Search Results for "All Pierogi"

An antiques shopping spree in historic Glendale just doesn’t feel complete without a pit stop at A Touch of European Café, a darling BYOB with a handful of tables inside and out. The hearty Polish fare is just the fuel we need when we’re trawling for treasures, and reasonable menu prices satisfy our bargain-hunting urge. Fresh kielbasa, stuffed cabbage, and garlicky pork goulash often tempt us here, but we can hardly resist the pierogies, a plateful of doughy boiled dumplings pan-fried in butter. We especially like ’em filled with potato or sauerkraut, with plenty of sour cream on the side. Sure, this comfort food seems better-suited to an Eastern European winter than a Sonoran summer, but you’d be surprised at how much they hit the spot, even in August. After a long day shivering in too much air-conditioning, a steaming plate of pierogies is the best way to thaw out.

Since 2010, this Mesa restaurant has been the go-to spot for a wide variety of Eastern European comfort foods: pierogi, kvas, borscht and more, from Ukraine, Poland and other Slavic nations. Nataliya Koshalko, the Ukrainian-Polish owner of the store, uses recipes passed down from her grandmother and sees that all food is made from scratch and free of preservatives, artificial colors or artificial flavors. The thick, buttery dumplings come loaded with creative or classic fillings, and sausage and borscht accompany many of the dinner plates. Repeating last year’s victory in the same category, All Pierogi is a staple for anyone seeking the rich meat-and-potato flavors of the Steppe.

All Pierogi Kitchen has long been one of the Valley’s top destinations for Eastern European cuisine, but its very best feature might be that it seems to get better and better with each passing year. Owner Nataliya Koshalko serves the foods of her native Ukraine, along with regional specialties from neighboring Slavic countries, and her extensive menu is a celebration of hearty meat-and-potatoes fare. The namesake pierogi are here in abundance, served up hot in the restaurant or frozen to take home from the market next door. Boiled or pan-fried, they’re hefty little lumps of tender dough stuffed with the likes of ground meat, sauerkraut, pork and cheese. Soups are a standout, including a hot beet borscht, a green borscht packed with herbs and a dynamite dill pickle soup, creamy and rich and loaded with potatoes and chunks of kielbasa. Smoked sausages snap, potato pancakes crunch and an exceptional chicken Kiev oozes a lake of butter when you tap into its piping-hot molten core. It’s a no-misses kind of menu, and few Valley restaurants of any persuasion are so consistently delicious.

This mini supermarket in a West Valley strip mall is an oasis for anyone looking for a taste of the old country — or countries, to be exact. No other place in the Valley carries such a stunning supply of canned, jarred and boxed delicacies from Poland and Eastern Europe to help with homesickness or to re-create familiar flavors from family dinners back in the Midwest. Whether you crave imported pickles, beets, sauerkraut, chocolate or beer, you’ll find a mind-boggling variety here. The deli counter at the back also deserves a stop for its superior hams, sausages and cheeses, and if you want to speak Polish, you’ll feel right at home — all staffers are fluent. Next to the deli are steam tables proudly boasting an array of ready-to-eat foods, including insanely affordable homemade Polish favorites like pierogies, golabki (stuffed cabbages), pork cutlets and creamy cucumber salad. And yes, they make paczki — those irresistible jelly doughnuts so popular around Fat Tuesday — all year long on Saturdays only, but they sell out fast, so get your dupa there early.

Good things really do come in small packages, especially if they happen to be Danuta Zablocki’s scratch-made pierogi, small yet hearty meals packed into circular folded cushions of smooth, paper-thin dough. Danuta and husband Richard serve homestyle Polish eats like flavorful Polish sausage and stellar sauerkraut to hungry diners at their tiny, hidden-away eatery in Sunnyslope as well as at several farmers markets throughout the Valley.

Smell something delicious amid the Beanie Babies and back issues of Time magazine?Chances are you’ve stumbled onto Pittsburgh Willy’s, hidden home of gourmet hot dogs and Pittsburgh favorites, courtesy of Randy (a.k.a. “Willy”) Walters. Located inside the Merchant Square Antique Mall in Chandler, Willy’s occupies a small nook and sports an ordering counter, a few tables, and Steelers memorabilia covering every inch of available space. Gourmet hot dogs like the Wild Willy, an all-beef dog topped with butter-drenched ham and melted cheddar piled into a sesame seed bun, make up much of the menu, along with specialty sandwiches, signature “Willy Chili,” and Steel City Sliders. Those in the know, including transplanted Pittsburghers, line up for Willy’s homemade pierogis, cushioned orbs of dumplings stuffed smothered in butter and onion. They’re a secret within a secret, and a delicious one at that.

This is the best sausage fest ever: meaty butts, thick kielbasas, and Hungarians that’ll leave your mouth orange with paprika. May sound like the after-party for an all-male revue, but get your gray matter out of the gutter! We’re talking about McDowell’s own Stanley’s Home Made Sausage Co., which has been in business since 1963 under three sets of owners. For the past 16 years, it’s been in the hands of the Stevanovic family — 31-year-old Marko, and his mom and dad, Emilia and Vukadin. They handcraft some 46 different kinds of meats and sausages, everything from smoked pork butt and bratwurst to hot dogs with natural skins and sausages made like those from Hungary, Yugoslavia and Romania. Amazingly, the Stevanovics move some 2,000 to 5,000 pounds of meat a week through the McDowell location, as well as through their new store on Bell Road. They produce some of the best Polish pierogi in the Valley as well. Ah, soft dumplings and a nice hunk of butt — what else could you hope for?