Jim and Nancy do not disclose the fact that they will review a restaurant before they attend, ensuring their reviews are unbiased and uninfluenced by their position with the Sun Day.
It is our goal to provide our loyal readers with every type of culinary experience. It is for this reason that we left our shag carpeted rumpus room, jumped in the “Fatmobile,” and headed out to one of the last remaining Polish Smorgasbords. This old style European cooking can be found at Sawa’s Old Warsaw in Broadview.
Sawa’s Old Warsaw Smorgasbord Restaurant
9200 W. Cermak Road
Broadview 60153
(708)343-9040
www.sawasoldwarsaw.com
Directions: Take 90 East to 53 South to 290 East to 17th Avenue South.
Approximate Travel Time: 54 minutes
You know you have arrived when you spot the huge vintage neon sign on the corner of their building. Let’s be honest, how many “smorgasbords” are still around? There’s nothing fancy or pretentious about this restaurant, just good comfort food in a family atmosphere. They have a banquet hall available for large parties, and they offer catering.
You start the buffet line with 2 kinds of soups, one always being chicken noodle. I chose that one and Jim felt adventuresome and tried the sauerkraut soup, which was amazingly good. Then you proceed on to the salads. This section is a well-stocked salad bar with fruits and side salads along with bread and butter.
Now let the feast“ski” begin with some Polish specialties:
– Pierogi (A crescent shaped ravioli smothered in butter and filled with anything you can think of.)
– Golabki (Like a lettuce wrap but made with cabbage and stuffed with rice and meat in a lighttomato sauce.)
Included in their Polish specialties are such items as: Kielbasa (fresh and smoked), potato pancakes, buttered noodles with ham, sauerkraut, potato dumplings, and apple blintzes. They have a carving station with bone-in ham and roast beef. Next to that is broasted chicken, smoked barbeque ribs, mashed potatoes and gravy.
Their dessert table consists of: soft serve ice cream with all the fixings, Kolaczkis (soft cookie dough with fruit filling), delicious homemade butter cookies, and assorted cakes. Good news! Sunday is Paczki (poonchkee) day! These are jelly-filled doughnuts, which are consumed in large quantities before Lent begins.
Granted, this restaurant is a little further than we like to travel, but it is the closest authentic Polish restaurant we could find. The food is always hot and fresh, and it never disappoints us.
FYI: This is a handicap accessible restaurant.
The total “koszt” for this Polski Feast“ski” was $30.52. Pricing is as follows: $13 for adults, $12 for Seniors, $10 for 3 to 10 years old and $1 for children under 3 years of age.
Dining Duo Suggestion: Take the grandchildren to Brookfield Zoo for the day and, on the way home, stop here for dinner and let them eat to their heart’s content.
Jim’s take: I grew up in Chicago in a half-Polish and half-Italian neighborhood and enjoyed the traditional Polish foods. It brought back a lot of memories, and I got a senior discount to boot! (Much to her chagrin, Nancy got a senior discount also.)
Nancy’s take: I’m Ukranian and Russian and grew up enjoying the same foods but with slightly different names. Our Christmas tradition is to make Pierogi’s with my son’s family for our evening dinner. I was glad to save a buck, but I have a few years to go before I am a senior, thank you very much!
Have comments or restaurant suggestions for the Dining Duo? Send them an email at thediningduo@gmail.com.
