Old-World Polish Restaurant Entices Senses

Rollin' in the Dough: Bakers use their hands to pull bialys, a Polish style of bread, from round balls of dough. The bialys are then placed on a conveyor belt to bake. Bialys, a cross between an English muffin and a bagel, are an endangered species in the bread world. (photo courtesy AP)

After spending four months in Prague last year, I thought I was pretty hard-core when it came to stomaching cabbage and potato-laden central European fare, but Sokolowski's University Inn in Cleveland put my digestive enzymes to the test.

Upon entering Sokolowski's, you know immediately that this will not be a typical American dining experience. The restaurant has a certain central European quality - dark wood walls, large round tables and the intermingling smells of sausages and beer wafting through the air. Photographs of the old neighborhood, the Sokolowski family and various celebrities who have visited the restaurant over the years (actor Ed Asner, "Duke of Earl" crooner Maurice Williams and Bill Clinton, to name a few) adorn the walls.

A neighborhood institution for almost 80 years, Sokolowski's was originally opened as a tavern - and occasional bootlegging enterprise - in 1923 by first-generation Polish-Americans Michael and Victoria Sokolowski. It was converted to a restaurant in the mid-1950s to serve the hungry lunch crowd from the nearby steel mill.

It is now run by Michael and Victoria Sokolowski's grandchildren, Mary-Lou Balbier and Mike and Bernard Sokolowski, and is staffed by both family members and non-relatives. Curiously, some of the employees appear to still be in junior high.

Sokolowski's is now open for dinner on Friday and Saturday nights, although they still do the bulk of their business during lunch. Seating 210 people, they usually serve an average of 350 lunches a day and almost 1000 during Lent. The restaurant is set up cafeteria-style, but don't let the plastic trays faze you: Dascomb's frozen pierogies are a far cry from Sokolowski's homemade versions. Eight dollars and fifty cents ($6.50 during lunch hours) gets you two enormous cheese and potato pierogies, a choice of two side dishes and a plate for the all-you-can-eat salad bar.

As a vegetarian, I can only guarantee with certainty the deliciousness of their pierogies. If its flesh that you crave, however, they also serve bratwurst, smoked kielbasa, Salisbury steak and a variety of fish dishes.

Apparently Clinton, flanked by secret service agents when he ate there in Jan. 1995, lived up to his gluttonous reputation by sampling several of the entrees and side dishes.

Of course you can't experience a true Polish meal if you don't wash it down with a tall glass of beer (sorry to all of you under 21-ers). They have over 50 varieties of beer, including their own brew. They were even written up by a Cleveland magazine in the 1980s as having the biggest beer selection in the city, although Mike Sokolowski regretfully admitted, "people don't drink like they used to."

It's a bit of a trek all the way to the East End of Cleveland, but worth the 30-45 minutes by car if you're bored with the menus at the few restaurants here in town. To get there, take Route 58 North to 90 East. Get off at the West 25th Street exit, go straight, make a left on Scranton and a right at the second light. Then turn left on West 11th Street, and finally, turn left on Abbey and go straight.

If you do plan on supping at Sokolowski's, it's best to get there at around 7:30 p.m. after the dinner rush. They welcome large groups of people, so make sure to bring 10 of your closest friends to get the most out of your meal. In his own rather humble description of the family business, Mike Sokolowski said, "It's definitely an interesting place to come to. It's not your generic restaurant on every corner - a real unique place."