Polish "King's Feast"

Krowleskie Jadlo, meaning "King's Feast," is a Polish restaurant in Greenpoint, Brooklyn that transports you to Eastern Europe. With open doors flanked by twin suits of armor, long wooden tables in a cozy midevil-style tavern, and massive plates of food piled high with traditional Polish food, you feel as if you've stepped out of hipster-ville Brooklyn into a restaurant in Krakow. There's even a decorative shield with crossed swords on the bathroom wall - like a slightly more authentic (and menacing) Disneyworld attraction.

Polish food, is of course, based on meat and potatoes, with the expected staples such as borscht soup and stuffed pierogis (Polish dumplings); it's "homey" fare. Yet the "King's Feast" aims to serve more elegant, noble dishes in addition to the traditional peasant classics, to emulate midevil Polish kings' dining. These more refined dishes include roasted duck legs, venison meatballs with wild mushroom truffle sauce, grilled pheasant breast with balsamic fig sauce, and stuffed quails with morels. None of these dishes exceed $14 - an excellent price for meals with more obscure proteins, especially in New York. In addition to the starkly Polish blood sausage and Hunters Stew, they serve more modern gourmet pierogis such as those stuffed with spinach and goat cheese with a chanterelle mushroom sauce to appeal to vegetarian palates. It's a real dining experience.

The meal began with a cutting board of bread served with lard and pickles. The traditional Polish platter, with stuffed cabbage, potato pancakes, pierogis, and kielbasa:

Accompanied, of course, by sauerkrout, more cabbage, and beets.

Sampling a more elegant "King's Feast" dish, the wild boar stuffed with figs and spinach, served with horseradish potatoes and a cognac pepper sauce:

And a creamy hot chocolate for dessert. (Something tells me they didn't use skim milk.)

Despite all their attempts to provide upscale Polish cuisine, the rich dishes have all of the heaviness of boiled potatoes and gravy - it's "stick to your ribs" food that sits in your stomach like a brick. We enjoyed our cultural trip, but all agreed it's a one-time experience.