Saturday, December 13, 2008

The Elegant Pigs Knuckle


After arriving in Warsaw for Watch Docs, and a tour of the old city by my new friend Marta, I was invited to diner at a wonderful Polish restaurant across from the tower and castle where I photographed the city for my first blog in Poland. My hosts were Kasia Malinowska-Sempruch, Director, Global Drug Policy Program, Open Society Institute at the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, her husband Steich (sp) and Alex Kirby who coordinated my visit. And what great hosts they are. This is considered one of the best restaurants in Warsaw.

I wanted to taste the authentic cuisine of Warsaw. As I went through the menu, which was in Polish and English, I saw a lot of dishes that I had never seen before. I asked them Kasia what dishes she considered authentic Polish cuisine. She said I should try the Elegant Pigs Knuckle. I will try anything once and was I glad that I did. As you can see from the photo it was an incredible hunk of meat. It was also extremely tasty. Kasia, Steich, Alex and Marta all ordered the same dish which was a specially prepared duck confit. Duck confit is is normally my favorite dish but I am so glad that I had Elegant Pigs Knuckle.

We ordered wine and sparkling water and eat until we were stuffed. Steich turned me on to another authentic Polish treat...vodka. We had shots of Wyborowa vodka. I had never drank vodka straight, much less in a shot glass. It was so smooth. It did not taste like any other vodka I have ever had.

After this incredible dining experience it was time to head to bed. I would wake up tomorrow on Polish time. In all my days of filming around the world the first thing I do is get on the local time zone. It worked. Now I am ready for my first screening tomorrow.

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