A blue-collar region of migrants, miners and miners’ daughters, few places are as well suited to the nation’s traditional peasant fare of potatoes, cutlets and cabbage as Silesia. So what have the locals contributed to national cuisine? Well, you can put Silesian noodles, knownly locally as ‘kluski śląskie’ at the top of your culinary itinerary. Essentially a pierogi with no filling, these pillowy potato flour doughballs are served as a side dish almost everywhere, often with mushroom gravy or fried fat and bacon bits on top. With a chewy texture and typically bland flavour, kluśki literally stick to your ribs and set like cement in your stomach. We love ‘em. If you’re particularly down and out, you can’t do better than a 4-6zł side dish that stays in your stomach for two days. As for main courses, your pervasive regional entrée for the brave has to be Silesian beef rolades, or 'rolada śląska' – a rather turd-like rolled beef patty filled with onions, bacon and pickles. This surprisingly tasty dish with some kluśki and red cabbage or fried sauerkraut on the side is as Silesian as it gets and exactly how they serve it at Bar Pod Siódemka; alternatively give it a try at Wiejska Chatka or Chata z Zalipia. Wash it all down with a Żywiec or Tyskie – Poland’s most popular national beers, both from Silesia.