Polska Chata

Polska Chata is a Polish and European Delicatessen and Restaurant in Rochester, NY. Thanks to urbanspoon.com for helping me find this gem! We were on vacation and visiting the Rochester area, so we just had to stop in for some good ole Polish food. Smacznego!

I had the Polish Platter which was a bit of everything good about Polish cuisine. The gołąbki was huge and pretty , smothered in a slightly tomato-ey gravy; I think it could have cooked a bit longer as the cabbage leaf outside was just a bit tough, and the filling just a bit dry. The pierogi were Ruskie style: cheese/potato/onion and were boiled and very tasty--but a side of sour cream would have been nice, I think. The real hit of the meal was, I think, the bigos, which was outstanding, just full of the great flavors of sauerkraut, cabbage, kiełbasa, mushrooms, and so much more. The kiełbasa was also good as were the potatoes. Heck, there was nothing I did not like about this meal--except maybe the size--it was a lot of food! 

Tommy had their Fish Fry, and what a feast it was! The portion of fish was huge, absolutely huge. It was served over chip (fries) and with some fried shrimp--also good, and some deep fried pierogi--they were a bit dry and could have benefit from a side of sour cream as well. 

I started out my meal with a bowl of żurek and it, too, was very good. It had a lot more "stuff" in it than i usually find, including some ham, but was full of flavor with just a tinge of the requisite sour/acid flavor from the sour-rye started used as a base. It was very good and went nicely with my Leżaisk beer!

Our service was somewhat slow and disorganized, and it seemed there was only one waitress for the place and she doubled as the deli counter person as well. I heard that some waitress called in or quit or something. But we did get our food and she was nice and pleasant, just very busy with a fairly busy place. My guess about our lone waitress is that she's the owner and maybe her husband the cook, and their  boy the runner and busboy? Well no matter, the food was great and she did a good job and worked hard trying to please everyone--and we were pleased!

The restaurant is upstairs and there was music playing and a few other diners as well, enjoying the evening. Downstairs is the deli and it's quite well stocked, not only with fresh food items, but also with a nice selection of imported Polish good. It's a very nice place and Rochester is fortunate to have such good Polish food and atmosphere. Smacznego!