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.

TIFFANY IN KRAKÓW – PERSIAN ICE CREAM AT TIFFANY'S

“Is it even edible?” asked my friend, looking sceptically at our saffron ice cream. “Not only edible, but also very nice,” I replied. “Though it would be even better combined with another, more distinctive flavour.”

We were sitting on my favourite stone bench in Plac Szczepański in Kraków, contemplating the summer dusk falling over the city. The splash of multicolour streams of water from the magic fountain mingled with a lively hubbub of voices from the nearby beer gardens. My best friend EB was sitting next to me, eating pensively her Persian saffron and Persian rose ice cream.

A few days earlier I'd discovered the source of all these Persian delicacies: an inconspicuous-looking ice parlour called Tiffany. We were served by the friendly owner, who imports some of the ice cream ingredients, including saffron, roses, pistachios and cardamom, from his native Iran. The ice cream is prepared only from fresh, natural products and it actually shows - while eating the refreshing mango-flavoured ice cream (which, fortunately, had nothing in common with the disgusting artificial flavouring found e.g. in yoghurt), I could even feel the texture of a fresh mango.

One scoop costs PLN 3 or 4 (depending on the flavour) but it's really huge. Friendly staff, delicious, natural ice cream and unusual flavours are a great reason to visit the ice cream parlour again and again. The only minus is the name, which doesn't really try to evoke the spirit of the Middle East, and the shoddy interior design. Luckily, you can always follow our suit and sit outside on the nearby bench, from where you can admire Plac Szczepański with its quaint art-nouveau buildings and the magic fountain.

Here you can read more about my favourite ice cream parlours in Kraków.

Address: 7 Plac Szczepański, Cracow (Old Town)

Website: link