Like a fine wine, Adler only seems to be improving with age
I have some good memories of the long, Bavarian-style, wooden benches filled with friends and our drinking rounds of beer in huge glass steins. At the end of the night everyone would throw their zlotys on the table, which in those "24,000-zlotys-to-the-dollar" days resulted in a small mountain of cash. I hadn't been back since then, but one day I ran into Mr. Moo at the Modulor Cafe, and he mentioned it. "Why don't you check out the Adler, it's supposed to be really good," he suggested.
So following his advice, I reserved a table for a Wednesday night. I invited Roxy, thinking I owed her a better meal than the one we shared at Czarownica.
We arrived promptly for our 7:30 p.m. reservation, finding easily the little round building that houses the Adler near plac Trzech Krzyly. We entered to hear some wonderful, live acoustic-guitar music playing, but the set seemed to be ending as we were shown to our table in the middle of the room.
Adler bills itself as "Bavarian-Polish" cuisine, and the interior really plays up that theme well. Lots of thick, wooden timbers holding up the walls, a collection of antique beer steins above the bar, some wooden barrels stacked in a corner. The restaurant was packed with a lively mix of foreign and Polish business people. Young waitresses in blue, peasant smocks over white blouses served endless mugs of beer. After a beer break, a silver-haired gentleman returned to his guitar playing; plucking out everything from Greek "Zorba" to Russian "Kalinka" to French "La Vie en Rose" to my favorite of the night, American "Runaway" by Del Shannon.
A waitress brought menus without delay. "Something to drink?" she asked. I ordered a Wyborowa vodka to sip while we checked out the menu. Roxy had a cup of tea.
"This table is wobbly," she complained. One word to the waitress and help arrived immediately from the kitchen with a shim to place under the offending leg.
The menu is a mix of traditional German and Polish dishes. Starters run zl. 14-zl. 36, and include standards such as smalec (lard, zl. 14), herring (zl. 18), cheese n' potato pierogis (zl. 15) or Berliner sauteed veal liver (zl. 15). There is also one called the Bismarck cheese platter, but Vinny Tokaj, who'd reviewed this place back in January '97, said that this one was big, "a platter heaped with cheese, pickles, olives and smoked meat - a meal in itself." Roxy chose the fried brie with fruit jam (zl. 15.50) and I went with one of my all-time favorite German dishes, white sausage with sweet mustard (zl. 16).
There is also a selection of salads (zl. 20-zl. 24) which Vinnie said were big and a good choice for lunch. Soups include lurek (zl. 7.50), forest mushroom (zl. 10) or porcini mushroom (zl. 16.50). Mains run zl. 33-zl. 43. Wiener schnitzel with potato salad (zl. 33.50) or stewed leg of veal (zl. 34.50) sounded good, as did the roast pork knuckle (golonka) stewed in beer (zl. 37), but I'm on a "no golonka" diet these days - editor's orders, not my doctor's. I decided on Vinnie's recommendation of the beef szaszlyk (shish kebob, zl. 37), while Roxy, whose bird-like appetite was really letting me down, just asked for a side order of potato salad (zl. 5.50) to go with her fried cheese.
The wine list has changed a lot since Vinnie was there. He'd complained that it was too heavily weighted toward the high end, with more than half the choices priced above zl. 100. And that was more than two years ago. Management had apparently taken his words to heart, as now there isn't a single bottle priced above zl. 100, with most of the French, Australian and American wines in the zl. 60-zl. 90 range. I was thinking red to go along with my beef shish kebob, and had been eyeing the Lalande Pomerol '86 as a worthy accompaniment, but Roxy said she preferred white wine, so I chose an Alsatian Edelzwicker from Patrick Beyer for zl. 63.75. It's an interesting combination of Sylvaner and Chasselas grapes made only in Alsace. Not a grand cru, but zesty and thoroughly drinkable.
My weissewurst came first; two plump sausages swimming in a green crockery pot of water. They were just as good as the best I've eaten in Germany, and the sweet mustard was even better. Roxy took a taste and agreed. It was such a simple, yet delicious dish.
Roxy's cheese, which arrived with my shish kebob, had a genuine, gooey brie baked inside a golden brown crust, topped with a tart cranberry jam. Vinnie had also eaten this and proclaimed it as "not too bad," but the cheese was "crusty and dry," so presumably Adler has upgraded its supply. Roxy said her cold potato salad in a mayonnaise cream was "delicious." My shish kebob was enormous, with hunks of beef and bacon alternated between onions and red peppers. The meat was lean and grilled medium-well, with only the veggies slightly charred from the grill. The tangy barbecue sauce served as a dip was also great. In addition, I had side orders of steamed rice, carrots and peas. Vinnie had said the rice was some of the best in the city, but after the shish kebob, I was too full to enjoy it. I can say without a doubt that my szaszlyk was the best I've tasted in Warsaw.
As a finish to our meal, I ordered two Calvados (zl. 18 each). This apple brandy from Normandy, served in cognac snifters, wasn't served the way it should have been (my six Norman uncles pour the precious golden drink into small shot glasses, then squeeze it tightly in their fists for a few minutes to warm it up), but the snifters - being after all, snifters, - allowed us to enjoy the Calvados' intense aroma all the better.
While we waited for the faktura VAT our waitress brought out two complimentary shots of a cherry-flavored sliwowitz, which we both enjoyed and appreciated. Our bill, including a 10% service charge stated on the menu, came to zl. 223 ($57). Adler will be opening its garden seating soon, and I'm looking forward to returning as soon as possible.
So following his advice, I reserved a table for a Wednesday night. I invited Roxy, thinking I owed her a better meal than the one we shared at Czarownica.
We arrived promptly for our 7:30 p.m. reservation, finding easily the little round building that houses the Adler near plac Trzech Krzyly. We entered to hear some wonderful, live acoustic-guitar music playing, but the set seemed to be ending as we were shown to our table in the middle of the room.
Adler bills itself as "Bavarian-Polish" cuisine, and the interior really plays up that theme well. Lots of thick, wooden timbers holding up the walls, a collection of antique beer steins above the bar, some wooden barrels stacked in a corner. The restaurant was packed with a lively mix of foreign and Polish business people. Young waitresses in blue, peasant smocks over white blouses served endless mugs of beer. After a beer break, a silver-haired gentleman returned to his guitar playing; plucking out everything from Greek "Zorba" to Russian "Kalinka" to French "La Vie en Rose" to my favorite of the night, American "Runaway" by Del Shannon.
A waitress brought menus without delay. "Something to drink?" she asked. I ordered a Wyborowa vodka to sip while we checked out the menu. Roxy had a cup of tea.
"This table is wobbly," she complained. One word to the waitress and help arrived immediately from the kitchen with a shim to place under the offending leg.
The menu is a mix of traditional German and Polish dishes. Starters run zl. 14-zl. 36, and include standards such as smalec (lard, zl. 14), herring (zl. 18), cheese n' potato pierogis (zl. 15) or Berliner sauteed veal liver (zl. 15). There is also one called the Bismarck cheese platter, but Vinny Tokaj, who'd reviewed this place back in January '97, said that this one was big, "a platter heaped with cheese, pickles, olives and smoked meat - a meal in itself." Roxy chose the fried brie with fruit jam (zl. 15.50) and I went with one of my all-time favorite German dishes, white sausage with sweet mustard (zl. 16).
There is also a selection of salads (zl. 20-zl. 24) which Vinnie said were big and a good choice for lunch. Soups include lurek (zl. 7.50), forest mushroom (zl. 10) or porcini mushroom (zl. 16.50). Mains run zl. 33-zl. 43. Wiener schnitzel with potato salad (zl. 33.50) or stewed leg of veal (zl. 34.50) sounded good, as did the roast pork knuckle (golonka) stewed in beer (zl. 37), but I'm on a "no golonka" diet these days - editor's orders, not my doctor's. I decided on Vinnie's recommendation of the beef szaszlyk (shish kebob, zl. 37), while Roxy, whose bird-like appetite was really letting me down, just asked for a side order of potato salad (zl. 5.50) to go with her fried cheese.
The wine list has changed a lot since Vinnie was there. He'd complained that it was too heavily weighted toward the high end, with more than half the choices priced above zl. 100. And that was more than two years ago. Management had apparently taken his words to heart, as now there isn't a single bottle priced above zl. 100, with most of the French, Australian and American wines in the zl. 60-zl. 90 range. I was thinking red to go along with my beef shish kebob, and had been eyeing the Lalande Pomerol '86 as a worthy accompaniment, but Roxy said she preferred white wine, so I chose an Alsatian Edelzwicker from Patrick Beyer for zl. 63.75. It's an interesting combination of Sylvaner and Chasselas grapes made only in Alsace. Not a grand cru, but zesty and thoroughly drinkable.
My weissewurst came first; two plump sausages swimming in a green crockery pot of water. They were just as good as the best I've eaten in Germany, and the sweet mustard was even better. Roxy took a taste and agreed. It was such a simple, yet delicious dish.
Roxy's cheese, which arrived with my shish kebob, had a genuine, gooey brie baked inside a golden brown crust, topped with a tart cranberry jam. Vinnie had also eaten this and proclaimed it as "not too bad," but the cheese was "crusty and dry," so presumably Adler has upgraded its supply. Roxy said her cold potato salad in a mayonnaise cream was "delicious." My shish kebob was enormous, with hunks of beef and bacon alternated between onions and red peppers. The meat was lean and grilled medium-well, with only the veggies slightly charred from the grill. The tangy barbecue sauce served as a dip was also great. In addition, I had side orders of steamed rice, carrots and peas. Vinnie had said the rice was some of the best in the city, but after the shish kebob, I was too full to enjoy it. I can say without a doubt that my szaszlyk was the best I've tasted in Warsaw.
As a finish to our meal, I ordered two Calvados (zl. 18 each). This apple brandy from Normandy, served in cognac snifters, wasn't served the way it should have been (my six Norman uncles pour the precious golden drink into small shot glasses, then squeeze it tightly in their fists for a few minutes to warm it up), but the snifters - being after all, snifters, - allowed us to enjoy the Calvados' intense aroma all the better.
While we waited for the faktura VAT our waitress brought out two complimentary shots of a cherry-flavored sliwowitz, which we both enjoyed and appreciated. Our bill, including a 10% service charge stated on the menu, came to zl. 223 ($57). Adler will be opening its garden seating soon, and I'm looking forward to returning as soon as possible.
