Polish Home is actually a Polish community center in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle. I have never heard of this place until last night (one of my friend's girlfriend set up this surprise dinner/birthday party for him.....she said it's one of his new favorite places). Apparently, they open up the restaurant only during the winter hours and only on Friday and Sunday nights. I guess the locals know about it because it got packed pretty fast.
Non-members of the Polish Home have to pay $1 to get into the door. I paid the entry fee and was promptly seated with the other guests. We all felt a little special because we got to sit up on a stage-like platform since there was a number of us.
It's a very comfortable, family-friendly atmosphere with a medium sized occupancy. There's a bar on the side as you enter and about 20 tables total. It's very casual and the water cups are even paper (don't worry, the plates are real china and they use real silverware).
All the servers were extremely friendly and accommodating and took our orders right away. We ordered up a couple of plates of meat, cheese, and mushroom & cabbage pierogis for appetizers. When the majority of the people got there, most of us ordered either pierogi dishes or the "Polish Platter", which had meat pierogis, sausage, cabbage rolls, mashed potatoes, sauerkraut, and julienned sweet beets. The food was very authentic and delicious! The cabbage rolls were the highlight of the night. I couldn't tell what was in the orangish sauce on top of the rolls. It was definitely tomato based, but it was a little tangy as well. I also wanted to try the white borsch (sp?) which came with potatoes, boiled egg, and sprinkled with dill. Someone from our table ordered the cheese crepes/blintz, which was really tasty (he let everyone try it because it was a huge serving). It tasted like sweet cheese and bits of hazelnut.
Anyway, let's get to my 5-doughnut rating:
- Service, 3.5 doughnuts= The waitress was very friendly, accommodating, and attentive. She knew the right times to check up on us throughout the night and I could see her always eyeing our table from afar to see if we needed anything. There were about 13-15 or so people at our table and she did a good job of taking care of our whole party, despite it being a busy night.
- Atmosphere/Location, 2.5 doughnuts= I liked the atmosphere because it was very casual and family-friendly, yet still clean and uniform. It's a great place to have a little dinner party with a few guests. Everyone in the restaurant seemed happy. The location was a little weird. It's in a residential area and there's no address or sign on the front of the building. At night it's a little hard to see/find.
- Food Presentation, 3.5 doughnuts= For an establishment that's only open for one season throughout the year (and only 2 days out of the week), I thought the food was presented very well. The Polish Platter was decorated with different sides and was very colorful and aesthetically pleasing. The white borsch also looked great when it was served to me.
- Taste, 3.5 doughnuts= I guess you can say that I have had Polish food before, since I've tried all of those dishes before. The ones I had last night were delicious. They had a lot of flavor in each bite. The white borsch was very good. I think it was the dill that brought out the flavor in a couple of the side dishes. The sweet beets were a good accompaniment to the main dish.
- Cost/Value, 3 doughnuts= I thought the food was reasonably priced for what they served up, which was authentic, delicious food.
- Originality, 3.5 doughnuts= I think it's original for a restaurant to be this good in a community center and only open during the winter season. It's also original to be located deep in the heart of a residential area. I don't know of any other Polish "restaurant" in Seattle.
- Overall, 3.5 doughnuts= I heard about this place before I got there and wasn't really sure what to expect. I guess after I heard it was in a community center that I thought it wasn't going to be that good. I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the food.
And as always.....Om Nom Nom Nom!
-NMOS
I love pierogies and this sounds like a great place. The pierogi look terrific.
ReplyDeleteThe cabbage rolls are called halupkies. My Czech grandmother in law cooks them up every time she comes to visit. She makes a vegetarian version that are out of this world!
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if you were a Flip! Do you want to join Kulinarya Cooking Club? Go check out http://trissalicious.com/2009/11/08/kulinarya-cooking-club-makes-turon/
ReplyDeletefor more info.
Hello! Nice to meet you - I would love it if you joined our Kulinarya Cooking Club - would love every Pinoy to promote Filipino cooking! You sure eat out a lot but from your pic - payat ka pa rin! Swerte!
ReplyDeleteKim- yeah, it was a cool experience. I thought the pierogis were delicious. They topped them with fresh roasted garlic.
ReplyDeleteTamar- Thanks for the info. The cabbage rolls were really flavorful and they cut like butter with the fork.
Ninette-Thanks for the link. I checked it out and it looks like a great site to visit often for Filipino dishes. I already like the first dish on there.
Trissalicious- Thanks. Well, I run/work-out a lot in order to keep up with the amount of food I eat. I've managed to cut back my eating a bit, but there are so many good dishes/restaurants to try that exercise is the only way I can find that balance. I definitely feel great working out and eating whatever I want because of it. So, bring on the food and good recipes/dishes!
Nice review! I would like to get up to Seattle sometime in the spring. I love that I'll be able to take a peek over here for good places to eat! :D
ReplyDeleteI love Polish food, next time in Seattle I have a list of places I need to check out thanks to you!
ReplyDeleteThe Ungourmet & Luigi= Yes, Seattle is one place you have to visit. The food and the sights here are phenomenal.
ReplyDelete