I think I can say that Polish people have a passion for meat and cabbages. Chicken and pork are very common and generous helpings of vegetables are served with main dishes. Meals usually kick off with a soup, and these encompass with everything from beetroot barszczc to zurek, a white rye soup, sometimes embellished with sausages and potatoes. I had both, and though they were a bit heavy, I did like their taste.
Pierogi, known as dumplings but actually a form of ravioli, are essential in Polish cooking. They can be filled with meat, cheese, cabbage and mushrooms. They tasted good. The same I would not say about smoked cheese made of salted sheep milk. Extremely salty!!!
There are many restaurants, cafés and bars, everywhere. Most of them looked very inviting. Many Poles, of course, have already parted with tradition. Pizza and sushi restaurants are easily found either or not in the city center. Water was often served with a slice of lemon and one or two mint leaves. It looked nice and smelled welcoming. Polish are said to be great consumers of alcoholic beverages but I didn't see anyone drunk.
I believe Poland is a nation with a sweet tooth. There is a wide variety of sweets and cakes but all were sooo sweet. Artificial sweeteners were not common at all. However, I could find them at supermarkets but at a much higher price than in Portugal.
I went to three open-air small markets but they were not very appealing to my wallet.
There were kiosks everywhere, selling from tobacco to vegetables and fruit. Daily shopping must be a hard task, considering that shops are not very much concentrated, which implies time consumption. I was told there were some large supermarkets but I had no opportunity to visit any of those but small ones, only. At the cashier, no plastic or paper bag was given, the reason why, I suppose, I saw everyone carrying a shopping bag. Consumers awareness of environment pollution? Not sure about it...
