Posted on 09/07/2004 10:44:18 AM PDT by lizol
How to Say 'Fast Food' in Polish
Though they've become less prosperous since the fall of the Iron Curtain, many in Poland would rather have a cheap healthy meal at a local milk bar than a Big Mac.
Today when Polish got out to eat they can be overwhelmed by a blitz of possibilities ranging from Michelin-starred restaurants to Chinese take-aways to Western fast food chains. But this culinary diversity is something that only emerged after the Iron Curtain fell in 1989.
Before that, when Poles didn't feel like slaving behind the stove, they didn't hop in the car and head for the nearest golden arches -- instead they hopped on over to their local government-subsidized milk bars (Bar Mleczny) for a quick repast and a night on the town.
McState subsidized
Subsidized by the government, the milk bars served as an important social outlet under Poland's communist government. The socialist idea behind the bars was to provide each worker and citizen with the possibility of an affordable warm meal. People from all walks of life frequented the milk bars -- and many still do.
And though the name may evoke images of bovine creations, the milk bars didn't just sell milk or ice cream. You could also get a balanced, square meal. But the meals did tend to rely heavily on dairy products for their inspiration.
During the peak of Communism, self-service restaurants like milk bars could be found throughout the Eastern Bloc. In the former East Germany, for example, they could be found in most cities. But today they have vanished from most countries except Poland.
Competition for the burger industry
With the onslaught of Western fast food and diminishing government subsidies, Poland's tradition of milk bars has struggled in recent years, with many going out of business. But in the country's metropolises, like Warsaw or Gdansk, milk bars are still trendy hangouts. And though they now have to compete with fast food and kebab stands, the Polish government wants to keep them in business and backs them to the tune of several million euros in subsidies each year.
With their low prices, the milk bars are attracting a growing number of students and pensioners. With meals costing as little as €1 to €4, the prices are attractive.
Still, the hunt for a bargain isn't the only thing that draws people to the milk bars. Patrick Szymanski, a 23-year-old student, eats in a milk bar every day and he loves Warsaw's milk bars, because he doesn't have to do any cooking or clean-up.
"In former times there were as many milk bars as there are coffee shops now. But now there are almost only kebab shops and Asian takeaways," recalled a guy named Janusz, a 66-year-old Warsaw native who was eating lunch with his friend Bogdan at Bar Studencki, a traditional milk bar at the University of Warsaw. Janusz said he'd rather dig into a milk bar's traditional fare of soup and potato-filled piroshkis than go to a fast food chain.
"It tastes almost as good as my wife's cooking," asserts the 59-year-old Bodgan.
"I like the Polish kitchen. Unlike fast food, it's actually healthy," said a friend of Bodgan's.
A cult following
For many Polish youngsters, who have long forgotten the days of long queing lines and food rations under Communism, milk bars have gained cult status. For some old enough to remember Communism, it's one of the friendlier reminders of Poland's socialist past.
But others, like Janusz and Bogdan have a simpler reason for hanging out at the milk bars.
"Where can you eat so well and be finished in 15 minutes?" they asked.
Maybe I'm sheltered, but the only other time I've heard of a "milk bar" was in "A Clockwork Orange". Alex and his droogs used to hang out at the Koroba Milk Bar, or some such fine establishment.
I liked the Moloko Plus myself...
That is the first thing that popped into my mind too. lol
The "milk bar" is just a name. In fact you can get all kind of lunch or breakfast there.
I wonder myself why the name is like that, even though I'm Polish, I live here and I've been to "milk bars" several times.
Yummy.
Mc Ping
>>How to Say 'Fast Food' in Polish
Perogies! MMmmmmMMmmmmmm!
Anthony Burgess' "Clockwork Orange" satirized a lot of Communist totalitarian ideas. The droogs spoke Nadsat--a satirical language melding Russian, English and slang. I think the milk bars were an appropriate setting.
"MMmmmmMMmmmmmm!" indeed!
So polish girls eat healthy? This must be why they're so beautiful.
We used to have milk bars in the US--they were called cafeterias. You could take your child there and feed him a low-cost and fairly nourishing meal without tons of fat and sugar. Where have all the Luby's gone?
I remember eating at the Prague Automat one night in the early 1990s, and it was packed. The hockey player Petr Klima was there entertaining anyone who would listen, and he bought us a round of beers.
Pierogies
2 cups flour
3 egs
knead into dough, adding flour or egg as necessary
roll into 6" circles
Filling:
add saurkraut and musrooms
-OR-
add mix of farmers cheese, onions, one boiled potato, a little salt
Cooking:
fold in half, seal edges with as little air inside as possible
boil for 10 minutes.
store in freezer wrapped in wax paper
To server fry with butter and salt to taste.
"Though they've become less prosperous since the fall of the Iron Curtain"
Well, there's the first lie right there. At least they didn't make us wade through much of the story before they got down to it. Crowd booed Clinton bump.
My wife and I eat lunch there every other week on payday. They have turned into an all-you-can-eat-in-one-trip kinda place, you no longer pay per item (except dessert and drink). Good stuff.
I remember once, when I was in the US I was taken to some place like you've described. A friend of mine told he'd show me some traditional old- fashioned American "fast-food" bar - in opposition to McDonald's, that look everywere the same.
We went there very early in the morning (about 5 a.m.) and the place looked just like I could see on American movies from 50's-60's - a long bar table with several bar chairs, and a few sleepy guys drinking their morning coffee.
Nice place. I thik that was "a cafeteria", that you've mentioned.
Bad management for one thing.
Luby's used to be considered one of the top 100 stocks to own.
Now they are down to something like $5.00-$6.00 per share.
I fear it won't be long before Luby's is a thing of the past.
Without the subsidies, the Kebab places would eat their lunch (no pun intended!).
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.