When I said to The Mary we were going to U Jarka she thought
it was a game and she said,
“No, U Jarka, me
no Jarka!”
Because she spends so much time with the children it takes
her a while to readjust and the conversation is a bit strange to start with on
a Monday evening and although I find it tedious it’s still quite entertaining,
for about five minutes.
We’re off to Finnieston tonight and going to the Polish Restaurant
U Jarka which has been recommended by my good friend Guy Cowan. I’m very excited as it’s a whole new
experience for me as I’m a Polska Dziewica and have never, as far as I know,
had a polish dish, although I’ve met a few in my time. My friend Jolanta, who cuts my hair, is quite the Polska Przepych Cipki.
This former port for dock workers on the Lower West Side is
now a haven for Glasgow foodies and tourists alike thanks to the SSE
Hydro. The post-industrial decline of
the 70s and the fact machinery replaced manual labour brought devastation to this
area previously known as the ‘Workshop of the Empire’.
Named in honour of General Sikorski who was the Prime
Minister whilst the Government was in exile and also the Commander-in-Chief of
the Polish Forces during the Second World War.
Married to Helena who was the adopted daughter of the Zubczewski family
he took up a job in the Department for water as an apprentice but by 1914 he
was head of the Military Department of the Supreme National Committee. He later was responsible for shaping Polish
politics and was a very significant character in the independence movement.
I was trying to explain his strained relationship with his
former ally Pilsudski when The Mary piped up with,
“The only
relationship I’m interested in is the one with Lamb Stew so could ye shut up
and look at the menu!”
One of the more popular dishes are Bigos which are basically Hunter’s stew and The Mary says it better be ‘bigos’ as she’s starving. Made with various types of meat, but mainly
pork, it is slow cooked with sauerkraut and other types of fruit and vegetable. We opted for the Lamb, potato pancakes with
soured cream and mistakenly ordered extra chips. There was no need. When the food arrived it was like a painting
by Wilhelm Sasnal, a contemporary Polish painter
who mixes romanticism with realism. Like
him, I will be brutally honest and say this is the best food I’ve had in a very
long time. My reality was, on Monday
evening, I fancied the sauerkraut off a plate of stew, for all of 13 minutes, and The Mary
said it was the quietest I had been for 20 years.
After eating the magical magnificent meat and vivacious vegetables I felt like
one of Sasnal’s worn-out models having had a good seeing too and asked The Mary if I
could have a cigarette. That’s how good
the food was. I basked in the afterglow without
the need to even have coffee. This was a
dream I didn’t want to wake up from as I took pleasure in the aftertaste of
fresh lamb and more than two veg.
The next time we go I’m going to wear more comfortable
clothing so my movement and appetite are not restricted when I try the
speciality of smoked sausage, gherkins and cucumber slathered in sour
cream. Pound for £1 this is the most
comforting and wholesome food two streets away from ‘Trendy Finneston’ but it’s
a world away in value and flavour.
This family run Polish ‘Farmhouse Kitchen’ is run by a
husband and wife team and I feel like learning Polish, giving up my job, going to work there and take payment in food.
Next time I’m trying the zupa w chlebe which is a ‘deep, rich, beef stew
encased in a homemade bread bowl’.
Oh my Lord…edible crockery!
Do zobaczenia następnym razem...
Me and The Mary!
Mx
Come with me on this journey!
Click the link, make the stew!
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