I had lunch here recently with a friend and I thought the food, though not entire traditional, was very good. For purposes of 'research,' we ordered quite a few items and there wasn't a dud in the bunch . . .


Pierogi Street - 1043 N California Ave, Chicago



House Pickles
Well made vinegar pickles with some nice crunch and a touch of heat.



Bacon Popcorn (bacon, sage salt, grated aged Polish cheese)
A lot of salt but still very tasty, with a pronounced bacon flavor.



Pierogi
5 fillings: Cheddar & Potato, Braised Beef, Sauerkraut, Spinach & Cheese, Mushroom
4 toppings (left to right): kraut, spicy onions, chopped bacon, sour cream
The namesake item. I generally prefer my pierogi browned in butter and these tender-crisp units were cooked perfectly in that style. My favorite fillings were the mushroom and the spinach and cheese. As for the toppings, they were all tasty (not sure if the 'kraut' topping differs from the 'sauerkraut' filling) but I loved the spicy onions, which had quite a kick - from black pepper, we were told. They looked like they were going to be sweet but they most certainly were not. Great stuff.



Butchers Polish, Traditional (spicy onions, kraut, pickle, spicy mustard)
The sausage here was a really great version (not sure if it's made in house or purchased). It was meaty, spicy, juicy and full of flavor. I liked the topping set quite a bit. Bold flavors that stood up well to the sausage.



Butchers Polish, Chicago Style (relish, tomatoes, onions, yellow mustard, sport pepper, celery salt)
Same delicious sausage as above with Chicago-style hotdog toppings, which didn't work quite as well as the 'traditional' set in the version above.



Zapiekanka, The Wawel (thick country bacon, smoked ham, mushrooms, horseradish aioli, scallions)
This was delicious and as so many things in life do, it made me wish I was drunk . I say that because this would be the perfect schnack after a few whiskeys. In any case, it was delicious while sober, too. It was a bit trashy but compelling, too. This version may be a cut above some of the other renditions served around town that I've read about but still a guilty pleasure for sure. Fwiw, they serve a few other configurations, too (details on their website).

Given their 3 pm closing time and the fact I work or live nowhere near Pierogi Street, I doubt it'll be a regular stop for me. However, I liked it enough that if I'm in the area while they're open, I'll try to make a point of swinging by for some pierogi and an awesome zapiekanka.

=R=

Pierogi Street
1043 N California
Chicago, IL 60622
(312) 675-8385

Serving a Zapiekanka that looks like that but closing shop at 3:00 p.m. is a crime against nature.

boudreaulicious wrote:Serving a Zapiekanka that looks like that but closing shop at 3:00 p.m. is a crime against nature.

. . . and could lead to day drinking!

=R=

Just saw on Twitter that they're ditching breakfast in order to improve on "brunch" and expand to dinner. But no info on when. Hope they figure it out. Food looks good (then again, Ronnie can make pretty much anything look delicious!!)

Pierogi Street Closes, Will Operate as Food Truck Commissary

http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20151013 ... commissary