I was born and grew up in Gliwice, but haven't been back in over 18 years. Planning a trip there next year but have given up red meat & poultry. I would imagine there's not much that I can eat since the food I remember is very meat-orientated..
Can anyone recomend any pescaterian (no mammals or birds) food in Poland? Any restaurants that anyone can recomend in Warszawa, Gliwice, Wroclaw or Zakopane?
What do you have in mind? My wife and I live in Gliwice and she is a vegetarian. What do you eat in South Africa? I can help you if you give me an idea as I have lived here for over 5 years and, as you know, it's not that big of a city.
Basically any Polish specialities that do not involve meat (seafood is OK). I seem to remember growing up in Gliwice that almost everything (including soups like Zurek or even Barscz sometimes has pork products). Really want to try as much Polish cuizine as possible but was worried that wife and I will be confined to Pizza Hut. :)
Bad news for you as Pizza Hut went under here a couple of years back. There are plenty of other pizza places though.
You are right about the soups but still, zupa ogórkowa (gherkin/pickle soup) or kapuśniak (cabbage soup) are without meat. You should be ok with barszcz but it's worth asking just to be sure.
Pierogi can be with mushrooms and cabbage or the ruskie type which is a special kind of cheese with potato. Kłuski (dumplings) are just flour-based products and contain no meat.
Seafood can be bought from the supermarkets but there aren't really restaurants that specialise in it in Gliwice.
What can you remember from your childhood here?
You should try Bar Teatralny which is right beside where I live. Also, Sierakowidzski is another one, near the ZUS building and Peter/Paul cathedral. Great pierogi in both.
Thanks both, I do remember pierogi well and they're on my list to try again, especially the cheese & potato ones which I remember to be delicious. :)
@Raijin - Am checking out your link now, looks good!
@Seanus - I think I remember quite a bit, the main street, my old school. I grew up on a street called Mieleckiego, near-ish to the city centre and my school was close by. I also remember going mushroom picking in a nearby forest (would LOVE to try that again!), and a small "lake" type district about half an hour's drive from Gliwice (where one could swim, tan etc - I wonder if it's still there?). I remember a few cinemas as well, and a park nearby the town square that was always covered in bird ****, haha!
The lake area could be Pławniowice. Does that ring a bell? Zywiec is a little further away than 30 mins but not that far.
The forests are out in Twórog Mały, Sierakowice and Rachowice. The park is likely Mickiewicz park on Wieczorka/Korfantego streets.
The cinemas are different now. They have Cinema City in Forum, quite a modern option. Bajka closed but I think it's open again. Amok and X may still be open.
Oh, can you eat scrambled eggs? The Poles love their jajecznica. They have plenty of pickles and gherkins. It's popular with bacon but you'd probably opt for a butter base.
Actually both Pławniowice & Zywiec ring a bell. Zywiec is more like a few small lakes, right? I definitely might ask you for some advice/directions when I am there in August. And yeah, I do eat eggs.
I remember the Polytechnika as well, just on the other side of town. My father used to lecture there and I remember taking walks in a very small forest / park near by.
I'm REALLY interested how things have changed since 1990, I'm sure that I'm going to be rather surprised! :)
Is the train station still at the top of the main street in the centre? There used to be a rather smelly river running through the centre as well.
I'm pretty sure there's some Seafood in A-dong, it's in the centre near Plac Piastów main bus station.. adong.com.pl
Michal bad news waiting for you in Gliwice, they have banished trams from the city centre..
My father used to lecture there and I remember taking walks in a very small forest / park near by.
That park is still there, really beautiful in the Autumn, and they have just recently mowed down trees that were growing around and inside the stadium nearby..
Zywiec is a classic wee town with some cracking lakes, yes. Hairball is the local PF resident there. I was there 3 years ago and loved it. There is a pensjonat called MEGA which overlooks the lake with mountains as a backdrop. You can eat good fish there and wash it down with Zywiec beer.
The Kłodnica river is still there, as is the train station.
Trams, funny you mention that as they were taken out of commission earlier this year. Rumour has it that the mayor's son didn't like the constant dirling vibrations and they did away with them. They had a 'vote' and decided to abolish them. My guess is that they had already decided and they rigged the votes. Standard politics really! I liked the trams, they were convenient.
A-Dong might have seafood, just like the place Kim Lan on the rynek. However, they are quite expensive.
Yup.. it's all buses and taxis now, the expensiveness probably depends on the thickness of your wallet though lots of people use the public transport..
Kłodnica river hmm more like a sewer, all the white foam on the surface, all Silesian rivers are more of a gutter than anything else. I live in Zabrze and we've got a similar polluted river ;) You'll probably like the old market squre, neatly renovated one of the brightest city spots..
In Warsaw your best bet for fish is Boston Port (or perhaps the name is Port Boston). Don't bother with Osteria. There are also superb vegetable curries to be had at Namaste.
