Over the past few years, I’ve grown a bit bored with Poland during Food & Wine. Don’t get me wrong – I’ve liked the offerings such as the Golabki and Kielbasa and Potato Pierogies with Caramelized Onions and Sour Cream; they are dishes that I grew up with, and simply prefer the recipes my mom made at home.
I was excited when the menus were released and saw the new offering at the Poland kiosk this year: Zapiekanki. When I ordered the dish, the cast member informed me it was like a Polish pizza. I had already done a bit of research prior to the festival and was definitely looking forward to sampling the dish.
The portion , especially for the price, was fantastic. I’m curious to see if these get smaller as the festival goes on.
The House-Made Ketchup had a nice acidity to it. There were a lot of mushrooms tucked underneath the deliciously salty cheese, and the bread had a buttery crispness to it that I really enjoyed. Matt tried a mushroom-less bite and thought it was pretty good as well. This definitely isn’t something for someone who dislikes mushrooms should order, unless they’re willing to take the time to pick them all out from under the cheese.
I’m happy to have found another new item at Food & Wine that has been impressive. I’ll likely be ordering this one again, not only to enjoy, but also to see if the portion size shrinks over the course of the festival. If you’ve tried the Zapiekanki, let us know what you think!
Want to see what else we’ve been eating at Food & Wine? Check out these posts and stay tuned for more!
China: Mongolian Beef in a Steamed Bun, Mango Tapioca Pudding
Greece: Griddled Greek Cheese with Pistachios and Honey
The way you’ve described the Poland booth is exactly why the Italy booth never impresses me. That cuisine is part of my culture and heritage, and I can be snobby about it. I will try the sausage and peppers this year, though.
I don’t know if the zapiekanki is for me. It looks delicious and I feel like I should try anything once. I’m not a fan of mushrooms (unlike Matt, I will tolerate them) nor ketchup (although I assume I would like freshly made ketchup more than Heinz and the like). I think I should bite the bullet and give it a taste anyway. I can always pawn it off on Danny if I don’t like it.
I did try the Sausage & Peppers the other day, and the serving size was good for the price – a full link (3 inches or so) and several chunks of peppers and half a slice of bread. I’ll post on it this week. Didn’t taste too far off from something anyone can make at home though, but a good value.
I wasn’t sure I wanted to try the zapiekanki from the initial description but as someone who does like cheese, mushrooms and bread I might try it. Not sure about ketchup though. Was it more tomatoey (is that a word?) or sweet like regular ketchup?
Cherry – As someone who doesn’t care for ketchup (like the stuff from the supermarket), this type had a bit more acidity to it. It wasn’t the overly sweet variety; there was some sweetness, but the other elements helped balance it out. It’s something they add when the dish is ordered, so you can probably ask the CM to whom you give your receipt to see if they can put the ketchup to the side of the dish, or at least go a bit lighter with it.
Sarah, I agree with you on the ketchup. If the fries or hamburger is terrible, then I’ll add ketchup (or just not eat it lol) but usually it’s just too sweet for me. I’ll definitely keep in mind to ask them to put a little on the side instead so I can see what it tastes like with everything on it.
Oddly enough, I will put ketchup (yes, the sweet stuff!) on battered and fried fish. Sometimes I would cut it with a touch of mustard though. I know, I’m weird!
Interesting dish!
I saw Tyskie in the menu and not knowing what it was, I google’d it and saw it is beer… Is that a good beer? Anyone try?
I haven’t tried it yet, nor do I believe I’ve had it elsewhere. I’ll probably give it a try this festival – any readers tried it either at F&W or elsewhere? Let us know what you thought!
I tried the zapiekanki and did not care for it. There was too much cheese for my taste, and it was more of a greasy mess. Maybe I got a bad serving.
Suzanne – I’m so sorry to hear that the Zapiekanki wasn’t to your liking! I can’t get enough cheese, and I know there was a fair amount on the dish. I can understand too much cheese being an issue here for guests. While I did get oil from the cheese soaking into the bread, I didn’t find it greasy.
Perhaps it was a bad batch you received, but also everyone has their own tastes, along with the fact F&W dishes vary so much even from hour to hour.
I’m glad you tried it and shared you experience with the site and our readers! If there were any parts of the dish you liked, I’d love to hear more. Did you like the amount of mushrooms on the dish or the house-made ketchup? Did the other factors you didn’t enjoy overpower any positives?