were the only ones in there, which didn't concern us since it was 5 PM.  We got seated and allowed our eyes to adjust to the dimness that was our table.  We ordered a bottle of French red that I wasn't able to get a picture of.  But you can trust me when I say it was a good, light red wine.  Not heavy at all.

I started with the French Onion Soup.  I was sad (yes, sad) that it didn't have the bubbly, melted cheese on top, but rather on the side.  There is something that is almost enjoyable when you get the break through bread topped with cheese into your soup so that every bite has it.  The toast on the side meant that if you wanted cheese toast with every bite, you had to be judicious and tear it into the right size and pray you got it right.  That being said, the soup was very good.  Nice, meaty flavor and the onions were done well.  Lynn started with the goat cheese and pear salad.  The goat cheese was placed on top of the toast and the pear was drizzled with balsamic vinegar.  I was told that it was good and that the pear was fresh.  Always a plus.

For our main courses: Lynn got the Chateaubriand with a mushroom sauce on the side.  Beef has been one of those things that is really hard for us to come by here.  If we do see it on a menu in steak form, we always have to ask how thick it is.  They don't really do a lot of beef, and if they do it is usually a thin piece of beef.  It isn't a problem when it comes to the done-ness though.  They are usually spot on.  So that being said, the Chateaubriand was just what Lynn wanted- thick and done right.  I ordered the duck with apples and a black currant sauce.  I know I said a few posts ago that duck can be very difficult to order since it is usually dry.  However, they were spot on here.  It was nice and tender and the sauce that went with it was fantastic.

For dessert we shared the profiteroles.  Warm chocolate sauce covering ice cream and pastry.  Yum.  It was good-not great, but good.

Overall, it was a very good meal.  However, for the price that we paid for it, it just didn't make it a top notch meal for Krakow.  The price that we paid for it, if it had been at a Michelin starred joint, would have been acceptable then.    

Miod Malina

Alright, sorry for the break in posting about actual, edible food.  Well, I guess you can eat salt too, but not a lot of it and not straight.

We headed out for a late lunch/early dinner at Miod Malina.  It is an Italian/Polish place, but what we came for was the Polish food.  And we were not disappointed.  Like many of the other restaurants that we have dined at in Krakow, the place was small.  It was decorated with light wood furniture and red walls stenciled with flowers.  There are cozy tables with candles all over the place, but if you want to come here for a business meeting, then don't fear.  It's the food you came for.

A view from our window and the wine we had with our meal (an Italian white).  

We started with the plum stuffed dumplings with bread crumbs on top.  It is not a sweet dish like you might expect.  It has a savory aspect to it, put if you wanted them for dessert, you wouldn't get strange looks either.  The dough itself was light and fluffy while the filling was made with actual plums.  The breadcrumbs added needed crunch to the dish and the butter added a richness.  For our main course, Lynn and I both got the ribs marinated in honey and then covered with a plum sauce.  I also got steamed veggies that were topped with dill as a side dish.

Let me just touch on the vegetables first.  Steamed broccoli that is plain isn't high on my list of foods that I like to eat.  Add some butter or cheese, and I will eat it.  But plain with dill?  You know what- it changed my life.  It doesn't hurt that the vegetables taste like vegetables and are locally grown.  The dill added something special to it and didn't overpower them.  They were also cooked perfectly- not crunchy and not mushy.  Just right.

The ribs- oh my gosh the ribs.  Tender, juicy, spicy, sweet.  Fall off the bone good.  It's a small wonder that we headed back when we had guests in town and got the same dish.  The ribs are something that I dream about (well, not really, but you get the idea).  I just think the photo says it all.

   

Wieliczka Salt Mine

Another day, just a bit more sightseeing to do.  Today's post isn't about a food per say, but rather about an ingredient that we all use- salt.

I headed out to the Wieliczka Salt Mine, about a 25 minute drive from our place in Krakow.  Lynn was with me, but decided not to go at the last minute since her knee was hurting her and she didn't want to stress it.  Understandable.  It was another hot day, so the prospect of going up to 443 ft below ground was really appealing.  You have to go in groups, and thankfully, they have English language tours every 30 minutes.  So, I was able to get on the 12:00pm tour.  We set off and climbed down the 378 steps to get started.  Around and around we went, finally reaching the bottom.

Now, before I get much further, let me just explain why 1.2 million people visit this place.  Sure, it is an old salt mine, but the miners who worked there also carved some beautiful sculptures from the salt after they were done in a particular room.  There are carvings about how the mine was found.  They also do have mannequins down there to help explain how the salt was mined.  What is really neat, is that if you were so inclined, for the most part, the walls were lick-able, the floors were lick-able, the statues and the ceilings were as well.  They discouraged licking the floors and the statues, but you could lick the walls.  And with 2 miles of paths to cover, odds might be pretty good that you wouldn't lick where someone else had licked before you.

I did take lots of pictures, but these two were my favorite:

The first is a little troll that is for the kids.  He does have a little light in his belly, and supposedly, if you threw a coin into his pond you would get married (or divorced) in the next year.

The next comes from the real star of the mine, the chapel.  Yes, that is a crucifix made out of salt.  The huge chapel was carved over 64 years by 3 miners who had no formal training and did it after their shifts were over.  They have a fantastic Last Supper whose perception is amazing.

Just so you know, all the salt there looks grey, but in fact, it is all clear.  It is just packed so tightly together as to appear grey.

You can still buy salt from the area, but it is not from the mine itself.  There are other salt mines in the area that still produce it.  You can also by salt scrub, salt soap and salt sculptures.  You can buy these while you are in the salt mine itself, or on the outside after your 30 second cramped elevator ride up with 8 of your closest friends.

Fun facts:

-You can drink as much as you want down there and you won't feel the effects as badly as you would on the surface.  However, once you come up, prepare to be as drunk as can be. 

-The air down there is very good for people with allergies and asthma.  Breath deeply when you are down there.

-Horses used to live inside the mines.  Again, because the air was so pure, they were just fine down there.  The last one came out a few years ago and she is living very peacefully in a pasture nearby.

-You can also get married and have a huge party down there.  There is a restaurant on site as well as the chapel.

-There are several underground lakes down there.  Like the Dead Sea, because of their salt content, you can't sink.

Well-Educated Mushrooms

I wasn't to sure what to think when I saw this on the menu at Wisniowy Sad.  Well-educated mushrooms.  What the heck can those be?  There was no description to go with it, so you just have to order and hope for the best.

Well-Educated mushrooms turned out to be mushroom caps that had been baked with herb butter in the center and put on top of toast.  They were actually very good and, yes, they had been well educated that butter makes it all better.  Lynn opted for the caviar with pancakes as a starter.  It doesn't look like it from the picture, but the pancakes are huge and the amount of caviar on that would make any sane person blush.  Or get filled up on caviar, which would be pretty hard to do.  The starters were good.  My main course wasn't that great.  I opted for the beef stroganoff.  The beef itself was cooked well, but it hadn't been trimmed well.  The potatoes and salad were better than the beef.  Lynn opted for the salmon with peas.  The salmon was done perfectly and while the peas were frozen, they were still eaten.

The interior, once again, reminded you of a grandmother's living room.  Small tables with lace coverings, red walls and old photos on them.  They did have a nice outdoor seating area that was small.  It would have been nice to sit out there and enjoy our meal, but once again, with 90 being the high that day, we opted for the inside.

It was a bit pricey for the city of Krakow, but given the portion sizes, was justifiable.  Just as a side note, if you do go there, don't order the Georgian sparkling wine (from the country, not the state).  Not the best, and way over priced for what it was (pretty bad).  

That time the car got a boot...and Chuck Norris

Thankfully, the cops came five minutes after we called them out.  They then gave us the option of a 100, 200, 300, 400 or 500 zloty fine.  I'll take 100, please.  Then, as soon as it was there, it was gone.  Just be careful where you park on the sidewalks in Krakow.

When the eyes of a ranger are upon you...you better deposit your money into the bank he tells you to.  In addition to Chuck Norris advertising banks, Mike Tyson sells energy drinks called Black Energy.  You just can't make it up.

Klezmer Hois- Jewish Cusine

We were lucky enough to be in town for the Jewish Festival that takes place every June-July.  We got tickets for an event one night at the Temple Synagogue in Kazimirez, the Jewish district of Krakow.  We were able to hear an American Jazz band performing their take on some American Jazz classics.  They also played background music while a Cantor sang some verses from the Torah.  It was a fantastic evening, and even the rain couldn't dampen our spirits.

We ended the evening with our first taste of authentic Jewish food at Klezmer Hois off the main square in Kazimirez.  The inside looks like your grandmother's sitting room.  Squashy chairs and lace covered tables.  Red walls and a freshly baked apple pie on the counter.

We had thought to just get some drinks, but the lure of the menu proved to be to much to bear.  So, we broke down and got some soups.  I opted for matzo ball soup and Lynn opted for the chilled beet soup.  The matzo ball soup had a perfectly clear broth that was well seasoned.  The matzo ball was just a matzo ball- nothing more or less.  But somehow it was just what I needed then.  Comforting (although I don't think we have ever made matzo balls at home) and filling.  I was told that the beet soup was very good as well.

While the food was good, just don't ask them to make a martini.  It didn't turn out so well (see top two photos).

Wesele- Krakow, Poland

Our next good meal in Poland came from Wesele.  It is located right off the main square, Rynek Glowny.  It was again chosen because of it's food (not Italian food) and the fact that the inside was air conditioned.  You may be wondering why AC was a factor.  It was 90+ outside.  And since I am a Texas girl, I enjoy AC when it is that hot.  There were some crazy people eating outside, but I was not one of them.

This was some of the decoration that we sat under.  The Polish do enjoy their flowers.  There were stalls of flower sellers all over the place.  The restaurant was decorated with light wood and dried flower bundles.  There weren't so many to make you think that you were in someone's living room, but enough for tasteful decoration.  We shared the potato pancakes with sour cream.

Sorry for the shadow, but as soon as I put the camera down, I chowed down.  We were so hungry.  The pancakes were ok.  They got a little burned, but were still edible.  We chose salads for the main course.

My salad had four different types of cheese on it as well as fresh berries.  Lynn's had steak and a balsamic glaze on it.  Both were very large portions and both were very good.  The berries were as fresh as could be and the dressing wasn't to heavy.  The greens were also fresh and the cheese was in the perfect amount.  Lynn's steak salad looked just as good as mine did and the meat was cooked perfectly on it.

After lunch, we couldn't stand the heat anymore, so we headed back to our apartment to do laundry and relax in the cool, dark apartment.  Yeah, I know, the end of the day was very anti-climactic, but you can't have a fun-filled, packed day every day can you?