Home is where the heart is. The Polish Home Association is where the pierogi is.
Capitol Hill is abundant with many a strange and eclectic restaurants, and Amanda and I were delighted to try out Dom Polski, aka the Polish Home Association restaurant, on Friday.
Tucked away off East Madison on 18th avenue, the cash-only restaurant is only open from 7 p.m. to midnight on Fridays and limited to members of the Polish Home Association. Of course, to skirt around that, Dom Polski helps customers buy a day's membership (or admission) for $1 per person.
Stepping into Dom Polski is literally like stepping into a Polish beer hall. The decor is tacky, but somehow authentic. A rustic, wooden bar serves up only imported Polish brews as well as a few infused vodkas. Everyone but the waitresses speaks Polish.
Amanda was craving pierogis, so we ordered all the flavors Dom Polski had to offer: Meat, potato and sauerkraut and mushroom. We also ordered some dense onion rings and the Special Polish Platter: cabbage roll stuffed with spiced beef, more pierogis, potatoes and kielbasa smothered in a mysterious orange sauce. Yum.
We drank strange, unpronounceable beer. We ate hearty, tasty food. We couldn't understand a lick of Polish conversation. We loved it.
