Anna's Polish Restaurant

I can't help myself, I'm hooked on Anna's Polish Restaurant. When my friend Ewa (who is originally from Poland) heard that I'd already eaten here, she wanted to go as soon as possible. So on Sunday afternoon my friend Tommy and I met Ewa and her husband Joe at Anna's. We were in for a treat!

They had an unadvertised special on their menu for the day--Pickle Soup. When we arrived, Joe and Ewa were already sampling a taste brought by our waitress. I had a bit as well and was sold on it. It was indeed excellent. It was a chicken broth based soup, thickened a bit with roux or cream. It had some bits of chicken in it but also boaste small chunks of potatoes and shredded dill pickles. Celery and carrot served to add flavor and texture, and the bit of dill was just right--not at all overpowering. This was an excellent soup, one which I will try to reproduce sometime soon. By the way, Ewa also had the Pickle soup and Joe tried--and loved--the żurek or so-called White Barszcz. When I first came I had this on my mind, but the Pickle Soup sample told me that I just had to try it this time!

As an entree and to go with his sandwich, Tommy ordered the pierogi appetizer--three pierogi served with caramelized onions. He chose two potato and one meat pierogi and requested that they be pan fried. They arrived prepared perfectly, just as he'd requested. A request for some sour cream was promptly carried out and he enjoyed this delicious appetizer. After all, who can't love pierogi? And these were very good!

For his entree Tommy had the Pork Cutlet Sandwich, a pounded pork cutlet that was breaded and fried golden,  served with cheddar cheese, tomato and lettuce on a delicious toasted bread, and seasoned with mayo and mustard. I had a bite--it was truly delicious.

By the way, Tommy was the only one without a doggie bag. Perhaps he was the smartest one when i came to portion choice too!

For his entree, Joe had the Pork Schnitzel, a piece of pork that had been pounded thin then breaded and pan fried to perfection. It was a large piece of pork and was served with two sides. For one side Joe chose the mushroom sauce which was thick and rich with a deep woodsy mushroom flavor, rich and delicious. For his other he had the Cabbage Salad which I raved about in my first review. It too was delicious--served warm, the cabbage flavor was mild, complimented by the bits of bacon and highlighted by a gentle dill flavor. Another very succesfull dish.

Ewa was in Polish heaven with her meal--she had the Polish sampler. It does not get better than this: Three pierogi, one each of meat, sauerkraut and mushroom, and potato and cheese, along with a gołųbki covered with tomato sauce and also a grilled kiełbasa served with sauerkraut. This was truly a very good meal, and a good sample of Polish cuisine. Hearty yet flavorful, Ewa did pronounce it bardzo smaczne--very good eats!

I decided to try the Cracovia Chicken Filet which is listed as the Chef's specialty. I can see why. It was a tender chicken cutlet that was coated with a parmesan dough and fried. For my sides I chose the kopytka and asked if I could get bigoś as a side--I sure could. Both were delicious. Kopytka are potato dumplings, usually rolled into a thin rope, then sliced into inch long pieces and boiled. They were served with some bacon bits and were everything a kopytka should be--potatoey and delicious! But the star of this meal was definitely the Chicken--it was moist, juicy, and tender, and the parmesan dough coating gave it an excellent flavor. I really liked this a lot.

But on top fo that all was the Bigoś. Bigoś is a hunters stew made with a base of cabbage-sauerkraut to which various meats such as pork, beef, and sausage and other ingredients such as mushrooms are added. It's a very hearty dish. Now my friend Ewa makes a wonderful bigoś and did not think anyone could make one as good as hers. But upon tasting this bigos, she proclaimed that it was so good, it was equal to hers--very high praise indeed. And it was indeed very good.

We had a very good meal at Anna's--excellent even. The food was a little bit slow in coming out, but then again, when it's that good, it is worth waiting for. Anna's has only been open a short time, but I beleive they have some great menu items here. I've not found anything I don't like so far. I can't wait to come back again--and again and again. As a matter of fact, Ewa is planning on coming back in just a few days, just for lunch. Yes, it's worth the trip!