Larry’s Euro Bar
965 New York Ave., Trenton
(609) 695-9590
Larry’s Euro Bar, at the corner of Mulberry Street and New York Avenue, sits at the industrial edge of Trenton’s Top Road neighborhood. The long-time Polish quarter for the capital city, Top Road is home to several restaurants, bakeries and delis that cater to the continuing wave of immigrants from Eastern Europe.
The Euro Bar is not a place filled with genteel charm to savor along with an elegant meal. It is a working man’s (and woman’s) bar that serves up delicious home-style food accompanied by a choice of European beers and soccer games on the various TVs.
The décor is typical bar: beer signs and TVs dominate. Most of the food is served on throwaway plates with plastic utensils.
The staff is young, attractive and friendly. On our most recent visit, our server Aldonna’s sunny disposition brightened up the dark confines of the bar and provided an antidote to the gray, rainy day.
We were disappointed to find our preferred draft beer, Pilsner Urquell, had run out the night before and made a quick switch to the Polish beer, Zwiec ($4 for a half liter).
Larry’s is a bar and the menu is not extensive but does cover the staples. Burgers are $4.50, $5.25 with cheese. For $6.50 you can have a “Brutal Burger” with cheese, mushrooms, peppers, onions, bacon and mayo. There are beef and chicken cheese steaks ($7.25) and a kielbasa sandwich ($7.50). All sandwiches come with your choice of fries or slaw.
There is also the usual assortment of finger foods: fries ($2.50), fried mozzarella sticks or breaded ravioli ($4.75 each), chicken nuggets ($4.50) and tenders ($6.50), jalapeno poppers ($5.25) and three variety of wings ($7.50).
This is bar food you can get anywhere, anytime.
There is also list of specials on the illuminated black board. Usually a soup, almost always “Bigos” (Hunter’s Stew), other Polish favorites and often a fish dish.
For us, Larry’s is a favorite spot for feeding that periodic craving for pierogies. A plate of seven with either cheese and potato, meat or sauerkraut and mushroom filling ($7.50) makes a fast, filling lunch. My co-munchers chose an order of the cheese and potato each. Served with the requisite fried onions and sour cream on the side, these are wonderfully comforting pillows of dough wrapped around the filling of choice. They are served piping hot and, once cool enough to eat, will melt in your mouth.
Since our most recent visit was for review purposes, I let Aldonna talk me into trying the Zupa Ogorkowa aka Pickle Soup ($2.50). It was just too intriguing to say no to.
What I got was a generous bowl of soup filled with pieces of potato, shredded carrots and shredded dill pickles. The potatoes had been simmered in chicken stock until they started giving up some of their starch to thicken the base. While it was hard to determine for sure, most every recipe for pickle soup includes either sour cream or cream or milk and flour to further thicken and enrich it.
If indeed there was dairy in this version, it was applied with a very deft touch. The soup was both velvety and brothy, if that makes any sense. The vegetables were tender and had taken on the savoriness of the stock. The whole dish was brightened by just a hint of minced, fresh dill. I will definitely look forward to having this soup again.
Not realizing how large a bowl of soup I was getting, I also ordered the Kotlet Shabowy (schnitzel). This boneless pork chop was pounded thin, breaded and fried. It came with mashed potatoes, carrot salad and a fresh red cabbage slaw ($9.50). The mashed potatoes were exactly that…mashed. Not fluffy, whipped with tons of butter and/or milk, they were just cooked and broken down to a texture finer than smashed potatoes, but still dense and filling.
Cutlets can easily be overcooked and chewy. Not this one. It was moist and fork tender and came topped with melted cheese and sautéed mushrooms. Frankly, they could leave off the cheese and a really good dish would be that much better.
Larry’s is a great stop for a hearty lunch or dinner that will leave you wanting for nothing. Note: they don’t take credit cards.
2012-07-LarrysEuroBar1
Larry’s Euro Bar features starters like pickle soup (top) and entrees such as Kotlet Shabowy (schnitzel).
