At Cleveland Polish pop-up, cultural pride is worth admission price

Last week, I ventured with a group of friends to Bar Mleczny's, the Thursday-night pop-up restaurant at the Polish American Cultural Center.

💭 Sam's thought bubble: Church-basement fish fry meets fine dining, with an approachable menu of Polish classics crafted by Brandon Chrostowski and a full battery of Polish community members staffing the joint.

• Seeing the pride and joy of Polish seniors was worth the price of admission.

Of note: To consume alcohol on premises, you'll have to become a member of the Cultural Center — what amounts to a $5 cover charge.

If you go: Treat yourself to a stroll through the connected museum, which features nine curated rooms celebrating Polish culture and history.

• The photo above is from the "Herbert Hoover" room, named for the former president who created the U.S. Commission for Polish Relief in 1940, which funded 6,000 soup kitchens across the country after Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1939.
• The historical Cleveland newspapers featured in the museum were salvaged from a condemned house in Slavic Village.