Polish food is something I honestly never really had until I started dating my boyfriend, who is Polish. He introduced me to pierogies and other classic dishes and it’s all been incredible. I love sour cream so pierogies are my favorite and I’m seriously wondering why it took me so long to try these. They are the perfect appetizer or meal if you eat enough of them!
He used to live in Greenpoint and had discovered Karczma and when we first started dating a year ago we kept meaning to go and never did until recently. Karczma is right off the the Greenpoint Ave G stop and was basically a breeze to get to from the East Village.
Greenpoint has a really great Polish population so I knew that the food at Karczma was going to be legit. And the second I walked in, my thoughts were confirmed. The restaurant is super cozy and a little dark and was perfect for the rainy Sunday we chose to go have lunch. I think we got there around 2pm and it was busy but not packed but after a few minutes it got to be pretty packed. We thought we would be ok coming at an “off” time, but that is certainly not the case. This place is always busy, which is obviously a good sign. And it’s totally worth the wait.
He had a Zywiec and I had a Bloody Mary (it was Sunday after all) but ordered a beer as well once we sat down (again, Sunday). His mom met us and we started off with pierogies and she suggested I try the breaded and fried pork. I had tried the chicken a previous time we went out for Polish food so I figured I should try something new. And I have to say, the pork is better than the chicken. It had a lot of flavor and I was even able to substitute french fries, which is pretty much my dream meal. It came with a carrot and cabbage salad that was like a slaw and everything was so good. For the amount of food you get, the prices are definitely worth traveling to Greenpoint. I don’t know of any Polish restaurants in Manhattan that could rival this off the top of my head but I would be eager to find out.
All in all, we had a lovely late lunch, early dinner at Karczma and I am already looking forward to many more trips back.
Karczma
136 Greenpoint Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11222