Bar Mleczny Maslanka
Address: 43 Jana Pawla II, commercial space 34 Phone: 011-48-516-735-909
The look: Although the blocky exterior speaks of the communist era, this tiny cafe’s cheery, skylighted, powder blue-accented interior reminded me more of a frozen yogurt shop in Santa Monica, and the Coca-Cola umbrellas for the outdoor seating were definitely not communist.
This was the smallest of the milk bars I visited and the only one where the kitchen wasn’t visible, though a display case held a colorful assortment of prepared salads. The meal: There was no English menu, but I made it work with the help of the hostess. From many varieties of pirogi filled with meat, veggies or cheese, I ordered mine Russian-style, filled with a potato and farmer cheese mixture, and dressed with melted butter and bits of smothered onion.
First course was chlodnik (pronounced kwod-nik), a gentle, cream-based cold soup of cucumber and root vegetables. When I asked about the ingredients, I was told “everything that is white.” Fun thing to do nearby: “Fun” is the wrong word, but the Polin Museum, named European Museum of the Year for 2016, is definitely worth visiting. It’s on the site of Warsaw’s World War II Jewish Ghetto and recounts the history of the Jews of Poland from the medieval days, when it was a golden land of promise and Jews thrived under Polish rule, to the horror of the Holocaust, ending with a rebirth of Jewish culture here.
I spent three hours perusing its interactive displays, although there’s a one-hour guide pamphlet if you don’t have that kind of time.