What's a Milk Bar?

In Communist Poland, Milk Bars were government-subsidised restaurants offering cheap food and drink to workers whose workplaces didn't have a canteen.

It's a straightforward setup: you pick up a tray, you head to a pass-through window behind which is a large kitchen staffed by locals, pick up whatever food is available, and head to sit down. No menus, no faffing: you get what you're given.

Milk Bars still exist and some of them are still government-subsidised.

Milk Bars are key to this game's gameplay loop for a few reasons:

1. They're available in every city in-universe.

2. They're a dry social space.

3. They're a neat stand-in for character motivation: selfless betterment of the community.