Polish and international tasty kitchen astounds and amazes
By : Will Sartori
Heidi rolled in on a Sunday night train from Berlin, hungry. After stashing her luggage in a safe place, it was already late enough that our first choices had closed. On a long shot we ventured over to a quiet, almost desolate stretch of ulica Mazowiecka to see if this new place was open. The lights were on. All the tables were empty.
Kuznia Smaku is beautifully appointed with touches from the gay 1920s. A fresco at one end made the already large room feel more airy. The walls were painted in a wash that made the exact color difficult to pin down as it varied from salmon to terra cotta to pumpkin to crimson to ... . A sunset sky was painted overhead, and a saxophone and gramophone sat on the cherry-stained wood bar at the far end of the room. The tables were set with linen tablecloths, fresh roses and full service, complete with wine glasses and gold-leaf trimmed bread plates. Potted trees sat on marble windowsills and the large windows looked out over the street.
It was all too beautiful and we felt sure we would be told that the restaurant was no longer serving at 9 p.m. on a Sunday. But we staggered in anyway, and to our surprise, the staff greeted us with smiles. Soon three other tables came in to bring up the mood.
The polite and slightly shy waiter apologized for his English, which we thought was fine. We ordered a bottle of white Mouton Cadet '98 (zl. 90) while we contemplated the menu. He came back with a half bottle (zl. 37.50) and we thought, O.K., we will drink in moderation tonight. I was admiring how he displayed it properly, opened it properly, and properly poured a taste of ... red. Oh no! Maybe we overestimated his English skills. We had to inform him we wanted white. He quickly whisked away the offending bottle and returned with a silver wine bucket on a floor stand. As we finally got around to approving the white wine, Heidi decided to go with veal for her main, so we also asked to have the red back. Our waiter was very happy at this choice, and so was I when Heidi said, "Red wine is better than green M&Ms any day of the week."
In fact our waiter was so grateful at not having to waste the wine that he brought us some free appetizers of carrot salad, p^ate and tzatziki. The carrot salad was bathed in garlic and hot oil. Neither Heidi nor I are p^ate fans, but this liver and mushroom version was light, delicate, and so good we finished it gratefully. The basket of delicious bread disappeared while mopping up the savory tzatziki.
We got so wrapped up in these goodies that we forgot to order, so we had to call our friend back. The menu is a delightful mix of Polish traditional and delicious international cuisine. The translations are intentionally amusing and somewhat confusing. Pierogi, for instance, are translated as "Granny's meat-stuffed raviolis." Under the category "Something tiny for the beginning" there are appetizers ranging from zl. 19-zl. 59. The salads, listed under "Lettuce ... why not?" varied from zl. 12-zl. 35. Another section of first courses was titled "Perhaps something warm for the beginning," and cost zl. 21-zl. 31. Soups are zl. 22-zl. 25. "Delicacies on big plates" vary from zl. 37-zl. 52 and desserts cost zl. 23-zl. 30. Red wines started at zl. 79 for Beaujolais Villages '98 and Conde de Valdemar '96 and topped out at zl. 390 for the Chateau D'Armailhac '95. The whites had four varieties at zl. 79 and reached up to zl. 290 for Chateau Latour-Martillac '96. Sparkling wines began at zl. 90 for Le Cardinal Blanc de Blancs and peaked at Cuvee Dom Perignon '90 Champagne Brut for zl. 900.
Our friendly waiter helped us through his favorite choices, which coincided with some of the dishes we had been considering. Heidi went straight for the aubergine rigoletto (zl. 25). Her plate came with three thinly sliced circles of eggplant, fried and wrapped around carrot salad, which was less spicy than the previous. These were topped with a green sauce and little red berries, borowki.
"I would say this joint rocks but that is a little declasse for this place," Heidi said. Then she changed her accent and tone, "Their skillful combination of flavors makes me appreciate ingredients heretofore not cared for."
My fruit salad with chicken (zl. 29) may sound dull by comparison but was also delicious. Chunks of skinless, boneless breast of chicken were tossed with mango, pear, tomato, grape, raisins, bell pepper and cucumber over a bed of leaf lettuce and exotic greens in vinaigrette. The delicate flavors of the fruits were mixed in such a way as to produce a different taste sensation with every bite. And then there was a green salad underneath. This healthy combination made up for every greasy battered kotlet with frytki I have eaten since January. I followed this with salmon with grapes (zl. 45). A skewer of thick salmon chunks straddled a dill sauce on a plate decorated with lemon wedges, kiwi slices, red berries, rice and a cluster of red grapes. It was delicious. The only thing lacking was the rice, which was a little dry and tasteless. Since both Heidi and I had generous amounts of sauce on our plates, adding flavor was not a problem.
Heidi chose the "Crack" layer veal (zl. 46). Hers was also on a skewer, with a slight wine taste. It was accompanied by a skewer of grilled apricots, tomato salsa, shredded onion and parsley mix, a fez-shaped scoop of rice, more berries and more of the carrot garlic salad. Once again there was a variety of tastes to play with, mix and savor. The whole meal was devastatingly delicious and left us much too full for dessert. Dinner for two with wine came to zl. 227 ($52).
Finding that they serve breakfast, I returned a couple days later to be disappointed. I hoped at last to find a good breakfast in Warsaw, something to rival the French toast at Szpilka. But they served only one plate, a mixture of cold cuts, cheese, tomato, cucumber and bread with coffee or tea (zl. 14). Kuznia Smaku the tasty kitchen definitely lives up to its name. The chef has created delightfully playful combinations that are unlike anywhere else in town. This new place not only delivers what it says, but exceeds expectations, creating truly delicious dishes instead of something plain or redundant.
