Midtown Lunch

It’s Wednesday, meaning time to explore lunches outside my guarded Center City purview. I started with New Wave Cafe, but there is another spot to get the real deal Polish food experience- Syreka.

Syrenka is one of the realest places I have lunched at; simple tables to eat at, a counter with hot food to pick from in the front, and a kitchen in the back to make all the rest.  The well-used phrases “honest, home cooking” can’t help but come to mind. If you had a Polish grandmother who loved you very much, she would make you the exact meal that I had.

It was hard to not order more than just one cup of bigos, a savory cabbage- kielbasa mixture, but there was more food coming.

The stuffed cabbage looked about as unattractive as all stuffed cabbage do, but it tastes absolutely amazing. Sometimes stuffed cabbage can be a little too sweet, this was not the case here. Though it was meat stuffed, I like to think this was the healthy component of my meal.

Best potato pancakes ever? This is really hard for me to say, because I do like to think I make a stupendous latke. I don’t even know what they do here, the latkes, first of all, are huge, and on top of that they are so flavorful, fluffy, and crispy that I was 90% in love and 10% jealous of their skillz. I enjoyed these more than the ones I had at New Wave Cafe.

Grab a table, pick out a few things to try and you can’t go wrong here. With its array of amazing, hearty food that will keep you stuffed until dinner time, Syrenka gives cafeteria food a good name.

THE + (What somebody who likes this place would say)

• Real Polish home cooking makes me feel warm inside
• The food here is cheap, hearty, and delicious- the trifecta

THE – (What somebody who doesn’t like this place would say)

• Cafeteria style settings intimidate me

Sryrekna, 3173 Richmond St, 215 634 3954