Manana is no ugly step sister
Having rarely ventured further along ulica Foksal (Warsaw's original "eat street") than Soma, with its ever-enticing microbrews, this week we decided to cross the road and re-review one of the capital's original New World cuisine options - Mañana. The sister restaurant of African Tam Tam, Manana never really pulled any of my friends through its front doors. When I asked around, no one seemed to know what to expect. In fact, most people were completely unaware of Mañana's existence, having always gone two doors further to ogle the long-legged clientele of Tam Tam. So Carlos and I set off to sample the unknown, the undiscovered Mañana that is "today," not leaving it until tomorrow any longer. Fooled by a warped wooden door that stuck in the doorjamb, we thought the restaurant was closed, prompting us to circle the building twice before giving it a good yank to enter. For a Friday night, you can understand our trepidation at thinking the restaurant might be closed. Nonetheless, only one other table was occupied. The music was predictably Latin, and the atmosphere was certainly relaxed, giving us plenty of time to stare at the ceiling mural, showing a rough map of Central and South America - a hint at what to expect from the menu, Carlos cleverly observed. Ravenous, we promptly ordered appetizers and our mains, along with some cocktails: a caipirinha (cachaca, brown sugar and limes) and a batida (cachaca, lime juice and honey). The cocktails, though delicious, took a VERY long time to arrive, and the wait may have prompted a cannibalistic attack had it not been for the bread rolls that came along with them. With loads of time to kill before our appetizers arrived, the bread rolls were devoured in minutes, leaving a glare in our eyes that kept the waitress at a comfortable distance.
Once our appetizers did come, however, we were stunned. As an aside, a minor quibble I have with waiters is that they refrain from advising you about portion sizes when you order a full meal based on your expectations of certain portion sizes, which later turn out to be false assumptions. These "appetizers" were huge. In fact, had we not already ordered mains, we might have just left afterward. Instead, Carlos dug into his poultry liver on a bed of salad, and I tucked into my panquecas with chicken in chives sauce. Both were amazing. Carlos, though never really a fan of liver, chose this dish on a hunch, which paid off. The liver was more reminiscent of foie gras, toasted lightly and placed liberally on a bed of fresh lettuce with a light, but perfect vinaigrette. And my panquecas were no chopped liver, either. In case you're wondering (as I was before asking the waitress), a panqueca is a crepe. But smother these crepes with a tasty chicken-and-chive gravy, and the resemblance to your everyday naleśnik is minimal. Having gorged ourselves on these fantastic appetizers, it was with nervous trepidation that we awaited our mains. As luck would have it, they arrived quickly. Carlos's grilled pork loin was (once again) monstrous, though delicious - two slabs of pork, marinated in herb-pepper and tarragon, grilled and covered in cheese. He was only able to eat one of them. My Argentinian steak was heavenly. Though I had doubts as to why the waitress hadn't asked if I wanted it rare, medium or well done, I'm sure the cook knew exactly what he was doing. The steak was marinated in a cabernet sauvignon and cayenne pepper mix, grilled and slapped onto a massive wooden plate. Outstanding. Truly one of the best cuts of meat I've had in Poland. And though my stomach warned of an impending case of indigestion, yes, I polished it off. Despite the wait, Mañana became an instant favorite of ours for its excellent food, prime location and value. It definitely has a leg up on its sister, Tam Tam. Dinner for two (though it would be more accurate to say four), including drinks, came to zł. 136 ($33).
From the menu: Caipirinha zł 20 Batida zł. 20 Panquecas with chicken in chives sauce zł. 15 Poultry liver zł. 17 Argentinian steak zł. 32 Grilled pork loin zł. 32 Large Heineken zł. 10
