Oddly, I was never quite sure what to make of Krakow. Architecturally, it has a lot of beauty offer. Geographically, it is close to both the fascinating and the horrendous. It’s not huge and it’s certainly not small. And, not insignificantly, it has a tram system that operates with such precision, that I’m pretty sure Bern calibrates its atomic clock to it.

If Warsaw is the place where business is conducted, Kraków is where the tourists hang out. The old town, as authentic as it may be, is a gorgeous Venus fly-trap with all the drinks and international cuisine that the rushed traveller may desire. To, on at least a superficial level, understand how detached from Polish food culture this place was, I had to witness the awkward, slightly consternated look of the food hawker when I asked for pickles. Call me one-track, but when they shun this proud Polish staple, I see no reason to stick around. Consequently, it was at that point, I lost my desire to roam the old town for a lunch place, but rather turn around 180 degrees to head back to the district of Kazimierz, which as it so happens is also where our AirBnB is located. This area is colloquially known as the Jewish district, but its history is rather diverse if you go back far enough. What is true however, is that you are much more likely to find real authentic restaurants and prices more geared towards the locals.

Two places stand out: Through some serendipitous coincidence, we managed to drop in to the justifiably highly rated Starka restaurant. Its French-bistro style table setting with waiters and waitresses run off their feet on a Friday, no less, was just the kind of gastronomic experience we needed. It was a perfect confluence of modest, yet fine polish dining, a casual, yet intimate setting and, drum-roll please, house made vodka. Why not? Actually, on the topic of the vodka, we didn’t order any, even though of course we could have. Instead, they brought out the smallest of thimbles of their own grapefruit concoction as palate-cleansers. While not a huge vodka drinker myself, I must admit, that was a perfect ending to a really good meal.

Much lower key, but in its own right just as good as lunch places are concerned, we stumbled upon At Doratas while the ‘hanger’ demons were snapping at our heels. Despite all the time spent on the road, every now and then we forget the importance of keeping the blood sugar levels even. I was already at two strikes and the cost of failure would have been to trundle back to the old town and choke down a burger and a beer ordered off a vibrant, laminated menu written entirely in English. The hardship… However, victory was snatched from the jaws of defeat at this, my last, opportunity. If we were to judge a restaurant by how much its table cloths remind us of a long-lost (great?) grandmother, then this place is surely the place to be. Again: Kazimierz, again: authentic and oh-so filling and wholesome. Yes it’s no frills, but as I’m starting to realize, this is one aspect of Poland that I really quite like. From the brief stint so far, just under two weeks I now believe that if you appreciate salt-of-the-earth, both feet on the ground, good eating, then Poland is a must-visit.