So there was this Polish take out place, and it finally opened. No joke here, really. They had Polish food. Stuffed cabbage, pierogis, haluski, etc. You just don't see that anywhere.
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I once learned that if you are trying a Chinese restaurant for the first time, order Moo Goo Gai Pan. If they screw that up, don't go back because it is probably the easiest thing to make.
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Along those lines, my corollary to that is, in a Polish take out place, start with the stuffed cabbage. I'm sorry to report it was awful. So bad, that if I myself made stuffed cabbage, which I don't, like on the first try, I'm sure mine would be better because I have eaten so many good stuffed cabbage rolls that I would at least have a target to shoot for. I know this is petty, especially since the people really are from Poland, but the cabbage shouldn't be green and tough. I mean like escarole-green. The cabbage needs to be cooked so much with grease that it falls apart with a fork and turns into a washed out non-color.
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Next... tomato soup is the sauce of choice. Not an ala-vodka orangish type heavy sauce. And I do like a lot of rice. Rice is not only a good filler, but it gives a meaning to the dish. Not just stuffed with meat with a little bit of rice. The rice helps it to fall apart nicely and make a big mess on your plate. That is part of the experience of eating a stuffed cabbage. It shouldn't be perfectly uniform and firm and packed to the point you have to get up from the table and get a knife to cut it and then really spend time chewing it. You eat much less that way.
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That's just a start.
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I feel bad. These people need someone to let them know that we all have had grandmothers and aunts who made/still make this stuff. And we like it our way.
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