Little Polish Diner

Scarcely bigger than a walk-in closet, with seats for 22, six of those counter stools, the first adjective in this diner’s name is no lie. Neither is the second. For an east-of-the-Danube lunch in the coziest possible surroundings, the Little Polish Diner can’t be beat. We were fortunate to stop by on a Wednesday when the special was a Warsaw combination plate: a pork chop, stuffed cabbage, bigos (hunter’s stew) and mashed potatoes. The chop was dense with a fragile crust; the cabbage sweet and beefy, the hunter’s stew a rousing chord of pork, cabbage, and who-knows-what else. The soup of the day was chicken noodle, well-populated with shreds of dark meat. Pierogi are lovely little rounds served five to an order, glistening with butter and nestled among sweet chopped onions.

Service is fairly slow, owing no doubt to limited kitchen facilities as well as to the fact that so many items on the menu are cooked to order. On Friday lake perch stars on the menu; and Saturday the special is chicken paprikash with spaetzel and cucumber salad.