146114 Tue Oct 14 12:04:27 -0700 2003 3 12 Boston Area 0 783236 I take back every joke I made in the 4th grade. The Polish are a brilliant people; perhaps, indeed, the brilliantest. So a good friend just had a birthday so I told him I’d take him to lunch at Café Polonia on Saturday to celebrate his Polish heritage. After a poor morning of fishing in Bob’s Bass Triangle (boat in front of us was catching them hand over fist. I’m guessing they had clams. We just had chums and sea worms) I met my friends at the restaurant and was pleased to see lots of robust older women walking out, a good sign. My first inkling the Polish are a brilliant people came from the size of the beer bottles. I had a bottle of Domza, my friend had a bottle of Ziewy (sp?) and my other friend had a bottle of a Lithuanian beer whose name escapes me. All were good, mine the best, I felt. A light lager born to be drank with slightly sweet, slightly savory kraut. Beer bottles were more than a pint. Excellent. We all started with soup. I hit the beef tripe now committing myself to try beef tripe soup everywhere I go (be it menudo, mondongo; no nation’s tripe concoctions are safe from my eager jaws). Delicious. Peppery, almost so much so that it was spicy, tripe was nice and soft. Birthday boy had sourdough soup, which came with a halved hard-boiled egg in it along with slices of kielbasa. Hearty. Faint sourdough taste combined beautifully with the oiliness of the kielbasa that permeated the whole lovely mess. Other partner-in-crime had the mushroom, which I foolishly forgot to sample. In case you’re wondering, if you think the bread they serve which you subsequently slather with lard and crackled pork (I assume) is good, slather lard on your bread then DIP IT IN THE SOUPS. Sweet merciful crap it was good. Note: the soups are all daily specials so not every soup is available everyday. There were some other options that looked amazing as well though not available everyday. Then came the Polish plate. We all got the Polish plate. It was too inviting to risk not getting. The Polish plate (a mere $8) comes with kielbasa, cabbage stuffed with ground beef (actually, could have been a ground beef/ground pork combo) covered with tomato sauce, pierogies, and kraut. Some lovely surprises here. They gave us different kinds of pierogies, some filled with ground meat, some with potato and cheese, I think I had one with a sort of pate-like filling. Also, the kraut had generous amount of little pork pieces, roast pork I believe. In response to previous posts I read, yes, the waitresses are hot. In all 6 beers, 3 polish plates and 3 bowls of soup came to $59 and change before tip. We thought we’d stop buy the Polish deli across the street (it’s called Baltic European Deli or something like that) and found KINDER EGGS as well as an assortment of other goodies (the corn flips with hot paprika, though tasty, were a bit stale when we cracked them open for our later baseball viewing). Also, we got some chocolate covered plums, which were actually chocolate covered prunes, really unfortunate for our lower GI tracts already engaged in fierce battle. I might have also bought my friend a Polish “romance” magazine, which, when sheepishly presented to the cashier, she said she buys them for her husband, again, the brilliantest of people. Tue Oct 14 12:04:27 -0700 2003 0 joypirate 1 783239 Bravo JP. I love the place as well. What's not to like? Tue Oct 14 12:12:34 -0700 2003 783236 0 StriperGuy 2 783307 We ALMOST found something not-to-like, once. We ordered potato pancakes and they said, "sorry, we're making a fresh batch, so it will be about twenty minutes." We were in no rush (you can play with the cool "Hypercolor" freshness label on that Zywiec bottle!), and were rewarded in about ten minutes with the freshest, hottest most amazing pancakes. I can't top "sweet merciful crap," but DAMN! (my flawed goulash notwithstanding) The mercury is dropping...Polonia is calling! Wed Oct 15 09:53:47 -0700 2003 783239 0 GreenStreetThrill 1 783270 It's a great place. I haven't found their menu on-line so here's a copy I made for my own use some time ago. I made this copy before they got a wine and beer license and of course there probably have been some changes. Café Polonia Fine Polish Cuisine 611 Dorchester Ave South Boston 617 269-0110 Monday-Friday 10am-9pm Saturday- Sunday 8am-10pm SANDWICHES: Polish Sub - An array of Polish cold cuts, cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickle and Kosciuszko mustard Turkey Ham - Turkey ham, cheese, mayonnaise, lettuce and tomato Ham and Cheese - Polish ham, cheese, mustard, lettuce, tomato and pickle Roast Beef - Juicy roast beef with horseradish sauce and roasted peppers Grilled Kielbasa Sub - Grilled sausage with caramelized onions or sauerkraut Veal Hot Dog - Perfect for a quick bite! TRADITIONAL DISHES: Polish Plate - Pierogis, grilled polish sausage. Stuffed cabbage, cabbage stew and bread Pierogis - Polish style ravioli filled with meat, cabbage and mushroom, potato and cheese or seasonal fruit Cabbage Stew with Polish Sausage - A traditional favorite, served with bread Stuffed Cabbage - Served with our special tomato sauce, with bread Polish Crepes - Filled with cheese or fruit and topped with whipped cream Potato Pancakes - Served with a mushroom sauce or sour cream Beef Tripe Soup - Served with bread Country Fries - A dish on its own DINNERS: --Monday-- Chicken Soup Plain Potato Dumplings with Mushroom Meat Sauce - With carrot and sour cream salad Ground Beef Cutlet - Served with steamed carrots and green peas --Tuesday-- Beef Barley Soup Sour Sorrel Soup Lima Bean Stew - Served with bread De’Volaille Cutlet - Stuffed chicken cutlet served with vegetables --Wednesday-- Tomato Soup Cream of Mushroom Soup Beef Steak - Served with country fries Polish Style Meatballs - In fancy sauce, served with pasta --Thursday-- Ukranian Beet Soup with Lima Beans Split Pea Soup Meat Filled Potato Dumplings - Served with caramelized onions and bacon Hungarian Goulash - Beef stew with roasted buckwheat --Friday-- Cabbage Soup Vegetable Soup Filet of Fish - Served with rice pilaf and coleslaw Vienna Schnitzel - Served with sweet cabbage stew --Saturday-- Sourdough Soup with Egg and Sausage Forest Mushroom Soup Chicken Breast with Mushrooms - Served with rice and steamed vegetables Bavarian Style Pork Hocks in Beer Marinade - Served with split pea cabbage stew, horseradish and bread --Sunday-- Chicken Soup Red Beet Soup with Meat Filled Ravioli Beef Tenderloin on Grilled Toast - Sprinkled with cheese, served with country fries Goulash Delight - Clay pot baked, served in bread bowl WEEKEND BRUNCH: Polish Breakfast: 3 Eggs, hash browns, polish bacon, ham and bread Country Breakfast: 3 Eggs, hash browns, polish sausage, bacon and bread American Breakfast: 3 eggs, hash browns, breakfast sausage, pancakes with maple syrup, toast Light Breakfast: Farmer’s cheese with chives and sour cream, yellow cheese, assorted jams and bread DESSERTS: Fruit Filled Crepe Fruit Strudel Assorted Polish Pastry Polish Donuts BEVERAGES: Coffee Tea Cold Drinks Dried Fruit Compote Tue Oct 14 15:47:35 -0700 2003 783236 0 Win (Boston)