Warm and casual, and even flawless

Sunday, Dad & I had been in all day since I was on a de-clutter kick. When I asked if he was ready for dinner, he said, "I'll put my shoes and cap on". So I took the hint that he wanted to get out of the house and have another dining adventure. Scanning my ever shorter list of restaurants in Marin I haven't tried, I felt a little deflated since my longest lists of that type are either for Chinese or Mexican cuisine, and I just wasn't in the mood. I also didn't want to dress up, so the handful of fine dining places were also out. So we took a little trip into San Francisco to visit Old Krakow.

I had a hard time deciding between a soup on the menu, garlic, and the special soup - Pickle Soup. After the charming waiter described the pickle soup as a creamy soup with potatoes, bits of vegetables and slightly sour from the pickles, I was sold. It was unique and quite good.

There weren't so may vegetarian options, and one fish dish on the menu, halibut. I chose a 'small' plate, Dumplings with Mushroom sauce. Wow. I could have licked the plate of that mushroom sauce. The dumplings were slightly gooey, and very filling, so I could only eat a couple. And spoons full of the mushroom sauce. I took the others home to reheat, and they stood up to microwaving.

Dad ordered the Polish Goulash, consisting of mildly spicy chunks of beef with onions and bell peppers in a rich gravy with potato dumplings. The meat was fork-tender and Dad loved it. So much that he carefully mopped all the sauce up with pieces of the potato dumplings.

His dish also came with a Beet Salad. I tried a piece, and it was good. Nicely sour with a good texture.

Dad even had room for dessert and was tempted by the Apple Cake. It looked great with all that spiced moist apple inside the thin layers of cake.

I had to try the Polish Cheesecake. It was made with a mixture of ricotta and white cheeses. It sounded mildly sweet, and that's exactly what it was. It had a firm texture and had a deep cheese flavor without being overly sweetened. We had a very good time with attentive staff who knew the menu well. The interior had pink walls with various kinds of wooden furniture. I could imagine myself in a Polish parlour. This is a great place for a change of pace in West Portal.