It’s tucked away in that confusing little welter of diagonal streets near where North Main and Airline Drive snake under Loop 610, and it’s tiny, so the Rose Garden is literally hard to find. Also concealed is the culture it represents: that of the Polish Texans who came to this city from rural Texas in the years just before and after World War II. That’s why the bar is red and white, just like the Polish flag, and that’s why (if you’re lucky) you’ll eat some of the finest homemade kielbasa there this side of Chicago. That’s also why the jukebox is a unique blend of hardcore C&W and Fayette County-style Texas polka. Czechs weren’t the only Slavs in Texas, and the Rose Garden stands as living proof.
This article appears in Sep 22-28, 2011.