Pierogi Bender
Being from Pittsburgh, I am well versed with the pierogi. Pittsburgh is a city with many neighborhoods still filled with the descendants of the Central European immigrants who settled there many years ago. It even has an entire hill devoted to the Polish – creatively named Polish Hill. So Sean and I were eagerly anticipating tasting actual Polish pierogies. I’ll admit it – there were days in Krakow when I ate pierogies for lunch and dinner. They are filling, cheap, and delicious. What’s not to love? Probably all of the calories due to the fact they were most frequently served swimming in lard.
Krakow has a 24 hour pierogie place. This is a fantastic idea. I am not sure why someone in Pittsburgh has not thought of this. It would be perfect on the South Side and would give that dog kebab place a run for its money. It fits well in Krakow, which appeared to have lots of young party-goers. Being old farts ourselves, we visited Zapiecek Polskie Pierogarnia for lunch.
We started with the basics. The most common pierogi in Krakow was the pierogi ruskie, also known as a Russian pierogi. Pierogies ruskie were filled with potato and cottage cheese and had a rather creamy texture.
That same night, we tried pierogies at U Babci Maliny, an obnoxiously ornate restaurant that was redeemed by their excellent pierogies. Sean especially liked the beef and cabbage filled pierogies there.
We ventured out in the pouring rain the next day to try a milk bar, which is a cheap cafeteria style restaurant that was common during the communist area.
Almost everything in Krakow is in English, but not the milk bar. This made ordering very difficult. We finally saw a British family and asked what they ordered, and tacked on an order of pierogies ruskie for good measure. The pierogies at the milk bar were surprisingly tasty, and cheap to boot.
Our final pierogie tasting was the most adventurous. Pierożki u Vincenta, located in the Jewish neighborhood, has fun and creative pierogi fillings. We sampled the sundried tomato and mozzarella filled pierogies, but the sweet pierogies we ordered stole the show. They were filled with grilled plums and cinnamon, and were scrumptious.
I think it is possible for me to subsist on a diet consisting primarily of pierogies forever. Luckily for us, the Polish store in the Strip District at home will keep us filled with pierogies when we finally make it home.
P.S. Those travelling to Krakow with a sweet tooth and a slight case of homesickness should be sure not to miss the cookies and brownies baked up by an American ex-pat at More Than a Cookie.
Nor should one miss the cupcakes at Cupcake Corner, which have actual substance as well as style. According to an article I read Cupcake Corner is apparently known as the Polish Magnolia Bakery a la Sex in the City after they were featured in a Polish television show. Personally, I think the Polish picked up the American cupcake thing quite well, for their cupcakes were even tastier than Magnolia’s cupcakes.
