Nazdrowie from Poland….Colorado.
My parents are visiting from Florida and we went to the
Cracovia restaurant in Westminster for lunch http://www.cracoviarestaurant.com.
I picked Cracovia because my father is
Polish, his parents are Polish, and his grandparents moved to the US from
Poland. Growing up I had exposure to
some Polish food like sausage, sauerkraut, pierogi’s, and potato’s, but I have
never explored their food or beer. Cracovia has a great menu and good online
visitor ratings, and I understand why. They have very good service, and the
food is home made by their Polish owners. On Friday nights they have live music
starting at 7pm….get your polka on! I was hoping my Dad would give me a little
history lesson with lunch and I was not disappointed. My daughter and I had
pierogi’s, he had schnitzel, and my Mom had placek (potato pancakes), and
everything was excellent. My Dad said it was some of the best Polish food he
has tasted since he was a kid.
When he grew up in East Baltimore, a Polish
section of the city, his mom would make everything from scratch. She had a meat
grinder which she used to stuff their sausages, and she would roll out the
dough to make noodles for chicken noodle soup. Their family would go to the
chicken store to purchase a live (for that moment) chicken to use in their
soup. For dessert we ordered a paczki (Polish donut) and krushtiki’s (Polish
bows) covered in powdered sugar. I must say these are fresh and tasty desserts.
The donut was filled with a fresh raspberry filling and the bows were dusted in
powdered sugar.
To drink I ordered my first Polish beer called Lezajsk served
in a full pint bottle. The brewery has
been around since 1525. In 1525 Polish King Sigmund the Old granted the
exclusive beer brewing right to Lezajsk brewers. This law was not a royal whim,
it was a toke of respect for the mastery of Lezajsk brewers. A true flavor of
the legend of Lezajsk 1525. Lezajsk is a premium lager so it falls in the
category with Coors banquet, Amstel, Grolsh, and Spaten. I find Lezajsk to be
delicious and drinkable with a bit more malt flavor than an Amstel or Spaten. I
am a fan of malty beers so I really enjoyed drinking it and glad I had a full
pint instead of 16oz. Cracovia serves 13 Polish beers and 9 Polish Vodka’s on
their menu. The bar area is small and they close at 9pm, but the great food and
drink variety makes it worth the trip to Westminster for a tasting tour of
Poland. Cheers in Poland: Nazdrowie (Naz-droh-vee-ay)!
I’ll have another.
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