The other day I was craving crepes. Living in New England, it’s not like there is a creperie on every corner. Outside of Boston, I wasn’t quite sure I’d ever seen one. Being in Norwich, Connecticut, at the time, I simply typed in “crepes near me.” The closest was at a restaurant called Smakosh in Montville, only a ten minute drive.
I asked my folks about it and they said that it’s been there for at least 20 years, so I was quite surprised when I had not heard of it. In addition to crepes and general breakfast foods, Smakosh is famous for their Polish food. To me, a lunch of sweet crepes and a smattering of kielbasa, sauerkraut, pierogies, and galumpki sounded perfect.
I’m a quarter Polish. When I was growing up, my grandmother would cook delightful galumpki once a year for my mom’s birthday. After my grandma passed, my mom decided to continue the tradition and make galumpki on her own birthday. Outside of one time in New Britain, I don’t think I’d ever had Polish food that wasn’t made by a family member, frozen out of a box, or made by Hillshire Farms.
Lunch at Smakosh Restaurant
We all decided to share tastes of all of the Polish menu items. Galumpki are ground beef wrapped in cabbage topped with a tomato sauce. Pierogies are like dumplings and stuffed with a kind of filling such as cheese or potato.
The drive out to Smakosh Restaurant was quick and easy; it’s right on Route 32, at 1100 Norwich-New London Turnpike at the far end of a strip mall. Entering, let’s just say, Smakosh is not a secret! As it was late morning, and the packed breakfast crowd was in full swing. It all looked delicious but I was here for the crepes and Polish food! The interior is no frills and adorned with Polska memorabilia. Even though they typically don’t serve Polish food on Sundays, they made it especially for us. Talk about service!
Getting it to go, we headed back to Norwich. Unwrapping the take-out boxes, on first smell, I knew this was going to be special. Each of the foods, the kielbasa, the sauerkraut, the pierogi, and the galumpki was the real deal. The pierogi was doughy with a tasty filling. The sauerkraut and kielbasa complemented each other nicely and the galumpki rivaled my grandmother’s!
Craving Crepes
For dessert, the crepes were exactly what I needed. Each bite is soft in texture and full of chocolate gooey goodness giving the sweet effect I am always after. Another crepe’s topping is their homemade apple sauce, which provides a wonderful sweet/tart accompaniment to the perfect crepe.
Quite honestly, being a Norwich-area restaurant pro, it is surprising that Smakosh Restaurant is new to me. It was a wonderful treat that I will certainly be heading back to time and again.
While in Connecticut, make sure to also hop over to Hoppy Days Diner for a great breakfast!
I ate there once back when I was researching a feature for Norwich Magazine on the town of Montville. Didn’t have the crepes but we did enjoy some pretty good potato pancakes! Despite the last name, I have never really eaten much Polish food in my life but I do like pierogies so perhaps I’ll have to go back sometime!
Definitely!!