I grew up in a heavily populated Polish town – Hatfield, Massachusetts. I dare you to try and find it on a map. Hatfield is small rural farming community, populated mostly with Poles.  Many of my friends were Polish, and I was able to see firsthand from their Babcia. I saw them making the galumpkis, pierogis, sauerkraut, and of course the paczki. At first, this culture was all new to me given the fact that I grew up in an Irish/French family. However, I fell in love with the food and still love a big bowl of pierogis seared in butter with a polish kielbasa, sauerkraut and onions. Hands down, one of my favorite meals! You are more than welcome to ask my wife, because she’s not a fan when I make it at home.

I can’t take all the credit for coming up with the idea of a Polka celebration. Every summer when I was a kid, our church would throw a Polka celebration. There would be a Polka band (of course!) and everyone in town would bring dishes to share with the other people attending the event. The church would sell tickets to the event and that’s partly how they raised money. I remember going to the party every summer and listening to polka while eating some galumpkies and pierogis!

I thought something similar would be a perfect idea for a party here at the Brewery! The party will be out in the Beer Garden with polka music playing. I will be out there grilling up some Polish sausage and kielbasa and our brewers will be out there pouring beers for your enjoyment as well. There will be servers walking around with other snacks to munch on, including mini pierogis, galumpkis, placki ziemriaczane (potato pancakes) and krokiety (stuffed fried crepes). We will finish the night off with paczki, which are these lovely fried donuts stuffed with preserves.

I know that it’s going to be a really fun event, especially since it’s one of the few that we are able to do outside in the fresh air! I hope to see you there getting your polka groove on! Tickets are available at the Brewery or you can purchase them online.

 

Chef Jon