Fall River is known for Portugese food, Emeril Lagasse and Lizzie Borden and her axe.
It was an unexpected surprise therefore to stumble upon a Polish restaurant, a food about which I know very little.
On a rainy late afternoon the other day we found ourselves seated in a very homey, old-fashioned looking place.
Polka music was playing softly in the background. Had not everyone been speaking English, I might have thought we were in some village in the old country.
We were welcomed immeditely by the young woman behind the long wooden bar which is the first thing you see upon entering. She told us to sit wherever we wanted. I like to choose my own seat in a restaurant. I'm bossy like that.
A moment later we met the server, Missy, who was an absolute sweetheart. She was delightful and helpful with Polish food novices like us.
She told us that in May, Guy Fieri of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives filmed here but the episode won't be airing until September.
This place isn't a diner, nor a drive-in and it's certainly not a dive. Nonetheless I guess someone told Guy that this was a place to get some tasty, homemade, authentic Polish food in a non-pretentious environment with surprisingly wallet-friendly prices.
Polish food is heavy on kielbasa and sausage, things I don't eat, but I went to town with the pierogis ordering one or two of several kinds.
They have a long list of pierogis although I wondered about the authenticity of some of them. I don't know that a pizza pierogi is indigenous to Poland but hey, that's what a good chef will do, tweak a recipe and make it her own. It worked!
Every culture it seems has their version of a dumpling or a raviolo and Poland shares this love of stuffed dough with the pierogi.
I loved the plain potato pierogis as well as the cheddar, potato and broccoli. Another favorite was the tangy sauerkraut and mushroom pierogi. I get such cravings sometimes for sauerkraut and it worked well in this dish.
A couple at a nearby table asked us if we'd eaten here before and when we said we hadn't they told us we should definitely try the cabbage soup. And so we did.
What I can tell you is that it's absolutely delicious. So much so that I bought a quart of it to take home.
This place also makes cabbage rolls which is something my non-Polish husband loves. He was in heaven and found this version to be fabulous. We bought a couple of those to take home for him too.
We both tried the Polish beer called Okocim. Always good to try the culturally appropriate beer. And what better beverage to go with this kind of food?
Before too long the chef-owener, Patti came out. She is a charming, totally down to earth woman with a passion for good, hearty Polish food and culture.
We just couldn't get over how welcoming everyone was here. We honestly felt like we'd mistakenly walked into someone's dining room and had been invited to eat.
There is a menu of dessert pierogies. There are all kinds to choose from and being the prune/plum lover that I am, I chose the prune pierogi. You can get this a la mode but I took mine plain. It came out warm, sweet and delicious.
Don't pass the desserts up when here.
This was an unexpected and fun place to find. Although this is really off the beaten track for us, I know we'll be back. Next time, I plan to try the potato pancakes. read more