About food. Lublin (Poland)
The short trip to Poland turned out to be spontaneous, but wonderful in every way. I have already said many times that although I am not very large in size (rather, not very huge : )), nevertheless I like to eat deliciously. And since in a foreign city, and even more so in a foreign country, it is not easy to immediately find a good place, I am writing about where I ate myself and was not disappointed. Everything is relative, of course, in such stories, but what if someone comes in handy?
I haven't been to Poland for two years. This time, for some reason, I was surprised that the Poles, it turns out, still have their own domestic currency. To understand the prices, I will indicate that 1 zloty = about 5 hryvnias, 1 dollar = about 3 zlotys (I don’t know about Eurica, only American money was changed).
There will be four gastronomic “sections” in this story: food at a gas station, food in a restaurant, food in fast food and street food.
So, about the food at the gas station. On the way to Lublin, on a tip from a local resident, we dined at the Cerber gas station (the settlement is called Sedlische, tractors are sold opposite the gas station). A gray inconspicuous, even plain building with the inscription bar 24 motel.
You will never think that you need to go there: the institution looks very unsightly from the outside, and inside it is more than simple. Spacious, but kind of such a cheap eatery. There are 12 tables in total. Important: the toilet has a separate special cubicle for the disabled. There is no ramp, but entry is possible from the back side, from the courtyard. Toilet with motion sensor, there is a place to wash your hands. Announcement on the door of the toilet: use of the toilet is free for guests of the cafe, for ordinary visitors it costs 1 PLN.
The food is just "head off". On a huge portioned plate, they bring you the simplest, even rural food: boiled potatoes with dill and butter, a piece of pork chop in the layout, juicy, well-done, a salad of radish and leaf lettuce with yogurt dressing. But. . . I don't know how they do it. It was very fresh and just delicious. Well, right now, each piece delivered a separate pleasure. The host paid the bill, so I won’t tell you the exact amount. But judging by the large format of the "menu" (see photo), dinner for three cost 30 zlotys (in hryvnia - about 150, in dollars - about 10).
Already in Lublin itself I liked the Cleopatra restaurant. Located on st. Grodska (at the hotel of the same name). Again, I liked the fact that absolutely all the food is fresh, without any mayonnaise there. We took 2 chicken soups with noodles (ridiculously called soup in Polish: rOsol), Cleopatra's signature dish - boiled rice and french fries, (it was possible either-or, but the young waitress, seeing our hesitation, herself kindly suggested and- and), two kebabs, a huge steak and pork roast with mushrooms and onions. And there are 3 different sauces in the set: tomato, cream and mix. Not spicy, but not bland, and the food is moderately salty, the meat is well fried. amounted to a little more than 60 zlotys, but as guests of the hotel of the same name, we had a 20% discount, so we paid 49 zl (in hryvnia - about 250, in dollars - 16.5).
We drank beer a couple of times in street cafes (well, we watched the World Cup, but what about without beer? ). The average price for a glass is PLN 5. Not bad, I liked the beer with the funny name "Warka" more than others. Very tasty corrugations - this is how waffles are called in Polish (they don’t look like Belgian ones, but these are much better). So, whipped cream (real, not from a bottle) is put on such a waffle, and on top - live berries + fruit syrup or chocolate. Mmmmmmm, how delicious. We took strawberries + peach + raspberries, and poured chocolate over one portion (not mine) (for two - 11 zł ). I especially liked that both the waffle and the cream were only slightly sugared, not like ours, to cloying horror, but just to delicately emphasize the taste of fresh fruit. Another delicious ice cream - ice - 2 zł scoop. With different fillers and just creamy. Served in a crispy waffle cone. Also quite good.
Well, once we dined at the local "Puzata hut" (that's what it's called in Polish). I just haven’t been to Ukraine in the Pot-bellied Hut, so there’s nothing to compare with. Well, fast food, as they say, is also fast food in Lublin. Only small, but conveniently located near the gate. Too bad the air conditioner didn't work and it was very stuffy. And everything is as usual: food on the spot and takeaway, you can buy separately what you want, or take a set (there are several of them, the most expensive is about 18 zlotys), then it turns out cheaper. Well, somehow we were not very hungry, we took tomato soup (such a gazpacho with pasta) and cabbage rolls (they are huge, half a palm), tea, compote and buns (Poles, unlike us, do not eat bread for lunch). The bill turned out to be 18 zlotys.
In general, I really like how and what they feed in Poland. Everything is very simple, without frills and bells and whistles. But it is always delicious, fresh and high quality food. In Lublin itself, especially in the area of pl. The market, restaurants, cafes, breweries - do not count, and do not visit even for 10 visits. All different. Each is interesting with something special. So if an opportunity happens - treat yourself to "gastronomic" Poland.
