Regarding potato pancakes, I discovered that they are available in both the Schengen and N/S areas. FarszBAR in the Schengen side has a very good selection, but they close at 19:00, which means I arrived in time to watch them clean up and did not get an opportunity to try them during my two hour visit to the Schengen side of WAW. On the N/S side, Misa Bar Mleczny offered them alongside a few other Polish dishes. By the time I discovered this place on my first layover, I had already visited all three LOT lounges and the flight was about to board. Fortunately, I was able to finally get some at 08:00 a few days later on my second layover.

I was able to visit all three LOT lounges and and Bolero lounge on my two layovers. The Elite lounge has easier access to alcohol (not sure if the "bar" in the Schengen business lounge was self-serve or not, but no one got a drink during the 30 minutes I was sitting next to it), but the food was identical in all three LOT lounges. During my N/S visit, Bolera had slightly better options for warm food & alcohol, but LOT had better cold food options. Both were quite quiet and comfortable.