Pa'poo for you, too
When I found out I'd be reviewing a new restaurant called Pa'poo, I was excited. I thought it could only be some South Pacific cuisine. A sort of Homer Simpson-type daydream emerged, involving a slow-roasted pig on a spit and beautiful natives hand-feeding fruits and fanning the clientele with large tropical leaves. This was not the case. Actually, "pa'poo" is a variation of "papu" - one of the first words to pop out of Polish children's mouths, meaning food. Assuming this was not a Gerber factory outlet promoting 101 ways to mash peas, I was still excited. After all, experimenting with words might just mean some interesting cuisine as well. So it was with wide smiles and empty sto-machs that Carlos and I ventured to find this new addition on what is now known as "eat street." It might be prudent to point out that Pa'poo has zero signage. Search as you may, you'd have better luck finding a well-dressed Samoobrona rep than guessing that Pa'poo is actually down the alley to the right of Cafe 6/12. Note the big green glass building in front of you when skulking down the alley, and you'll see an entrance to a reddish sort of bar area. You've arrived at Pa'poo.
The menu is definitely geared to the rushed lunch set, as it's rather compact. Though the owners apparently experimented for a while with cyclic dishes, what you see now is what seems to have been the most popular choices. A quick look at the menu was enough for Carlos and I to make our picks for the evening, gi-ving us a chance to take in the surroundings over a couple of beers. Our appetizers arrived quickly. Carlos had a light, refreshing version of Poland's famous chłodnik soup, where the cook used light cream, less garlic and sprinkled it with sunflower seeds. Seeing Carlos smile, I dug into my spinach salad with bacon (sałatka szpinakowa), which was equally delectable. Fresh spinach and tomato slices were accompanied by loads of croutons, a light garlic-cream sauce and a rash of crispy bacon. Whereas I had my doubts as to the hea-viness of the salad - something to avoid when trying to enjoy the tartness of spinach - it worked well. We were both impressed with the inventiveness of the cook, who kept both dishes light and refreshing. Perfect for a quick lunch. Then, unfortunately, the mains came.
Remember that old 1960s Betty Crocker handbook that your mom had buried away for more "inspired" meals? These must have come straight from that book. I had a dish of pork cutlets in wild-mushroom sauce (polźdwiczki w sosie kurkowym) surrounded by steamed veggies and paprika-sprinkled potato scallions, which might have sufficed as a nice solid meal had either the sauce been tasty or the meat been well cooked. Neither was the case. The pork was overcooked and tasted of ash, and the sauce was reminiscent of an underwhelming bigos. Whereas I thought this was a fluke, Carlos started spitting out incomprehensible insults in Spanish about his duck breast in rosemary sauce (pierś kaczki w sosie rozmarynowym), also accompanied by the same taters and veggies. His duck was impenetrably tough on the outside and chewy (think bubble gum) on the inside. In other words, the mains were a mistake.
Though hungry, Carlos managed to plow through his duck with the determination of the Spanish Armada. Apparently it got "a bit better" toward the middle. I set aside my main, hoping for a better dessert. Since the menu is not extensive, it didn't take long to decide on some apple cake (szarlotka) with raspberry sauce. The cake was moist with a nice, sweet crumb crust, and the raspberry sauce added its own delicate touch. Strangely enough, we came away from the experience with a generally positive impression of the restaurant, despite the mains disaster. It depends on your expectations. For a nice, long meal, try some of the other places along ulica Żurawia. For a quick afternoon/early evening bite, Pa'poo is more than acceptable. Plus, the prices of its delicious appetizers are reasonable, given the portion sizes. Our meal, with beer, came to zł. 108 ($26).
From the menu: Pork cutlets in wild-mushroom sauce zł. 28 Duck breast in rosemary sauce zł. 32 Spinach salad zł. 16 Chłodnik (small) zł. 5 Homemade cakes zł. 5 Ice cream zł. 10 Large beer zł. 8 House wine zł. 5 (glass), zł. 16 (carafe)
