Grandpa’s Cafe

Remember… There’s a reason Poland is still 98% Polish…
If you don’t want to support the Polish community, you likely shouldn’t crowd our only resource in the area. There’s not enough seating anyhow, and they don’t want to run a huge business. Who can blame them?
Now, if you’re polish and want authentic cuisine, as well as the resource of the deli which imports great Polish food, you have no issue contributing to the Polish Library association to sustain the polish community center.

pure Polish and damn good — the real deal — no better this side of Chicago — take away sales of sausages and smoked meats from North Star Foods, a well-​known and FDA approved company from Chicago — beer is Polish, of course
Grandpa’s Café is members only because they are a part of the Polish Library Building Association, which is a private organization and that’s a contingency in their bylaws — hours are Fridays from 4 to 9 and Sundays from 10 to 3
as for the membership, anyone can become a library sponsor for just $ 10 per year, which allows them to use the library and enjoy Grandpa’s Café
additionally Grandpa’s Café opens up for special community events on request — one of the best pubs in Portland — want to throw a Polish-​flavored party or wedding reception, rent Polish Hall and contract with Grandpa’s Café to cater it — you won’t be disappointed

Was here a year back with a couple of friends, went back tonight for what is very good Polish food. We were refused service unless one of us would join the Polish Library Association for a $ 25 initiation fee followed up immediately by the demand of the first year’s dues of another $ 25. Yep $ 50. just to sit down. Without exaggeration the owners and server made it clear, even after we had paid up without complaint followed by overly generous tips, that unless you speak Polish and are a member of the St. Stanislaus Parish (Right across the street) you are simply not welcome here. Now should you wish to demonstrate to someone what it may have felt like for a black family to have walked into many a family restaurant in the 50’s this is absolutely the place to go.

Just in case anyone was craving some good Polish food and happened to look up Polish restaurants in Portland and saw Grandpa’s Café listed, a word of warning.
Don’t expect to eat there or even purchase any of the groceries unless you are a member of the Polish Library Association. Went there with my mom yesterday to do some shopping and get yummy Polish desserts.
The tall man behind the counter commented that he hadn’t seen me around there before and asked me if I had been in previously. I answered that I haven’t been in the restaurant in years. Then we were promptly asked to leave and informed that we weren’t allowed to buy anything because we weren’t members. They reserve the right to refuse service to anyone and yesterday it was us. Adding insult to injury, the guy corrected my Polish. Um, at least I was trying! Awkward and not nice!

I’ve been to Grandpa’s Café twice now, once to pick up some market items and a couple bottles of beer, and once for dinner. I like this place. The pierogi appear to be boiled but not fried; might be nice if they had a little sear on ‘em, but they’re tasty nevertheless. The kielbasa i bigos (sausage with a stew of cabbage and meat) is very good, and the plaki ziemniaczane (potato pancakes) are great, as is the Golabki (say «guh-​wumpki»; cabbage leaf stuffed with ground pork, rice and onions). Good selection of Polish beers, mostly lagers and porters, somewhat limited wine selection. Service was great (and our waitress was quite easy on the eyes, which never hurts).
They have a few shelves of grocery type items: mustard, pickled mushrooms, canned meat (sort of a Polish version of Spam), soup and sauce mixes, currant jam, and a lot of cookies and confectionery type items. Also, frozen pierogi, beer, and a pretty impressive range of sausages they have shipped in from Chicago every week. The ambiance is very nice; casual, sort of a cross between a European chalet and a basement rec-​room. Good lighting, not too loud, and yes, you will hear Polish being spoken. Don’t hesitate to ask your server how to pronounce things, btw, as almost nothing in Polish is pronounced the way it looks to a non-​Polish speaker.
It’s worth noting, for those who live east of I-​5, that Grandpa’s Café is just a block away from the western end of the Failing pedestrian bridge, so if you’re anywhere in the Mississippi or Williams/​Vancouver area, it’s a pretty easy walk. And walking there and back begins to make a lot of sense when you consider the calorie factor. There are a few vegetarian items on the menu, but make no mistake, this is *not* health food! Yes, the hours are weird and it’s pretty well hidden, but those two factors just add to the mystique of the place as far as I’m concerned. It’s sort of like a secret you have to be in on, although more and more people are in on that secret, since Willamette Week wrote ‘em up in the fall of 2011, and the Mercury did a short piece on ‘em in early 2012. The waitress told me that traffic has really picked up lately. Who knows, maybe they’ll even expand their hours to a third day at some point (hint, hint)…
UPDATE 3÷5÷13: Just found out about their change to the «members only» policy. I had given them four stars, but I’ve downgraded them to one for this decidedly ass-​y move. Not only ass-​y, but not exactly strategic, from a business standpoint. With all the good press they were getting (not to mention their pretty serviceable cuisine), they could’ve expanded their hours, and had themselves a cash cow for the Polish Community Center and Library Association. Hell, they could’ve split their hours between «members only» and «public welcome.» But instead, they decided to insulate themselves from the larger community. If they come to their senses and reverse this decision, or even deign to welcome the public one night a week, I might find it in me to take them back. Otherwise, guess who won’t be going to their Polish Festival ever again… THIS GUY!

Grandpa’s Café is to Portland what Mad Men is to cigarettes. A safe haven where butter fried in oil and fat, topped with a juicy sausage, is a good thing.
It’s like being held close to your Polish grandmother’s bosom after she spent a selfless day churning out all the sublime comfort food you dare only imagine.
What can I say? It’s just darn good Polish eats.
Extensive Polish beer selection @ $ 4/.5l bottle. No complaints there, my friends.
The potato pancake appetizer is exactly what you’d expect — and topped with apple sauce and sour cream… it was time to buckle in for the night.
The combination plate ($ 10) is large enough to share and is exactly what the doctor didn’t order — three different perigees (mushroom was the fav) with bacon crumbles and more sour cream. A stuffed meaty cabbage that was cooked to perfection, a Kielbasa that was possibly, dare I say, the best in Portland (the meats are flown in from Chicago weekly), AND, my personal favorite was the bigos– your Hunter’s stew meets savory sauerkraut — DELISH!
Yeah, we had to go for the blintzes to round out the meal. Nothing to write home about although the filling was yum.
What makes this place a home run is real Polish people making and eating real Polish food for real Polish people who speak Polish — I had no clue I was still in Portland! A rare find. Only open Friday evenings and Sunday brunch.

Miss Krakow? No, not Miss Krakow, do you miss old Poland? This place is so off the grid, you can imagine you’re in Eastern Europe. Just off Interstate. Down a back staircase next to the heat pump. Open just two days a week. Friday nights and Sunday mornings. No salads here. Just glistening buttery, meaty, brown and tan delicacies. Pirogies, cabbage rolls, sausage, potato pancakes. And all the favorite beers you remember from that wild summer in Zakopane. Fairly priced. Big 500cl bottles. Nice owners and staff, even if you don’t speak Polish (like everyone else there). This is Portlando-Polandia’s own Ripe. Or a semi-​year round continuation of the Polish Festival. When you’ve had enough locavore and interior design-​as-​dining, eat real food with the Poles. And take home a few delicacies for home.