New England Inn

What a hidden gem, amazing hearty food and huge portions at great prices. The roast pork was incredible. We've been searching for big bready czech-style dumplings ever since "The Dumpling Haus" in Stickney closed, and we finally found 'em.

This place is as good or better than any other polish/czech place, and even offers some schnitzel. If you're looking for a cheap eastern european meat/potatoes fix, this place is second only to The Grand Duke down in Summit. (and cheaper!). We're voracious eaters and we  had enough food left over for lunch the next day.

You'd never notice the sign, the name sounds like a seafood place, and the address is misleading (the entrance is actually around the corner on New England Ave., which explains the name...) Then when you walk in, it just looks like a bar full of Polish dudes. But just keep walking, there's a banquet room in the back where they serve the food. It looks like a great place for a anniversary or birthday party too, with a small stage/DJ setup and a private bar.

Our only complaint was the blaring liteFM radio and TV was showing some gory action movie that sorta crippled the atmosphere, ha.

This place is not what you'd think when you hear the name "New England Inn." It's not a restaurant that revolves around seafood, sailors and bluestockings, rather it's a Polish bar with a restaurant in back where they will hand you platters of good food for very little money.

We got there about eight on Saturday and apart from what I think must've been the owner, and some of his cronies sitting at the bar (They greeted us warmly, too) the place was empty, which honestly didn't bode well in my book.  It's an unpretentious place, and I kept thinking it should have been packed (Yeah it was a little late, but still.)  The waitress who seems to double as a bartender, checked to see if we wanted the English menu, and suggested Okocim, which I'd never tried before.  While we waited for the beer, we ran through the menu which consisted pretty much of pork, pork, pork, chicken, pork, pork and pork, with a bit of beef and veal.   I ordered the pork loin, Glinda tried the pork side (probably pork belly) and Jim had the country plate which was All Meat, All the Time.

The country plate was two thick slices of pork loin, two or three of smoked butt, two large pieces of smoked sausage and two large pieces of schnitzel.  The pork side was a pile of meat in gravy, and my pork loin was -- I kid you not here -- SIX half inch thick slices of gorgeous pork loin. Each dish came with a soup bowl of really delicious sauerkraut and the waitress plunked a platter of sliced bread dumplings in the middle of the table. I counted them; there were thirteen thick-slices of dumpling, looking like the equivalent of a loaf of bread. The only thing that I thought there could have been more of is gravy.

As usual, we passed food around the table. Glinda's pork was really kind of fatty, but the flavor was fantastic.  My pork loin was kind of dry, but again the flavor was good, and I think it might have been less dry earlier in the day. The sausage and smoked butt were excellent, too. And I brought home one of those large styro leftover boxes filled almost to overflowing with my leftovers.

The prices? $5 each for a large stein of Okocim, $11 each for the pork dishes and $12 for the country platter. Service was fast, friendly and attentive, and as we left, the owner asked how everything was an the rest of the guys said good-night to us.

Why this place wasn't jammed is beyond me.  I grew up going to places like this; it reminds me of a restaurant called "Pavelka's" of which I have many fond memories. Just because the place isn't all prettied up, doesn't mean it's not a terrific place for a good, inexpensive meal.  And any place that has SyFy on the TV is okay in my book. Go.  Eat your weight in Polish food. Take the rest home. Especially now, in the winter, the warmth of this place is really welcome.

The ambiance is not all that great, but the food is excellent. Big portion sizes and quick service make this local joint a good value for the money.