Cogito wrote:It's my experience that all pierogis are boiled, and then optionally, may be pan-fried. My GM from Krakow always pan-fried them in butter prior to serving. And I have always been able to order them fried in every Polish restaurant in Chicago that I've ever tried. Just say "smah-jo-nah" (fried). Sorry for the Sesame St. Polish spelling. I really prefer them lightly pan-fried, it puts a little crispness into the dough. Try it sometime.

Thanks, Cogito, for the information. I can vaguely remember having them lightly sauteed but never with crust quite like the one I had at Lola. In either case, they all sound delicious, especially on a nasty, snowy day like we're having in Chicago today.

=R=

One of my favorites: plum pierogis fried in butter, sprinkled with granulated sugar.

...and your cardiologist loves them, too.

I don't have a cardiologist.

That is the exact way my grandmother made them just until she hit 94 years old and could not handle rolling and crimping the dough anymore.

She could eat as many as anyone and her ticker is still going at 95.5 years old.

My grandfather ate just as many, lived to 93, was married to her for 65 years, and had a manhattan every afternoon before dinner.

Don't worry about your cardiologist, enjoy life.

As they say at Klas, it may be later than you think.

This thread is reminding me of my favorite George Burns quote. When a reporter asked him what his doctor had to say about his penchant for cigars and martinis, Mr. Burns replied: "My doctor is dead."

We had a good dinner last night at Smak Tak. Four of us went at about 6.30 and the place was empty. Between the four of us we ordered the Chicken Soup, Cabbage Soup, and the Mushroom Soup.

I didn't try the cabbage soup, and the Chicken soup was good, pretty standard fare that you'll find at most polish restaurants, but the Mushroom Soup was excellent. Very rich broth, heavy on the mushrooms, nicely seasoned.

We ended up with the Meat Pierogi, Cheese and Potato, both very good, our companions had the breaded chicken breast and the Hungarian Potato pancake, stuffed with gulyas, onions, tomato. Our portions were huge, everyone left with full tummys and doggie bags.

Erzsi wrote:We had a good dinner last night at Smak Tak. Four of us went at about 6.30 and the place was empty.

I hope they were just suffering from it now being Lent on a Friday. Of course plenty of great Lenten items available but I think most Polish Catholic Carnivores don't want to subject ones self to the temptations of the fine meat items here. For me, I was good at lunch with shrimp wonton soup (minus bbq pork) but couldn't resist the braised lamb over the baked cod for dinner. Neither place even worthy of mention but am now reminded, I need to get back to Smak Tak soon.

Does anyone know if they do take-out? It doesn't mention it on their website (that I could find).

jbambuti wrote:Does anyone know if they do take-out? It doesn't mention it on their website (that I could find).

I picked up a menu from Smak-Tak about 2 weeks ago, and it says:
"Carry Out & Catering
Delivery
We organize parties up to 30 people."

Any recent intel? I was there in March and had only a stuffed-cheek "yum" (a la ground squirrel) as a reaction.

Party of four Thursday evening around 7:00. We were the only people diners the 75 minutes or so and there was no take out. As a slight qualification I would remind everyone that it was raining very very hard some of the time and that may keep folks at home.

We started with an order of the cheese and potato perogi and the potato pancakes - both dishes were tasty and the plate of perogi might be the best perogi value in the city aside from the free ones offered at some Polish watering holes (might deserve a separate). I really enjoyed the european sour cream with both dishes and all of us were surprised by the applesauce. Between the four of us we hadn't eaten enough apple sauce recently to determine if, 1 - jarred applesauce is really yummy and we all forgot or 2 - Smak Tak is making their own apple sauce and it is exceptional. In either case, next we had the mushroom soup and borscht. The borscht was very good and the mushroom was a enjoyable if slightly one dimensional and a little soft in earthy mushroom flavor department.

Dinners we had the pork cutlet w/ egg, Chicken, and the chicken salad.
The salad was an enormous but was made up of predominantly of shredded iceberg lettuce. The chicken on top could have been anything, it was flavorless.

The chicken and the pork were done superbly - great flavor, texture, breading, etc. The egg on the pork was a perfect touch. The cucumber salad was as good as any I can think of and the wife who is more partial to this dish and from Eastern Europe thought it equitable to good homemade.

Everything had a lot of dill which our party was glad about. The service was efficient as always if more of the european style which is to say a more reserved 'let us know what you want, otherwise enjoy' approach which I appreciate.

I am sorry I didn't get more pictures but I kind lost my focus when the perogi showed up.

Pork - Simply winning dish and even better at 10 bucks


Large salad.
Worked well as greens to split among the table but would not recommend a entree


Chicken and last of perogi
Highly regarded by all

My wife had a "Girls Night Out" a few weeks ago, so my 3 month old daughter and I decided to try Smak Tak. I had been wanting to try it for some time and was very pleased. I went with the pierogi, half saurkraut, half cheese/potato and red borscht soup. No beer on premise, but was advised to go to the bar a couple doors down for single beer carry-out, which they were happy to provide. The older gentlemen in the bar seemed very amused that I stopped in for a beer with a baby.

We were there at between 7 and 8 pm on a Saturday night and were the only diners/customers the entire time. A nice experience and I look forward to return visits to check out more of the menu.

Thanks to everyone for contributing to this great post and photos...we plan a visit here soon...it looks great!

Time for a "Save This Restaurant"?

Has anyone eaten here in the presence of other diners? I'm getting worried.

Come on, people! Zascianek is gone -- don't let it happen again!

cilantro wrote:Has anyone eaten here in the presence of other diners? I'm getting worried.

It's usually packed when I'm there and getting more crowded all the time. The last two times I was there they were turning people away.

That's reassuring, thanks. The last 4-5 times I've been, I've not seen another soul. Maybe I go at odd hours. (Or maybe Eatchicago always draws a crowd?)

cilantro wrote:(Or maybe Eatchicago always draws a crowd?)

As Eatchicago and his wife just had twins he is a crowd.

I have been back once since my first post and again we were the only table there during dinner hours. I am glad to hear that is not always the case.

cilantro wrote:Time for a "Save This Restaurant"?

Has anyone eaten here in the presence of other diners? I'm getting worried.

Come on, people! Zascianek is gone -- don't let it happen again!

Actually, if you check the start of this thread, it was, in fact, a Save This Restaurant installment which prompted me to visit Smak Tak -- and then post about it -- in the first place.

That said, I am way overdue for another visit!

=R=

We were there for lunch on a Sunday a couple of weeks ago and four other tables were occupied. I started with the mushroom soup mentioned above and it was one of the best soups I've had in a restaurant - outstanding rich, complex broth. I do think we'll go more often in the Fall/Winter due to the heavier nature of the food. I left in somewhat of a pierogi coma.

Finally made it to Smak-Tak last week. I understand all the praise. I'll try not to repeat too much of what has been posted before, but it was a great experience. My dining companion took a copy of the menu to her office the next day, and had to Xerox it - so many co-workers were interested in what Smak-Tak had to offer.

We tried the special - a breaded veal cutlet (basically a wiener schnitzel) topped with cheese and mushrooms - meat was tender, and the toppings were a perfect compliment. Also had an order of pierogi. My ex-wife's grandmother had a caretaker from Poland (spoke no English) who made the best mushroom and sauerkraut pierogi I'd ever had. The stuffing on these was as good, but the boiled outside just didn't do it for me. However, there were plenty left over to take home, so the next night I fried the remainder in butter. Nirvana. An almost exact duplicate of what I remembered.

So, next time I go, I'll ask them to fry the pierogi. And, for sure, there will be a next time soon.

P.S. Two other tables were occupied on a Thursday night. Not quite as desolate as described above.

We'll be stopping by here soon. Maybe we can walk it.

As for Saving [that] Restaurant, has anyone been in Alexandra's, a little bit north on Milwaukee, next door to Red Apple? They opened last year or the year before and I never see anyone go in or out. I think it's attached to the Forest View bakery. I saw a notice on the window for sidewalk seating, but as far as I know there hasn't been any. This is also a very cute Polish joint.

Pie Lady: I live just up the street on Milwaukee and walk by here every day. I have never seen Alexandra's open in the 1.5 years I've lived in the neighborhood... That's not to say the place is no longer there - it's just that I've never seen it open.

Hi,

Checking out the specials menu at Smak Tak, I spied a listing for 'Cucumber soup.' I visited my mental index of Polish recipes never recalling anything like this. I speculatively inquired if this could be pickle soup. Much to my delight it was indeed pickle soup. When I inquired if there was sour cream, she answered somewhat defensively, "You don't like?" "I love sour cream!" Smiling, she affirmed there is sour cream in the soup.

She outlined the recipe for making pickle soup: make a beef stock, then remove the meat. Add shredded pickles, carrots, potato and celery, then cook slowly for a while. Add maybe one chicken boullion cube. Toward the end, add sour cream. I asked if they added pickle brine, too. She said only if the soup is not sour enough. The soup came to the table with finely chopped parsley and dill on top.

I think the potatoes are introduced closer to the end, because they still had body left.

Smak Tak's may be the best pickle soup tried so far.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:Smak Tak's may be the best pickle soup tried so far.

I tried this on Friday night and thought it was excellent . . .


Pickle Soup at Smak Tak (10/17/2008)

I'd never had it -- or even heard of it -- before, -- although it did remind me of a sauerkraut soup that I had a few times in the Czech Republic. In any case, it was definitely the best part of our meal.

Apparently, great appetites dine alike!

=R=

Stopped in today after reading this tread and was very happy with the results. Had the cucumber soup which was outstanding and ordered the pierogies in an assortment of flavors. All excellent. To full to eat anything else so a second trip will be coming. The barley soup sounded great but I had to try the cucumber.

We paid our first visit to Smak-Tak last night and were delighted.

My starter and entree were both successful choices. The Country Soup (chunks of potato and ham in a flavorful broth) was great. The pork cutlet with mushrooms was heavenly. (I hadn't reviewed this thread recently, so didn't think about requesting an egg on top, but if an egg could improve this intensely porky mushroomy dish, it wouldn't be by much.)

My wife and our friend enjoyed the stuffed cabbage. The sauce over the cabbage resembled more the orangey hue of Ronnie's photo than the brownish hue of Gary's photo. Don't know if this is a mere "color correction" problem with Gary's photo, or if the sauce really once was orangey, then was changed to brown, and now is orangey again. In either case, our guess upon tasting it was that the base of the sauce was a canned tomato soup (not Campbell's), but that could be wrong.

I see I won't be the first person on this thread to report being the only customers in the place during the time we were there--in our case, Saturday night, roughly 7:45 to 9 (which is closing time). It's really not a Saturday nightish kind of place, I guess. Sometimes when you walk into a place in its last hour of business, and you're the only ones there, you get the feeling that the employees would just as soon you hadn't come in, but that was not the case here. Our pretty, blonde, nearly unilingual (Polish)-speaking waitress was as hospitable as can be, and the kitchen turned out delicious food for us.

riddlemay wrote:My wife and our friend enjoyed the stuffed cabbage. The sauce over the cabbage resembled more the orangey hue of Ronnie's photo than the brownish hue of Gary's photo. Don't know if this is a mere "color correction" problem with Gary's photo, or if the sauce really once was orangey, then was changed to brown, and now is orangey again. In any case, our guess upon tasting it was that the base of the sauce was a canned tomato soup (not Campbell's), but that could be wrong.

The difference in colors is probably attributable to the fact that my picture was taken only with natural daylight and Gary's was taken with a flash. It also appears to be a bit in shadow in Gary's picture, which may explain the difference. In any event, the sauce is orange and gets its color from paprika, which is a major component in it. I don't think there's canned soup involved but I could be mistaken. These guys make their own soups from scratch, so even if soup were in the sauce, it would likely be made in-house, in my estimation.

Glad to hear that you enjoyed your meal.

=R=