My friend Jody told me a few months ago that he found a place that has awesome Polish food in his neighborhood of Greenpoint. He thought it was called Nassau Diner and it was on Nassau Ave at Humboldt St. I was I like I don’t think those street intersect. But turns out they do. Todd sent me this list of Greenpoint cheap eats on Brokelyn.com and it had this place, but really called Northside Bakery (Division of Old Poland Foods LLC). Then when I was going to check it out, Todd was already there just finishing up his meal. LOL.
I tasted their White Borscht soup that had gotten cold. It was meh. But I went on their recommendation and got the red stuffed cabbage (Guwumpkis) that were only $2.50 or $3.00. Really cheap. Then I added a side of beets and cucumber salad. The total jumped up to $5.99. Still a good deal.
The Guwumpkis was pretty darn good. I ate it all up. Also, there seems like a lot more hot Polish girls in the area.
Sam and I were planning to go to St. Anselm, but it was packed with an hour wait, even on this rainy night. So we went next to Kristophe, which I had even mentioned that I want to try when we first passed it. This is a relatively new Polish restaurant by the same owner/chef as Krolewskie Jadlo (the place with the armored knights) in Greenpoint, which I love.
We ordered the Duck Pierogies, Wiener Schnitzel, and Wild Boar Stuffed Cabbage. A really comforting meal. I quite enjoyed it.
Also I think I got picked up by our waitress. Like think we were getting along bantering. Then it turned into asking where we lived, where she lived, doing tequila shots with her, letting us know when she works, telling us that she’ll be at the bar now that her shift was over eating Chocolate Mousse. I figured she was just being a nice waitress and I wasn’t sure if she was flirting or not. There were a lot of times I was wondering if I was supposed to give her my number or stand up and sweep her off her feet? So as I was leaving with one foot out the door, she called me back and wanted to show me something on her phone, which led to us being Facebook friends.
Later that night I did ask her out and she said yes. But we never ended up doing anything. It’s all cool though. I’m very flattered. I’ve never been picked up before.
…Service was excellent.
Kristophe – 221 N 4th St (btwn Havemeyer & Roebling St) Brooklyn, NY 11211
I was reading that a lot of modern day grocery store sauerkraut is pasteurized, killing the good bacteria for your stomach. So I headed off the Polish neighborhood in Greenpoint to find some real fermented sauerkraut. I always wanted to try Polonia. It’s an old school cafeteria style restaurant, similar to Pyza nearby.
The lady was super nice to me. She surprised me by speaking English. I couldn’t tell what any of the stuff in the stream trays were. They were all covered in different colored gravies …but still looked good. I picked the Pork Goulash and Dumplings with Beets and Sauerkraut that looked all homemade –$8.50
I really liked the Pork Goulash. Nice and tender and good gravy. I’ve never had dumplings like that. Bland dimpled boiled balls of dough. Springy, like mochi. It needed help from the gravy and the Polish soy-like sauce on table. The Beets and Sauerkraut were good.
I think the sauerkraut/kimchi probiotic diet is working …that and kefir drinks. My skin is really clearing up. I look like a young boy.
This restaurant has a lot of character. That’s why I like it. There was a pay phone in there. Old school.
I was also a little nervous going to Greenpoint. I was thinking I would run into this awesome girl I met a week earlier playing foosball at Matchless nearby (the same place where I got fries and a vagina walked into my hand). Well, this foosball girl was really cool and when she came over to say bye, I was going to give her my food blog card, but just realized that I was out and was supposed to refill my wallet that very day. So nothing was exchanged except a handshake. My friends thought there was some connection, but I missed my chance.
My friend told me to write a Missed Connection on Craigslist. So I did. It went something like “Hey, I was the guy with hair that tries be Farrah Fawcett, with a cold sore on my lip and shoes that are actually banned in the NBA.” I didn’t hear back from that except from a dude.
A few days later, I was telling Bonnie about my Missed Connection and she suggested finding her on Facebook. We found her, but I was too drunk to message so Bonnie wrote it. I think she was drunk too. I woke up the next morning hoping what Bonnie wrote wasn’t too bad. It went something like “Thanks for being the best foosball partner. Hope we can go up against each other soon. You around next week?” Shit. It wasn’t too bad.
These are the new shoes I got that are banned in the NBA.
I’ve always wanted to try this Polish restaurant in Greenpoint, where they dress up in old-school traditional Polish folk outfits. The waitresses look hot (check out their online gallery). There were violinists playing what sounded like old folk songs, but sort of indie rock. I think it was too loud for Todd. And also a well full of money. I loved this place. Reminds me of Epcot.
Todd got White Borcht and White Kielbasa. Both good. I got the Plate of Polish Specialties (Pierogis, Potato Pancakes, Polish Kielbasa, Hunter’s Stew and Stuffed Cabbage $12.50). The Stuffed Cabbage was some of the best I’ve had. I was so stuffed.
Hungover and felt the only thing to soothe me over was some Polish soup and Hungarian Pancake Pie. Rusty and I jumped off the bus near the Nassau stop in Greenpoint and walked into the restaurant with the armor knights –same place that has a great weekday $9 lunch deal where I had Hocks Baked in Beer (much better photos in that old post).
I really like the bread and smalec spread. I think it really tastes like a tuna fish salad, but they told me it was pork fat with seasoning.
The White Borscht was nice and helped coat my stomach, but not too thick. There was half a boiled egg and bacon in it. Came with a side of mashed potatoes with more bacon on top.
The Hungarian Pancake Pie was huge! Bigger than my face. Tender chunks of beef goulash in between and sauerkraut on the side. The leftovers for dinner were enough to make me stuffed.
Dave has been talking about this HaluÅ¡ky dish that he recently had at a friend’s house. Small potato dumplings similar to gnocchi, mixed with sauerkraut. Looks like one of the few places in New York to find HaluÅ¡ky is at Ukrainian East Village Restaurant …just like it was one of the few places to find Chicken Kiev in my Don Draper phase.
The dumplings were much bigger than what Dave had. These were hand formed. I understand they’re often made through a strainer.
The dumplings sat there bathing in a pool of melted butter, topped with sauerkraut and bacon. Kind of bland at first, but after much salt and pepper, it was some buttery gut filling food.
Dave and I went to Kasia’s on Bedford Ave. I thought it looked kinda like Alice’s diner when I first looked through the window. We got pierogies, kielbasa and stuffed cabbage. The fried pierogies were good. The stuffed cabbbage scared me when I first sliced into it, but actually isn’t as bad as it looked. Kinda taste like Chinese style minced pork casserole.
The prices were more than I expected, but I guess that’s Bedford prices.
Dave just finished up a tour. He’s toured most of his life. He says the hardest part now is figuring out what to do once the tour is over. Where to live? Where to work? We passed by a Help Wanted sign at Vinnie’s Pizzeria, but immediately we knew it wasn’t going to work out.
Jody’s good friend Andrew was back in town. Remember when we did the Meat on Meat Casserole and that time he took us to Happy End? That was great Polish food. We knew we had to try the new Polish buffet next to Jody’s place. It’s not everyday, you see an affordable all you can eat buffet in NYC.
I was surprised with the selection. Everything that you wanted in a Polish buffet –pirogies, bigos, kielbasa, stuffed cabbage, meatballs, cucumber salad, blitzes, soup and much more. Tasted pretty good. It’s hard to say it’s the best Polish food in Greenpoint, just because it’s Greenpoint. But it’s certainly one of the best deals if you wanna stuff your face or try a bunch of different things. $10 for lunch or $5/lb to take out. Beer is cheep too. $2.50-3.50 bottle and draft.
The waitresses were nice and it’s nice looking new restaurant. I can see Jody and I sneaking out here during half time of the next Gator game. They got jello!
ZÅ‚ota Rybka (CLOSED) – 931 Manhattan Ave (btwn Kent & Java St) Brooklyn, NY 11222
