smacznego! (or bon appetit!)

cath and i dropped in to warsaw a few weeks ago and have been getting the royal treatment from her family, especially when it comes to eating.

dropped in, get it?

a traditional polish meal is a unique experience and a treat for all the senses - smell, taste, hearing, sight and touch.  cath's babcia (grandma) is a bundle of energy and the orchestrator.  from the moment we arrive, we're welcomed and ushered to our places around the table complete with white tablecloth and silverware.  smells waft in from the kitchen, dish after dish of hearty, home-cooked food arrives, food is passed around and quickly consumed while a cacophony of simultaneous conversations take place (i counted 4 at once). cath and i had visited in 2009 so i knew, in theory, what to expect but frankly there's little one can do to prepare save fasting for 2-3 days.

ciocia (aunt) ella, cath and bacia

dishes are brought to the table by babcia, ciocias, cousins. babcia flies back from table to kitchen, rarely sitting down, never eating (i ate already!, she says) but always exhorting you, the guest, to eat more.  cath and i stopped by one day just to say hi.  babcia started preparing food.  cath protested saying we weren't hungry.  babcia looked confused. "then why did you come?" she asks.

the food itself is hearty, delicious and prepared with love.  zupa (soup) is usually served first.  sometimes a barszcz (beat soup); then pierogies followed by the main dish(es) - chicken or turkey cutlets or gołąbki (stuffed cabbage). sauerkraut and potatoes are prominently featured.  surówki, or raw salads of beets, carrots. dessert-style foods follow including naleśniki (crepes) and sweet pierogies filled with berries. then dessert. seriously.
 

the poles know hospitality.  as a guest, many eyes are on us, ensuring we have enough food on our plate, drinks in our glass, smiles on our faces.  if you stop eating, you wil be asked if there is something wrong or if you don't like the food.  "taking a break" is not an acceptable answer. someone will happily pile more food on your plate.

my mom and dad flew from pennsylvania to meet cath's family and tour poland with us. they had no idea what to expect. during their first meal, they kept giving me amused, incredulous looks as if they couldn't believe more food was coming out of the kitchen.  but there is. there's always more.

at dinner, i conducted an experiment. after clearing my plate for the 4th or 5th time, i started my stop watch and sat back, to see how long before someone noticed.  i set over/under was 30 seconds.  a mere 22 seconds elapsed before cath's grandfather, or dziadek (pronounced "ja-dek") asked via cath: "mateusz, are you hungry?" i nodded.  "then," dziadek said with a smile, "please eat."  jasne. of course.

babcia will sometimes resort to competition or trash-talking to entice me to eat more.  after we concluded one especially hearty and massive meal (this, at 3pm), cath's cousin, piotrek, arrived from work.  he asked for one chicken cutlet, no vegetables, please.  babcia returned from the kitchen with a plate containing two cutlets, a large helping of mushrooms, 5 potatoes, carrots and peas. she turned to me and said "that's how a real man eats!"   my mom quickly learned a survival tip - always keep a little bit of food on your plate.  i figured this out a bit later, after i'd eaten myself into a few food comas.

as previously noted, dziadek keeps an eye one things but pays special attention to the glasses of the men-folk.  sometimes he'll have a a martini prepared for you, other times a beer.  a cognac or three is poured at the end of the meal (my dad and dziadek seemed to encourage each other's cognac drinking). dziadek has one glass every day and says its key to good health and digestion.  he's 90, so who am i to argue?  proscze, dziadek, make mine a double!

mom, dad, dziadek and cath

i had the opportunity to chat with my brother will, a Marine stationed in afghanistan, they just had wireless internet configured in their "cans", or rooms.  it was great to catch up.  his parting words, in true big brother compassion were "don't get fat."  in that respect, i suppose the timing is good that we leave for berlin on sunday.  we will miss our polish family.