You know me, this is body by pierogis, bro! These potato dumplings of funk are served up all across Eastern Europe — and at a few funky joints here in Toronto, like Tennessee Tavern. But if you wanna get the real-deal, OG, Polish pierogis, you gotta go to this place that’s been servin’ em up since 1981… This is Cafe Polonez!
And Polonez ain’t just about pierogis, either. They’ve got all the classics like schnitzel, goulash, paprikash and cabbage rolls, to name a few. It’s hard to pick just one, son — so I went with the combo platter, which gives you pierogis, schnitzel, hunter’s stew and not one, but two types of salad. Hey, if you put salad in front of me, I guess I’ll eat it?
Let’s start with the pierogis. These pillowy pieces of potatoey goodness are magically delicious! Nice and soft, stuffed with cheese, with a little sour cream and some minced pork on top — pretty sure I could slam, like, 32 of these!!!
Dude, this schnitzel is too legit-zel to quit-zel! Pork is pounded and fried to perfection, and then you’ve got these fresh mushrooms on top — the mushrooms are what makes it!!!
And then you’ve got this funky dish of deliciousness – bigos aka hunter’s stew. Basically, they’re slow-cooking sauerkraut with some sausage and pieces of roast pork. This dish is soooo bad and boujee, bro!!!
Now, this place isn’t just serving up all the old-school, home-style Polish classics — they’ve got all the Polish beers, too: Zywiec, Okocim, Lezajsk, Tyskie, Lech, Warka and Tatra. They’re pretty much all pilsners, so I went with Lezajsk, which has a bit more of a kick, and tastes a lot like the Portuguese pilsner Sagres. Just don’t ask me to pronounce it properly!!!
Burgers, Bacon & Beer 