I grew up in the Southern burbs of Chicago. Growing up in the area, I have fond memories of my dad dragging me all over the place in search of Polish Smorgasbords. I’m not certain what drew him to these restaurants. However, it certainly left an impression on me.
Work brought me back to Chicago in 2006. At that time, I was introduced to Bobak’s located there on Archer, just east of the intersections of Archer and Cicero in Chicago, Illinois. My coworkers raved about the food, the reasonable price, and the attractive waitresses. The amount of time they spent talking about the waitresses almost made it feel like we were going to Hooters.
After one visit to Bobak’s, I was hooked. The quality and variety of food offered on the buffet was great. Shortly thereafter, I introduced the family to the restaurant. It soon became a goto restaurant as everyone in the family could find something that they enjoyed. I have three kids and it can be hard to find one place that everyone can always agree on. Bobak’s was one of the few.
Needless to say, I was quite saddened when the Bobak’s Buffet closed their doors. Last I saw, they had a warm food counter in the grocery store. However, it is just not the same.
Around the same time we tried Bobak’s, we gave Sawa’s Old Warsaw, on Cermak in Broadview, a try. We were underwhelmed compared to Bobak’s. The food didn’t seem nearly as fresh or as good.
After several years, we decided to try Sawa’s Old Warsaw for a second time last week. While the quality of the food seemed better than the last time we visited, we still weren’t impressed with the quality or the variety. The general consensus was that Bobak’s was still the gold standard. We still talk about Bobak's soups and the fried pork cutlet. In addition, I really liked the variety of sausages and the fingerling dumplings.
Having eliminated Sawa’s Old Warsaw as an option, I was hoping someone in LTH land might point us in the right direction for a good replacement to Bobak’s. We’re looking for something that is in the near West/Southwest burbs or potentially Southwest side of the city.
Thanks in advance for the help.