Hamtramck, MI - Polish Village Cafe; When in Hamtramck, isn't it a sin not to try a polish place, especially one that was featured on Diners Drive-ins and Dives. This was an evening of food and left with probably 3000 more calories than when I came into the place.

The first to come out was the the PLACEK PO WEGIERSKU, or Hungarian Pancake. It is one large potato pancake covered in a pork and vegetable Goulash, with a kick of spice. It is a meal to its own, except when you are with my group, it is just the appetizer and split among all of us. The pancake is good and crispy like a potato pancake should be, while still soft in the middle. It does have a stronger potato flavor, which I'm use to some being a little more mild, so be prepared. The Goulash is hearty and thick with a wonderful pork flavor broth. The vegetables are stewed together with the meat so they're wonderfully soft, but still flavorful.

Excellent, we're off to a great start.

Now for the NALESNIKI Z GRZYBAMI, or Mushroom Crepe.  I didn't particularly think this was a home-run or even a triple.  It's good, crepe cooked well, but not sweetened enough. The mushrooms inside are not plentiful, but I can't help think they are canned mushrooms, I could be wrong, but they had that soaked canned texture that really is so common among canned goods. Ah, time to move onto the next dish that comes in front of me.

The Dill Pickle Soup arrives and surprises everyone, including myself.  I was expecting a slight dill flavor, but received a soup that you could have literally said, I think I'm eating a strong dill pickle. The dill immediately hit you and then the flavor finished with that vinegar pickle flavor. It also had a nice creamy consistency.

No one else wanted to try the CZARNINA, or Duck Blood Soup. I eventually did get one person to try it, after explaining the flavor, and we both really enjoyed it. I could easily order it again. I anticipated in tasting the iron and mineral flavor from the blood, but quite the contrary. There is a balance of sweet and sour, with both sugar and vinegar used with the blood to help mask the flavor. It also had chunks of plums in it to sweeten it up. It is traditionally, no exception in this case, prepared with small noodles similar to chicken noodle soup. I think this should be a definite inclusion in your order, worth trying.

If I wasn't full by now, I would continue eating, which I did. I warned you, it was an eating fest. The last of the appetizers arrived being the mixed pierogi plate. All are prepared right there in Hamtramck. It has a variety of fillings, I recommend all of them. Not a single one had an unfamiliar flavor, all prepared well with the crispy outside and delicious soft inside. Some are potato and cheese, others just cheese, and lastly some are sauerkraut. After all of us trying to figure out what kind of cheese it is, we finally asked turned out to be cottage cheese. Hmm, interesting.

Finally for dinner, which I can barely eat anything else, comes the SUROWA KIELBASA W SOUSIE PIWNYM or sausage in a beer sauce. The sausage has the wonderful natural casing allowing it to "snap" when you cut into it. The sauce was heavy, strong and rich, but not a strong and even a subtle beer flavor. That was unfortunate. What lacked in the sauce the sausage made up in flavor. It had a nice blend of spices, and thought it had a better flavor than the smoked sausage that someone else ordered. The mashed potatoes, were just mashed potatoes, nothing special or to die for. The corn can go along with the potatoes, it also was just basic corn. I could have done without both of them. The sauerkraut was traditional and authentic. It was slowly cooked and had a wonderful vinegar flavor and wasn't over cooked to take on that soggy texture. It still had the crunch it needed.

3000 calories reached, thank you Polish Village