Photo by Maggie Vaughn
Sundays are among the busiest days for Milwaukee restaurants thanks to the Sunday brunch. Nowadays the popular midday meal comes in many forms. Joining the traditional buffet lineup, with fresh-made omelets and a carved meat station on the high end, are off-the-menu brunches, essentially a short list of specialty items served at the table. Some brunches have been elevated with live music. Given Milwaukee’s heritage, it’s no surprise that the city is also home to a Polish Sunday brunch, complete with polka performers.
It happens each week at Milwaukee’s last Polish restaurant, Polonez. Originally established in the heart of old Polonia across from St. Josaphat Basilica, Polonez moved to St. Francis in the 1990s and flourished as others have faded. Their success has many authors, including a menu incorporating contemporary needs (including gluten free and vegetarian) while retaining its Old World flavor. Owners Alexi and George Burzynski and their son, Peter, maintain a friendly, family-like setting for regulars.
Their all-you-can-eat Sunday polka brunch has been running for the past 12 years with musicians holding forth from a low stage in a room with an open space for dancing. Occasionally, the happy beat moves diners to dance. The first two Sundays of the month usually belong to accordionist Don Grzanna, who performs with a drum machine and peddles an array of self-released CDs that echo his repertoire, grounded in Poland and Germany but embracing the wider world. On the third and fourth Sundays Ron Rutkowski, dressed in folkloric costume complete with feathered cap, periodically roams amidst the tables and into the bar with his accordion.
The food is arranged buffet style and incorporates Polish and American items. Breakfast sausages share a steam tray with spicy Polish sausages. Bacon and scrambled eggs are available along with pierogi filled with sweet cheese and Poland’s national dish, bigos, a sauerkraut and meat stew. Where else can dill pickle soup be found at a Milwaukee brunch buffet? The repast ($15.95 for adults, $8.95 for children) includes desserts and coffee, milk or tea and runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
For an additional $6 you savor two bloody marys or mimosas, but why not go Polish? Polonez also offers specialty drinks including a “Polish-style lemon shandy” ($4) and a Polish peach wine spritzer ($5). Regular menu items are also available; the usual Sunday entrée special, baked duck (with potato and vegetable), is tender, flavorful and highly recommended.
Polonez
4016 S. Packard Ave., St. Francis
414-482-0080
$$-$$$
Handicap access: Yes
