GLUTEN-FREE PIEROGI VS. PINK DWARFS (KRAKÓW)

This weekend my American friend came to visit me in Kraków and I was faced with a culinary puzzle. Where can I find a restaurant serving dishes which are gluten-free (Kathryn is gluten-intolerant), vegetarian (we both don't eat meat) and, most importantly, tasty? I found the solution to this riddle on the Internet (e.g. here and here) and below you can read an account of our culinary adventures.

POD BARANEM – GLUTEN-FREE PIEROGI 

Almost every foreigner visiting Poland wants to try our famous pierogi (Polish dumplings) but where can I find pierogi which are gluten-free? Apparently, in a restaurant near the Wawel Castle called Pod Baranem, which has probably the widest array of gluten-free dishes in Kraków. Our pierogi ruskie (Russian-style dumplings with cottage cheese and potato filling, PLN 24) and pierogi with cabbage and mushrooms (PLN 25) were delicious – covered in melted butter with fried onion and full of yummy filling. The effect was spoiled by dough which was slightly too thick but Kathryn explained that it could have been the fault of the gluten-free flour. All in all, we left the restaurant full and happy.

Address: Pod Baranem, św. Gertrudy 21, Kraków (Old Town)

Website: podbaranem.com

SHAKE & BAKE – GLUTEN-FREE CAKES AND SMOOTHIES

The following day, we had breakfast in Shake & Bake cafe close to the Bagatela Theatre, which serves gluten-free pastries and shakes. Savoury muffins (with cheese and olives) were very nice but unfortunately they were sprinkled with huge salt crystals turning the muffins into a salt mine. Luckily, brownie with peanut butter was very nice and almost salt-free. In the cafe, we were accompanied by two pink dwarfs and a cute pink deer. :)

Address: Shake & Bake, ul. Dunajewskiego 2, Kraków (Old Town)

Website: shakeandbake.pl

CAFE MŁYNEK – VEGETARIAN AND GLUTEN-FREE

We had a hard time choosing our food in a vegetarian restaurant Cafe Młynek because all gluten-free dishes and desserts seemed really nice. Finally, we followed advice from a friendly waitress and ordered crunchy potato pancakes and spicy pasta with vegetables and hot pepper. The servings were so big that we didn't have any space for dessert. But after lunch we stayed in the restaurant's beer garden to sip coffee with cardamom and hot ginger lemonade and admire the view of the quaint Wolnica Square.

Address: Cafe Młynek, Plac Wolnica 7, Kraków (Kazimierz)

Website: cafemlynek.com

CAFES

Fortunately, most of the drinks are naturally gluten-free so we could safely venture into my favourite cafes: Mleczarnia in Kazimierz (you can read more about it here) and Forum Przestrzenie near the Vistula River (it serves really nice coffee and home-made lemonade). We spent the evening in Domówka Cafe, sipping cider and playing a funny board game about shopping in the communist era called “Kolejka” (which means “queue” in Polish). On the whole, I think Kathryn's stay in Kraków was a great success, both from the social and culinary point of view. :)

OTHER GLUTEN-FREE PLACES

Here are a few other gluten-free restaurants and cake shops which were also on our list but we didn't have enough time to visit them.

WieloPole3 (read more here) – restaurant with unusual vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free dishes Wielopole 3 (Old Town)

La Manzana – gluten-free Mexican restaurant, Miodowa 11 (Kazimierz)

Red – gluten-free cake shop, Smoluchowskiego 7 (Bronowice)

NovaKrova – gluten-free began burgers, Plac Wolnica 12 (Kazimierz)

PS. All photos in this post courtesy of Kathryn.

KARMNIK (KRAKÓW) – FEELS LIKE HOME

Where do you usually buy food? As I mentioned in the post about Krakowskim Targiem Festival, I love traditional markets, especially Plac na Stawach in Kraków (near Cracovia Stadium). There are my favourite, friendly greengrocers, a butcher's shop with always fresh meat, a stall selling home-made cottage cheeses and butter, and much more. What's more, everyone, both vendors and buyers, are much friendlier than in your usual supermarket.

Famished after the shopping spree, we usually go for lunch to nearby Karmnik restaurant (karmnik means 'bird feeder' in Polish), where the atmosphere is even more welcoming than at Plac na Stawach. The restaurant is run by one family who oversee all the details: from serving the guests, to preparing the dishes, to changing decorations according to the season.

The interior is small but neat and cosy. In the photos you can see the winter look dominated by silvers and whites with splashes of red and green. I especially like the quaint, yellowed pages from an old cookery book hung on the walls. I can't wait to see what this artistically gifted family will prepare for the spring season. :)

Menu changes daily but you can always order some nutritious soups (PLN 6-8), meat with potatoes and salad (PLN 15-20) and crunchy pancakes (PLN 9-11 for 2 pancakes). Sometimes there are also delicious savoury tarts (about PLN 11 a piece), which are a particular favourite of mine. Pasta, such as penne with chicken and spinach (PLN 16), is also very good.

Portions, especially of the meat dishes, are really large: the cutlet is as big as the plate, there's a heap of potatoes and four different salads served on a separate plate. That's why D. and I often share one portion for two. Our favourite dishes are pork breaded cutlet (kotlet schabowy, PLN 15 zł) and grilled chicken breast with mozzarella and spinach (PLN 16). The latter is usually quite salty but as each portion is prepared individually for every client, so you can always ask for less salt on your meat.

All the dishes are really fresh and tasty, almost like home-made. Not all of them were to my liking, for example onion soup, which didn't taste at all like onion, but I think it's a matter of taste because D. really liked it. Drinks include delicious fruit juice called kompot in Polish (PLN 3), coffee and tea, but the only thing lacking in Karmnik is desserts. I think home-made cake would be a perfect complement to the lovely lunch.  

Karmnik is probably the restaurant I visit most often in Kraków – mainly because of the delicious food, friendly ambiance and very reasonable prices. You can have here both breakfast and lunch or you can just drop by to drink some warming tea with raspberry juice. I recommend this restaurant to everyone who likes Polish home-made food and warm, informal atmosphere. You can also come here with your kids or dog – everyone will be welcome. :)


Pros: tasty food, big portions, nice interior
Cons: wait time (dishes are prepared only after an order has been placed), some dishes are too salty, no desserts

More photos

Wersja polska

Address: Senatorska 13, Kraków (Zwierzyniec)

Website: restauracjakarmnik.pl 

Daily menu on facebook (in Polish): 

pl-pl.facebook.com/RestauracjaKarmnik

HAMSA HUMMUS & HAPPINESS – WARM AND SPICY

HAMSA hummus & happiness israeli restobar caught my attention during a few food festivals this summer because their stall was always besieged with customers. Intrigued by this popularity, I decided to go to Kraków's Jewish district, Kazimierz, and find out myself about the phenomenon of this modern Israeli restaurant.

It was a rainy Sunday afternoon in November but to our surprise the restaurant was filled with both locals and foreign tourists. The bright interior is dominated by white and blue colours with green plants in the window niches and photos of modern Tel Aviv hanging on the walls. The air was filled with energetic Israeli music, which sounded like a mix of folk and rock, and with slightly musty smells of food and spices.

If you've never eaten Levantine food before, the menu can seem enigmatic but the friendly staff patiently clarifies all the exotic words. For starters, we ordered a set of 3 mezze (i.e. appetizers and dips) served in a so-called “hand” (PLN 34.80). Each “hand” is served with three types of bread: manakish, lafah, and pita. I especially liked manakish, which was covered in spices, but the other two breads were also quite good. It was nice that we could choose the 3 mezze on our own but there were so many tempting possibilities that we couldn't make our minds.  

Finally, we've decided to try the restaurant's flagship dish – hummus, plus baba ghanoush and marinated labneh cheese with za'atar (a mix of thyme, oregano and other spices). Hummus is a dip made from chickpeas and tahini (paste made from ground sesame seeds) blended with some garlic and lemon juice. It can be served with many different garnishes - we opted for pomegranate and pine nuts, which accentuated the taste of the hummus without overpowering it. The tahini paste – mixed with baked aubergine (eggplant) – is also the base for baba ghanoush, which was much more delicate than hummus. Both dips were so good that I've decided to include them in my everyday menu, especially as they aren't difficult to prepare. The labneh cheese, made from natural yoghurt, turned out to be a bit too sour for my liking but my Husband claims it was the best of the 3 mezze.

For the main dish we had Moroccan lamb with couscous (PLN 39.60), which wasn't very photogenic but was very tasty. The meat was tender and delicate, while the oriental sauce was very pungent, maybe even a tad too pungent... Even though the couscous with raisins, apricots and fresh cucumber toned down the spicy taste, I managed to eat only a few bites, but my Husband, who likes hot dishes, ate the rest with a great pleasure.

Because the lamb was very meaty, we decided to balance it out with something more veggie – a tagine, or a dish cooked and served in a beautifully decorated pot with a cone-shaped cover. Our vegetarian version of tagine (PLN 28) was filled with delicious cauliflower, tomato sauce, olives, and lemon. It was also served with couscous and stuffed vegetables, which unfortunately turned out to be the weakest link. The courgette (zucchini) was bitter and the filling was just unpalatable. After that we didn't dare to try the stuffed onions.

Of course, we couldn't deny ourselves a dessert. Even though baklava (PLN 5.50), i.e. filo pastry filled with chopped nuts and honey, is considered by many people to be too sweet, for me it was just perfect. On the other hand, basbousa cake with almonds and orange flower water (PLN 4.90), praised by many, seemed to me a bit too bland (but, unsurprisingly, my Husband loved it ;)). We washed down the dessert with delicious Arabic coffee brewed in a special pot called cezve (PLN 8.90).

Even though my Husband and I often disagreed about particular dishes, we were unanimous in one thing - food in HAMSA hummus & happiness is very diverse, totally different from what we're used to, and absolutely delicious. We left the restaurant full, warmed up and very satisfied. I think it's a perfect place for a meeting with friends or a spicy dinner on a wintry evening. There are many vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free dishes but meat eaters will also find something to munch away at. As its name suggests, HAMSA serves not only hummus, but also happiness, which takes the form of delicious dishes from the Middle East.

PS. I could write this in-depth review thanks to a culinary action Blogerzy Smakują (Bloggers' Tasting) organized by urodaizdrowie.pl and thanks to the owners of HAMSA hummus & happiness, who allowed us to try their cuisine for free. Because I had already been in Hamsa incognito, I know that their dishes are equally tasty and the staff equally friendly, even if you aren't a culinary blogger on assignment. ;)

More photos can be found here.

Address: ul. Szeroka 2, Kraków (Kazimierz)

Websites: hamsa.pl and facebook

Wersja polska

KARDAMON CAFFE – COSY AND HOMEY

Retoryka Street is one of the most charming places in Kraków. If you're near the Wawel Castle, you should take a stroll through this tree-lined alley and examine fairy-like historic houses design by Teordor Talowski. One of the most important Polish architects at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, Talowski created here a row of brick houses with fanciful details and names.

My favourite buildings are Under the Singing Frog ('Dom pod Śpiewającą Żabą' in Polish) and Under the Donkey ('Dom pod Osłem' in Polish – there's even a stone donkey's head protruding form the wall). Some of the façades impart to passers-by Latin pearls of wisdom, such as: Festina lente (Make haste slowly) or Faber est suae quisque fortunae (Every man is the artisan of his own fortune). An interesting piece of trivia is a fact that the middle of the Retoryka Street used to be... a river.

Nearby you can find a newly opened bistro - Kardamon Cafe (Cardamon in English). Even though it's located very close to the main tourist attractions, it has a peaceful, not to say lazy, atmosphere. One cold, rainy evening I walked with my dog through Retoryka Street. I had a cold and all I wanted was a cup of some hot beverage. No wonder, brilliantly illuminated, green Kardamon seemed to me a haven of peace. As soon as I entered, a waitress brought a bowl of water (for my dog) and hot, very tasty latte with ginger syrup (for me). After over an hour of sipping at the warming coffee, looking through the books on the shelf and chatting with the friendly waitress and other patrons, my dog and I were ready continue our walk through the rain.

And today I've decided to try Kardamon's daily lunch menu. Its price ranges from PLN 14 to PLN 25 and it includes: soup + a piece of meat or fish; rice, potatoes or buckwheat groats ('kasza gryczana' in Polish) and fresh salad. There are also vegetarian sets (around PLN 12) but I ordered a classic one: borscht (beetroot soup), chicken breast cutlet, potatoes and freshly grated carrot.

The borscht (or barszcz, as we call it in Polish) was very tasty, almost like home made. The only thing that spoiled it were not-too-fresh boiled potatoes (you probably know this sweetish taste of boiled potatoes kept in a fridge for too long. Yuck.). The soup would have been much better if it had been served instead with uszka (ravioli-type dumplings) or at least a hard-boiled egg.

Fortunately, potatoes served with the main dish - as well as the carrot salad  - were completely fresh. And the chicken cutlet coated with breadcrumbs was absolutely delicious. The meat was juicy while the coating remained crispy. I asked the chef for his secret but he apparently had exactly the same recipe as me (coat the meat with flour, whisked eggs and breadcrumbs and then fry it over medium-high heat) but our results were completely different. Why? It will always remain a culinary mystery to me. ;)

I think this restaurant is a great place for a quick, home made lunch. You can also have here breakfast, drink some delicious coffee or simply bury yourself in a comfy armchair and have a pleasant read. Kardamon Cafe is tasty and warming – just like the spice that gave it a name.

Address: ul. Retoryka 19, Kraków (Stare Miasto)

Website: www.kardamon-cafe.com.pl

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Wersja polska

CHARLOTTE IN WARSAW – IS IT REALLY HIPSTERS' DEN?

 

Reportedly, the most hipster place in Warsaw is Saviour Square ('Plac Zbawiciela' in Polish), and the most hipster place in Saviour Square is Charlotte. When I was in Warsaw, I decided to investigate it myself, especially because I really liked the Charlotte café and bakery in Kraków (you can read about it here).

Saviour Square seems to be one of the most charming corners in the Polish capital. The round square with solid buildings in Socialist realism style is dominated by a neo–baroque Church of the Most Holy Saviour and a half–burnt rainbow awaiting reconstruction. Charlotte is housed in one of the buildings with a colonnade, under which you can find a pleasant beer garden with a view of the whole Square. The café’s interior is rather stark and industrial but it's enlivened with a huge common table decorated with fresh flowers.

My friend, Jasmine, and I sat at one of the few free tables under the colonnade and we were immediately approached by a cute waiter. With his side swept blonde fringe and impeccably white shirt he didn't look like a hipster at all. We discreetly glanced around but unfortunately we couldn't notice anyone bashing out at their typewriter, wearing their granddad’s clothes or even wearing glasses without lenses. We were a bit disappointed. ;)

Nothing in the menu seemed particularly hipster, either. We had a problem to choose just one dish from all the French delicacies but finally Jasmine ordered quiche with ham and asparagus (PLN 9), while I settled on a French toast called pain perdu (literally 'lost bread' in French), which was golden, crunchy and lavishly covered with honey (PLN 12). Yum. :)

Sipping aromatic coffee, we almost gave up hope of meeting a real hipster but at last I saw him! He was wearing a hat (granddad’s?), thick–framed, black glasses, checked shirt, rolled up corduroy trousers and the final proof – elegant, leather shoes without socks. So Charlotte does sometimes become hipsters' den. Mystery solved. ;)

Address: Plac Zbawiciela (Savior Square), Warsaw

Website: www.bistrocharlotte.com , www.facebook.com/bistrocharlotte

Fussy on Facebooku = more photos
Wersja polska 

BREAKFAST IN KOLANKO NO. 6

I've already written about Kolanko No 6 here, at the beginning of my blog. It remains one of my favourite places in Kazimierz district and I visit it quite frequently. Recently, with my friend Gosia  I've gone there for breakfast and I was really pleasantly surprised by it.

First, I was astonished by the price - mere PLN 18 for all-you-can-eat buffet with drinks (coffee, tea and water) included. Then I was amazed by the variety of food: from fried sausages and bacon, to platters of cheese and cold cuts, to French tarts, to fresh vegetable salads, to muesli with yoghurt and cream and fruit cakes... And finally I was surprised by the quality of food - everything was nice and fresh (the chef constantly brought more and more dishes), because apparently all the food, including crunchy bread rolls and home made pâté, is prepared on the spot.

Everything disappeared from the tables so quickly that in the photos you can see only miserable (though still yummy) leftovers. I especially liked French tarts, cream and raspberry cake, and guacamole with sun-dried tomatoes. We finished off with home made lemonade with raspberries and orangeade with pieces of fresh oranges (PLN 7 each). It was a perfect ending to a long and lazy breakfast. :) 

Address: ul. Józefa 17, Kraków (Kazimierz district)

Website: www.kolanko.net

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Wersja polska 

 

TRIBECA U SZOŁAYSKICH - COFFEE IN A DRAWER

TriBeCa in not only a neighbourhood in NYC, but also a chain of cafés in some of the museums in Kraków. My favourite TriBeCa is the one in the Szczepański Square, which has recently become vibrant with life thanks to a new musical fountain and new cafés (such as Charlotte). TriBeCa u Szołayskich (meaning 'TriBeCa in the Szołayski House' in Polish) fits perfectly in with this new, dynamic place.

I usually drop by to have a coffee with my friends or grab a quick lunch. You can sit here either in a beer garden overlooking the Szczepański Square and Pałac Sztuki ('Art Palace' in Polish), or at an inner patio, or in a spacious, cool room. The room has a nice interior, if rather minimalistic. During the day it's very peaceful in there so it can be a good place to work or study if you don't mind the buzz of the café.

A ladder with shelves is loaded with books about art history (in various languages) so while waiting for your orders, you can become an art expert. Especially because waiting for the waiters can be really long... That's why if the waiting becomes interminable, I simply go to the counter and order myself.

I think TriBeCa's biggest advantage is coffee. Some flavoured coffees tend to be a tad too much on the sweet side and that's why I usually choose classics, such as latte (PLN 8-12) or cappuccino (PLN 8-12). But if you aren't afraid of sugar, you should try a frozen mint coffee (PLN 12). The sandwiches and other snacks are also very tasty. During my last visit I had there a delicious grilled baguette with chicken, cheese and lots of veggies (PLN 14). The desserts, however, are a different kettle of fish. Chocolate TriBeCa cake (PLN 12) was very good even though a bit too sweet. But the tiramisu (PLN 11) was one of the strangest dessert I've ever eaten and I don't mean it as a compliment...

While you're in TriBeCa, you should visit one of the two exhibitions housed in the same building, the Szołayski House: 'Forever Young! Poland and it's art around 1900' and 'Szymborska’s Drawer' ('Szuflada Szymborskiej' in Polish). The latter exhibition is not only for free, but it also has an interactive and a bit surreal form. Wisława Szymborska was a very famous Polish poet and the winner of the 1996 Nobel Prize in Literature. And now her belongings, presented in drawers, create cabinet of curiosities. The Szołayski House is a perfect place for an afternoon with art, a poetry and coffee.

See more photos! :)

Po polsku (Polish version)

Addres: Plac Szczepański 9, Kraków

Website: Szymborska’s Drawer exhibition