Hey KC, I was driving around the south side today, thrifting and doing chores. Around two o’clock I was headed towards Southgate when I drove past a place on 99th Street called Wendy’s Gourmet Perogies. On a whim I turned the car around and pulled in for a late lunch.
I was curious to know just how “gourmet” the perogies were. I remember a place in Vancouver years ago that had perogies filled with duck breast and pesto and such. To me, this is just wrong. Perogies are a humble food with peasant origins and they shouldn’t be tarted up. Sometimes a pig’s ear is tastier than a silk purse.
I need not have worried. Nothing about Wendy’s is pretentious. The most exotic ingredient in evidence was jalapeno.
The friendly, chatty chef was catching her second wind after the lunch rush. She offered to make me a plate with 3 cheddar and 3 cottage cheese perogies and two meatballs. As you can see above, it came with a generous dollop of sour cream.
The meatballs had rice in them and were in a very salty mushroom gravy that reminded me of canned cream of mushroom soup (maybe it was?). I think the kubasa would have been a better choice.
The perogies were very tasty (but not as good as my mom’s, of course). Like my mom, at Wendy’s they cut the dough in squares, not circles – so that when they’re folded over the filling, they’re triangles rather than semi-circles. I know you know how I feel about round perogies, KC. This isn’t just nitpicking – triangle perogies are superior to round perogies, and here’s why:
If you cut the dough in circles (using a cookie cutter for instance), there’s dough left behind. You can either throw this away (wasteful) or roll it out again, in which case it becomes overworked and tough. When you cut the dough in squares, using a knife, there’s no waste and you only roll it out once (also it’s faster and easier). There. My perogy rant is now on the public record.
Lunch, with a drink, cost a little over 10 bucks. I wouldn’t make a special trip, but if I worked in the area I’d be happy to drop in for lunch (4532 99 Street).
In related news, we need go to Taste of Ukraine (12210 Jasper Avenue). Betty Cracker took her fiancé there for his birthday and she said the perogies were like French kisses. I’ve never had a perogy I’d compare to a French kiss, not even my mom’s. The only thing she complained about was the walnut torte. She said the buttercream was “too buttery.” Like that’s possible.
Posted by Jean Poutine
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