polish yacht club hamtramck mi

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Detroit Digest: The Polish Yacht Club, a Hidden Treasure Still Sailing After More than 100 Years

Before downtown and Midtown gave birth to a cluster of new restaurants and bars, some of Detroit's best destinations were hidden gems off the beaten path.

After more than a century, the Polish Yacht Club, aka The Ivanhoe, is still one of those gems. Drive past empty fields and worn homes on a residential stretch of Joseph Campau in Detroit, about six blocks south of I-94, and you’ll stumble upon the restaurant-bar housed in a big red-brick structure with a flat roof -- almost like a little home on the prairie. Despite its name, it's landlocked, with no yachts to be seen.

Inside, there’s a hand-carved marble bar with a dark wood top, and dining rooms with little lamps on the tables and a menu full of comfort food: Kielbasa, pierogi, potato pancakes, fried shrimp, frog legs, creamy cole slaw and the house favorite, fish and chips, with a choice of walleye, perch or catfish. 

Detroit DIgest host Carlos Parisi recently stopped by and worked his way through the tasty menu.

►  Polish Yacht Club , 5249 Jos. Campau, ( 313) 925-5335 . Limited Hours: Tuesday-Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

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Ivanhoe Cafe aka the "Polish Yacht Club" - Ivanhoe's cafe

• United States    
• Michigan (MI)    
• Detroit    
• Detroit Restaurants    

“Ivanhoe Cafe aka the "Polish Yacht Club"” Review of Ivanhoe's cafe

This little place looks like a speakeasy from the old days. In a very run down and deserted section of Poletown in Detroit, it's an oasis in the desert. Although they serve delicious Polish food, they are known for their perch. There are various dining rooms in this old building, and each one makes you feel you are back in your Grandma's kitchen. There's not a drop of water near this place, hence the nickname the Polish Yacht Club. Grilled kielbasa is the best, great sauerkraut and pirogues too. Full service bar. Monitored parking. Closed Mondays, and open only to three in the afternoon. Till seven on Friday, maybe Saturday too.

• Excellent 6
• Very good 3
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Polish Restaurants in Detroit

When you order a Polish platter around town, you better be hungry. Expect a heap of deliciousness that could include any combination of potato pancakes, pierogi, kielbasa, stuffed cabbage and a side of kraut.

Sour cream and applesauce, too, at these Polish restaurants in Detroit.

TAKE YOUR TIME

1. authentic polish restaurants in metro detroit.

• Polonus in Wyandotte has dill pickle soup, melt-in-your-mouth city chicken and crispy potato pancakes. Try a combination plate.
• Polonia Polish Restaurant in Hamtramck offers authentic cuisine, old-world atmosphere and Polish vodkas and beer to boot. It has been in biz for 40 years so you know the food is fantastic. Expand your culinary horizons by trying the smalec ze skwareczkami and pickles (Polish famous bread spread with bacon, bacon crumbs, fried onion and spices).
• Ivanhoe Cafe is home of the Polish Yacht Club, just outside Hamtramck. Wait till you see the plate full of pickles and peppers that comes to the table. A mound of coleslaw pre-meal is also tradition. Sample the pierogi or go right for the kill and inhale several polish sliders: kielbasa, kraut and cheese on a bun.
• Try Three Brothers in Plymouth, where regulars are quick to recommend the chicken dumpling soup, the kraut pierogies and the nalesniki aka Polish-style crepes.
• Wawel Polish Restaurant is in the Polish American Cultural Center in Troy, so be sure to check out the Polish-style goings-on posted on the activities calendar. That is, of course, after you take your fill of the Wawel Platter. They fit so many items on the plate – from kielbasa, kraut and meatballs to pierogi, stuffed cabbage and city chicken. And you cannot leave without sampling the dill pickle soup. Some say it’s to die for.

2. WHERE TO BUY PIEROGI

Metro Detroit has a number of stand-alone shops selling their own homemade Polish dumplings by the dozen. Fresh or frozen, ready for you to fry, boil or saute at home and serve.

• Pierogi Gals , Grosse Pointe
• Jennie’s Pierogies , Garden City and Warren
• Lila’s Pierogi , Livonia
• Kielbasa Joe, Wyandotte (yes, this is a kielbasa/meat shop, but it sells really good pierogi, too)
• The Little Pierogi & Crepe Kitchen, Wyandotte
• People’s Pierogi Collective can be found at Eastern Market on Saturdays for pierogi with urban and funky flavors.

3. DON'T FORGET DESSERT

Yes, Hamtramck has awesome bakeries baking up classic Polish sweets. Angel wings (fried dough covered with powdered sugar) and kolacky (flaky pastries filled with fruit, cheese, nut or poppy seed paste).

• New Palace Bakery , Hamtramck
• New Martha Washington Bakery, Hamtramck

Suggestion: If you happen to be in town on Fat Tuesday (that’s the day before Lent begins, which usually falls sometime in February) get a paczki or three from one of these storefronts. Super dense, jelly filled and meant to sustain your sweet tooth through the 40 days of Lent. Yeah, you can get paczki elsewhere, but a Hamtramck-made paczki is WAY better. Trust us.

4. ONE-OF-A-KIND POLISH FINDS

• Visit the Polish Art Center in Hamtramck. This Hamtramck original is one of the country’s premier emporiums of Polish cultural and traditional goods. The selection of authentic souvenirs is unparalleled. The Polish pottery is intricate and colorful. The pisanki eggs and paper chandeliers (pajaki) are magical. And there’s a great selection of Polish candy, too.
• Spend a day at the Hamtramck Public Library . It has a large collection of books in Polish and hosts a variety of educational programs year-round.
• Take the family to the St. Mary’s Polish Country Fair . Held Memorial Day weekend, this classic is Michigan’s largest county fair with food, food and food, along with a carnival midway and a Vegas tent. Unique Polish souvenirs.
• The American-Polish Century Club in Sterling Heights hosts the American Polish Festival & Craft Show on its grounds each year. It features live polka music, Polish dance ensemble performances, a pierogi-eating challenge and a fine selection of crafters. Lots of Polish food.
• In town on Labor Day. Attend the annual Polish Day Parade on Jos. Campau in downtown Hamtramck. Considered one of the largest ethnic parades in the state of Michigan.

Mentioned Attractions And Venues

Polish Art Center 9539 Jos Campau Ave. Hamtramck, Michigan 48212

9539 Jos Campau Ave. Hamtramck, Michigan 48212 (313) 874-2242 Website

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Our History

Founded in 1909

The Ivanhoe Cafe was founded in 1909 by Stanislaus Grendzinski who had eight children, one who was named Agnes.  Agnes married Stanley Sienkiewicz in 1927 and ran the bar for 60 years. Big John Sobczak took over the helm in 1987 and is now owned by his wife, Lucille and is managed by their daughter, Patti Galen.  Still in the original building on Jos Campau and Frederick The building bears the Grendzinski name. In what remains of the old Poletown neighborhood, this small working class bar with great food prepared with all fresh ingredients, modest prices and excellent service is a Detroit institution that has defied the odds.

You’ll always find fresh flowers on the tables and a wonderful old time neighborhood atmosphere.  Some photos of recognizable people hang on the walls of the Ivanhoe include Sonny Eliot the weatherman, Phyliss Diller, Dick Purtan, Ray Lane, Xavier Hollander and others.  Have they been there?  Maybe!

The Polish Yacht Club, which is part of the Ivanhoe’s heritage, was founded in 1961. “Big John” Sobczak who passed away in 1994, was the force behind the Polish Yacht Club, which was formed to provide some of the “regulars” with a reason to attend monthly meetings at the bar.  You don’t need a boat to be a member, though.  At one time during its existence members once asked the Detroit City Council to dig a canal from the Detroit River to the Ivanhoe so they could have dockage space near the bar.

The tongue in cheek group is  “dedicated to clear sailing for good deeds”  and conducts fund raisers for local charities.

©  2024 Ivanhoe Cafe. Built using WordPress and the Mesmerize Theme

Bill Galen passed away suddenly Monday, December 12th.

The restaurant will be open this tuesday dec 20th through friday, dec 23rd.,   then closed until january 10th.    please check back for further updated hours..