September 2006
Ethnic Eats
by Celia Cheng
Stuffed Cabbage
POLAM INTERNATIONAL MARKET
952 Manhattan Ave
(India & Java St)
Greenpoint, Brooklyn
718-383-2763
map/subway
Smoked Bacon Spread
DAMIS
931 Manhattan Ave
(India & Java St)
Greenpoint, Brooklyn
718-349-7501
map/subway
My Polish friend Kasia is very sweet but very opinionated. She has the brightest soul, and I adore her for her honesty. She tells it like it is. On a weekend when I decided to entertain some friends, she offered to take me to a Polish market in Greenpoint to buy some Polish goodies. We went to Polam International Market and pretty much stopped there because I had so much to carry home I couldn’t explore other markets along Manhattan Avenue.
Polam was an awesome discovery for me, as it’s a one-stop market that can fulfill most of your Polish needs. The Hungry Cabbie and I were talking about Polam, and he’s quite fond of the place — not only for its variety of sausages but also for its pickles — he learned about Polam’s pickles when he worked at Guss’. In addition to three buckets of pickles (younger to more aged), there’s also picked cabbage that you can choose from, too.
Upon entering Polam, to the left is the cash register and the right the prepared-foods section. Kasia insisted that I try a little bit of everything, so I bought boiled pierogies, fried fish patties, fried fish rolled with vegetables, pork chops and stuffed cabbage. The freshly made stuffed cabbage and pierogies are sold by weight, and, to my surprise, the cabbage averaged only 70¢ each. As Kasia says, one stuffed cabbage can be a meal for a girl and two for a boy. This is a really inexpensive way to feed guests, and it’s completely satisfying. The stuffed cabbage at Polam is delightful. The meat-and-rice stuffing rolled is rolled into the cabbage leaves, and is then simmered in tomato sauce and cooked just right.
The sausages hanging from the ceiling and all over were mesmerizing. From fresh to cured, big to small, they seemed to carry every sort of Polish sausage. I will definitely return to Polam to buy these goodies and throw a sausage fest.
As mentioned, in this one-stop market, you can find bread, canned goods, cheese, sauces, juices, spices, frozen goods — just about all that one could hope for. I would pick up some Polish bread in anticipation of what I want to share with you next.
Across the street from Polam, is Damis, a Polish American restaurant with jungle-themed décor. I tried the Polish platter to get a little taste of everything, which included a piece of kielbasa, three pierogies, a large stuffed cabbage, two potato pancakes and bigos, a sauerkraut stew with meat. Honestly, I wasn’t impressed by much on my plate, and the stuffed cabbage was really disappointing compared to Polam’s. Kasia had already eaten, so she ordered the red borscht with meat croquette, which seemed to be a perfect light meal, and a steal at $2.95. But the highlight was the spread they brought out with the breadbasket before our meal — yes, the free bread and spread. The spread was a white butterlike ball mixed with smoked bacon bits, parsley, and onions. It’s kind of like a German potato salad sans the potato. I wasn’t exactly sure what the white spread was because it looked like pure lard, and Kasia was reluctant to answer my question because she feared I wouldn’t eat fat. Little did she know that I live for fat and have no qualms about eating lard straight, it’s just that I wanted to know what it really was. So yes, it was lard spread with bacon, onion and parsley. You can tell it’s lard because when you put it on bread, it almost starts to melt and turn clear. Well, it can’t be that bad for you, can it? If you eat butter with bread, then this is the same concept but much better because it has bacon in it. How can you resist bacon?!
