By Richard Currey
Sometimes you stumble on one of those hidden gems when looking for place to eat in Orlando and Anna’s Polish Restaurant is one of those places. Tucked away at the corner of small shopping center on Aloma, between Semoran and Forsyth, is a restaurant with no more than nine tables that may serve some of the best eastern European food in the area. There is a good chance that you’ve driven by it hundreds of times and not even realized it was there.
Growing up in a family that has its fair share of Polish blood, I have had a good amount of great Polish food and Anna’s is right there with it. I started my meal with a cup of White Borscht ($3.49) which took me back to the Easter dinners that I had as a child. It had a nice sour flavor with a wonderful mix of hardboiled egg and chunks of sausage sitting at the bottom. One of the other diners enjoyed a great cup of Pickle Soup ($3.49) which is more potato soup than pickle, but still managed to maintain a slightly briny note. The third member of our party enjoyed wonderfully home prepared Pierogies ($5.49) which came coated in butter and caramelized onions and were stuffed with a variety of different fillings. Although there was a wait due to an unexpected rush, the starters were well worth the wait.
For our entrées, two of us enjoyed the Kielbasa platter ($12.99) which was a pan seared Kielbasa served over sauerkraut. The kielbasa was lightly smoked, unlike most store bought kielbasa, which let the meat and garlic undertones shine. The sear on the outside made the natural casing crisp and created a snap as you took each bite. Our other diner ordered the Golabki ($12.59) which is your standard stuffed cabbage with your choice of either a tomato or mushroom sauce. She had the tomato sauce and found that one of the two cabbages that were served was more than enough for a meal. Everything seemed to be prepared fresh in the kitchen and had wonderful flavor.
The food at Anna’s is worth the drive from whatever area of town you may be in. They are only open Wednesday through Sunday and are only open for dinner on Wednesdays.
Richard Currey is a writer/editor that has lived in East Orlando for the last 14 years, moving here to become a student at UCF. You can follow him on twitter at @FatGuyFix to keep up to date with his food travels as well as his other personal thought.
