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Polka Café
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FOOD ★★★1/2 AMBIENCE ★★ SERVICE ★★★★ VALUE ★★★★ 169 Millbury St., Worcester • 774-243-1302 • polkacafe.wix.com/polka-cafe
The Best Kielbasa in Worcester Michael Brazell
The point at which I realized that Polka Cafe is a memorable Worcester restaurant was when the owner (who also acted as our host, server and chef) brought out a stack of photos of Poland from his last visit. Flipping through 30 or so shots of Krakow, the churches from his home town, and a variety of county fairs that he sells kielbasa at, we felt like we were dining with distant family. Now, mind you, this wasn’t unwelcome and it certainly wasn’t out of
the blue. You see, my mother (half-Polish herself) and I were the only diners on a Saturday evening at Polka Cafe – a small restaurant located at 169 Millbury St. in the shadow of I-290 – and after scarfing our delicious and authentic Polish dinner we were eager to learn more about the restaurant.
Polka Cafe was not busy at all, but this was not due to any lack of quality in food or service. The owner and chef, who I can refer to only by his food truck moniker “Mr. Kielbaski,” insisted that while “there are many Polish families [around Worcester], none of them come out to eat, they cook at home.” The tradition of home cooking in Polish cuisine is obvious at the Polka Cafe. We began our meal with an order of placki ziemniaczane ($5), which were three large, shallow fried grated potato pancakes, served crispy brown with only a hint of scallion and seasoning. Each pancake had a crunchy, hashbrown-like exterior with a smooth and gummy potato center, served beside a dish of sour cream.
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• JUNE 27, 2013
For the main course, my mother ordered kielbasa ($6) and golabki ($6). Golabki (which I always grew up pronouncing as “gawumpky”) is a traditional Polish dish of cabbage usually stuffed with rice and ground beef. Polka Cafe’s golabki is prepared over several hours, as boiled cabbage is stuffed with a lightly seasoned light colored rice and beef filling, and then baked in a shallow pan for two hours, served with a tomato-based dressing. The kielbasa is what Mr. Kielbaski is famous for. A large, split and fried, deep red kielbasa arrived doused with grilled sweet peppers and onions, which had a terrific sweet and spicy flavor to it, truly one of the best kielbasas that we had in quite a while. My entree was a plate of pierogi z kaptusta ($6), a Polish dish of potato, cheese, and cabbage-filled dumplings. Each pierogi was hand pressed, piping hot, and packed with flavor, served with a scoop of pickled onions that delivered a delicious sweet flavor.
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The menu at Polka Cafe is expectedly small, as the focus is on traditional Polish cuisine, though there are a handful of crosscultural items if you’re dining with somebody who is not interested in Polish food. Prices are very cheap, especially for the serving size, as there is only one item on the menu that is over $10, although remember to bring cash, no credit cards accepted. The decor at Polka Cafe is a tab drab, but it is fitting — while soaking in the surroundings my mother exclaimed, “this reminds me of nana’s (my Polish grandmother) house,” as a wooden antique cheese maker sits across from an antique sauerkraut barrel, while a portrait of His Holiness John Paul II (the famously Polish Pope) watches from a corner of the dining room. Nevertheless, the restaurant was clean and the mismatched decorations are a small price to pay for authentic Polish cuisine and the best kielbasa in Worcester.