In Port Richmond, the magic of Polish sour-rye soup

The business blocks of Port Richmond have seen better days. But the closing of one gem there -- Julia Bakery & Cafe -- two years ago resulted happily in the opening of another: Dinner House, a plain-Jane parlor near the spires of St. Adalbert's. Polish accents remain strong, refreshed by new arrivals, one of whom,  Elizabeth Balka (from Gdansk "by the sea"),  turns out soulful Polish dishes: bigos, the sauerkraut stew; pierogi; and a whopper of potato pancake folded over tender goulash.

But it's a quieter wallflower -- a subtle, sour rye soup called zurek that left us captivated. It takes the poorest of peasant foods (it's a bread soup, after all, a cousin of gruel) and teases out haunting flavor built from bay leaf, allspice, and garlic.

Balka shows us the essentials -- a gallon jug for the water, and slices of rye bread that she ferments with the spices for up to two weeks. It's finished, finally, with sour cream, and chunked with kielbasa, hard-cooked egg, carrot, and potato, opening the door to a new flavor experience -- as creamy as  chowder, garlicky as kielbasa, and rich with the subdued tang of sour rye.

Zurek sour rye soup, $3, Dinner House, 2706 E. Allegheny Ave. 267-596-7727.