Piroshky in Vancouver?

[tokyogurumegal]

I was in Seattle last weekend and stopped by my favourite place in Pike Market, Piroshky Piroshky! This made me think, where in Vancouver can I find good piroshky?

Is there a Russian bakery somewhere in this city???? I was walking by the Russian community centre on 4th yesterday and saw a sign about someone taking orders for piroshkys for Easter but didn't take the number down (I'm sure it's too late now...). I don't want to wait once a month like the pyrogies served at that church on Quebec St!!! There must be a bakery somewhere in Vancouver!

[BBQ Brian]

Yeah - once bit, hard to forget something as tasty as good piroshky (pirogie).

On my list of places is: Red Square in Burnaby - great bakery too

Red Square Web Site

Brian

[Vancouver]

European Breads on Fraser also has them frequently.

Oh, and Budapest restaurant sometimes has them on the menu too. But call ahead - it is only a special there.

Cheers!

[makanmakan]

We were just there this past weekend. I had the bavarian sausage one with heaps fo mustard (kinda like a hot dog in a puff pastry), and A had the potato, mushroom, cheese one. Both fantastic!

[jchaput]

Although i've never been, the Ukranian church (or community center?) in strathcona apparantly does a meal once a month...or something like that. some of my neighbors have been, and say it's great.

[Vancouver]

What about Babushka's Kitchen in the Granville Island foodcourt? I haven't tried their perogie, but I believe they sell the ones from Red Square Bakery.

One other one that came to mind that I heard about (but have not been to) is Sobieski Restaurant. A bit of a drive from Vancouver too!

Cheers!

[tokyogurumegal]

Vancouver & BBQ Brian, thank you so much for all of your suggestions! I must go visit these places this weekend, I need to maintain my high carbs diet!!!! (sorry for using the D word on eGullet...)

Yeah - once bit, hard to forget something as tasty as good piroshky (pirogie).

Is piroshky really the same thing as perogies? I did a bit of searching on the web and many sites describe them as bread or pie-like turnovers. Apparently it's also called pirozhok (singular) pirozhiki (plural).

There use to be a lovely Russian Ukranian resturant on Main Street next to Heritage Hall (near 14th) that served the best perogies and piroshkys. What was interesting was, the restaurant was always full of Chinese people. Those perogies must be reminiscent of dim sum dumplings maybe...? Does anyone know what happened to that restaurant? Did the close permanently or did they move?

[JasonTrue]

According to a Polish neighbor of mine in Germany who also learned Russian, Pierogy and Piroshky are actually the same root with different shrinking suffixes. (Erniedrigung in German, if I remember correctly) (Edit: I should say two different diminutive forms... forgetting my linguistics vocabulary)

However, pierogy are decidedly the Polish/Russian equivalent of ravioli, jiaozi, gyoza, etc. Piroshky are Russian stuffed breads. Piroshky Piroshky in Seattle serves both, I believe, but focuses mostly on the stuffed breads.

I don't recall the Granville market place having Piroshky, but they did have vareniky/pelmeni/pierogy. Seattle, and even more so Bellevue, had a wave of Russian immigration in the latter half of the 80s, and some tech-related migration after that.

Sorry I can't help with finding piroshky in Vancouver, but I would be shocked if there weren't a few options. There used to be an even better Russian restaurant in downtown Bellevue up until about 6 years ago, though they had awful service. They flopped when they decided to move to a bigger, more expensively decorated place closer to Microsoft, and their version 2 restaurant has since become some sort of Indian restaurant.

Vancouver & BBQ Brian, thank you so much for all of your suggestions!  I must go visit these places this weekend, I need to maintain my high carbs diet!!!!  (sorry for using the D word on eGullet...)

Yeah - once bit, hard to forget something as tasty as good piroshky (pirogie).

Is piroshky really the same thing as perogies? I did a bit of searching on the web and many sites describe them as bread or pie-like turnovers. Apparently it's also called pirozhok (singular) pirozhiki (plural).

There use to be a lovely Russian Ukranian resturant on Main Street next to Heritage Hall (near 14th) that served the best perogies and piroshkys. What was interesting was, the restaurant was always full of Chinese people. Those perogies must be reminiscent of dim sum dumplings maybe...? Does anyone know what happened to that restaurant? Did the close permanently or did they move?

←

Edited April 11, 2007 by JasonTrue (log)

[sheo]

Try the Ukrainian Village on Denman, half a block south of Robson. I've been going there for years, every time I need a perogie/borscht/schnitzel fix...Perogies are made by hand w/ a choice of 4 different fillings (cottage cheese, sauerkraut, potato cheddar, or potato onion), served with fried onions and bacon upon request, borschts are both Ukrainian and Russian in style, cabbage rolls come either rice and spinach or pork filled...just good quality homestyle cooking.

[Paul B]

I would second Red Square. It's off of Marine Drive near Boundary in south Burnaby. They also have perogies and a variety of hearty, eastern European breads.

[Vancouver]

There use to be a lovely Russian Ukranian resturant on Main Street next to Heritage Hall (near 14th) that served the best perogies and piroshkys.  What was interesting was, the restaurant was always full of Chinese people. Those perogies must be reminiscent of dim sum dumplings maybe...?  Does anyone know what happened to that restaurant? Did the close permanently or did they move?

←

I loved that place! They also would frequently have small quantities of fresh produce that they got from some farmer friends that they sold in baskets by the door too. I was disappointed when it disappeared. Don't remember the name of it though, and haven't seen it resurface in my wanderings unfortunately.

Cheers!

[rumball]

ok, i'm russian . so i can tell you that it's written pirozhki, but pronounced piroshki.

it's not bread dough - it's savory dough similar to pie pastry, but it's not flaky usually. there are sev. varieties of dough, actually. one for deep frying , then different for baking. the closest to russian pirozhki are spanish empanadas. and pirog - is the same thing, but usually very large, sort of like calzone. but it can be even larger and much more ornate/complex. like a famous kulebyaka - big fish pie. you can make pirozhki with flaky pastry too. there's an incredible variety, in dough and in stuffings.

what is called pierogi in polish is vareniki in russian, as smbody mentioned - but they are never crust fried, like polish ones. only boiled or reheated in butter , more like sauteed under cover - they are supposed to be soft.

pelmeni on the other hand are also very much like vareniki, but always stuffed with meat and boiled and served with thier liquid with greens, sour cream or butter and may be vinegar/lemon juice. sort of like a stew, but you can also just have them on the side, no liquid. they are usually frozen and when boiled - somehow are very juicy. they originate in siberia. in central asia they have amazing manty - which are spicy and garlicky and made with lamb, much larger then pelmeni, and are steamed in chinese style steamers : big steel pots with many steamers inside. they are out of this world. in queens, near rego park/ forest hills area (thats in nyc), where many diff. people from former soviet union settled they have some restaurants that serve them.

[prasantrin]

I'm not sure, but wouldn't piroshki be similar to the kolachy sold at the Kolachy Shop? If so, perhaps you could get your fill there.

[makanmakan]

Similar idea, but they've got a different texture to the ones we had.

Thanks for the tutorial, Rumball. Now it makes sense as to why the ones we had had different textures. Both fantastic. Have you had any good ones in Vancouver...aside from homemade ones?

Edited April 12, 2007 by makanmakan (log)

[rumball]

kolach - archaic (or kalach in modern spelling) is a special type of bread based on yeast. it's heavily kneaded and often is folded in some way. it does not have stuffing inside. however, you can make small kalachiki - sort of like rolls. for easter they fold them like 'little birds',etc.

there's also bulochki or bulki, if big : equivalent to rolls, bigger ones are shaped like medium sized ovals.

as you might've guessed russians have as many words for baked goods as eskimos for snow :-D.

bakeries usually do not carry anything stuffed, except for smth with cinnamon or raisins. look for a deli to sell pirozhki. usually in russia it's a specialty shop - its russian fast food.

i found a russian forum for vancouver - will extract some eating/deli places for you in a minute.

[rumball]

http://www.coquitlamdeli.com/ - they have georgian spicy cousine (russain georgia in the caucasus). from what i see they carry pirozhki, pelmeni and even pickled tomatoes - those i would love to have!

there's a new russian restaurant in burnaby

Romanoff’s: 2830 Bainbridge Ave & Lougheed Hw., ph: (604) 421-2103

http://www.romanoffs.ca/

there's a russian community centre at 2114 west 4th ave . tel 732-9223. they sometimes have russian fairs with food.

unfortunately most deli's/bakeries listed are on the east coast.

i'm in nyc - so don't have any personal recommendations. but i love vancouver:-D.

[tokyogurumegal]

rumball! Thank you for your info. You're lucky you're in NY, you can probably find anything there. I use to love going to Veselka in East Village, nothing beats a hearty bowl of borscht late night after clubbing... but that was many many years ago!

If only I had Russian friends with grandmothers who can make me home cooked dinner.... my husband's babushka (he is 1/4 Russian) unfortunately never cooked

I will have to get out of my bubble and venture out to the burbs this weekend for pirozhki!

[rumball]

ah, veselka! that's where we would end up at 2am after clubbing too . lo-ong time ago. how funny! these days i make my fusion borshch myself (with poblanos! ). pirozhki are too labour intensive! however, if you are at that georgian deli in coquitlam - ask if they have chebureki (pronounce like in spanish) . these are deep fried large (6") garlicky ground lamb pies, sort of like calzone or big empanadas. they sell them very widely in russia too. recipezaar has a pretty good recipe, i think.

actually, i am inclined to spice these days and probably take georgian food anytime instead of russian.

p.s - russian hot/cold smoked fish is to die for - stock up, if you see it:sterlyad (sturgeon), ugri (eel), treska (mackerel), syomga (cold smoked? salmon), balyk (center cut salmon, hot smoked?).

[sheo]

The European deli at 818 Bidwell (just off Robson) is run by a russian family...I have purchased wonderful hot/cold smoked fish from them. They also have a wide selection of cheeses, meats, and canned goodies, mostly from eastern european location. Several shelves full of mustards and pickled things...and if you go on the right day of the week (haven't been able to figure out which day this is, seems to be hit and miss!) you'll find the most delicious fresh sauerkraut. It sells out really fast. They sell frozen perogies as well.

[rumball]

if you can track that fresh sauerkraut - it's a rare find. i used to make my own, since mostly it's unavailable. it's totally different from cooked packaged /canned sauerkraut. i still cannot stomach american version with mayo . to me it's like french fries with mayo, very strange.

[Zucchini Mama]

The European deli at 818 Bidwell (just off Robson) is run by a russian family...I have purchased wonderful hot/cold smoked fish from them.  They also have a wide selection of cheeses, meats, and canned goodies, mostly from eastern european location.  Several shelves full of mustards and pickled things...and if you go on the right day of the week (haven't been able to figure out which day this is, seems to be hit and miss!) you'll find the most delicious fresh sauerkraut.  It sells out really fast.  They sell frozen perogies as well.

←

sheo, do you happen to know the name of that deli? Sounds good. I headed to the Good Friday bake sale at the Ukrainian church on 10th near Main. It was a perogie stampede! I managed to score one bag of perogies, some kiebasa, cabbage rolls and two kinds of Easter bread. Most things were gone in ten minutes.

Oyama on Granville Island sells good saurkraut. It's actually quite easy to make yourself, too.

[sheo]

Zuchini Mama, I think the name is Euro Foods Plus. Do check it out, it's wonderful. I love the exerience of going to the Ukrainian church on 10th for their once-a-month perogie dinner....

Edited April 18, 2007 by sheo (log)

[emmalish]

ok, i'm russian . so i can tell you that it's written pirozhki, but pronounced piroshki ... what is called pierogi in polish is vareniki in russian ... pelmeni on the other hand are also very much like vareniki...

←

Thanks so much for this info, rumball. When I was a kid, I was best friends with a girl whose parents were Russian and Ukranian, and they fed me the most amazing food whenever I went there. I vaguely remember being taught the difference between pirozhki and vereniki, but haven't been able to find anyone else since then who has ever heard of anything other than perogies. They also made something called (spelled phonetically) peh-duh-hay-uh. Do you have any idea what that could be? Or am I just misremembering pelmeni? It was a very long time ago.

[capers]

ok, i'm russian . so i can tell you that it's written pirozhki, but pronounced piroshki ... what is called pierogi in polish is vareniki in russian ... pelmeni on the other hand are also very much like vareniki...

←

Thanks so much for this info, rumball. When I was a kid, I was best friends with a girl whose parents were Russian and Ukranian, and they fed me the most amazing food whenever I went there. I vaguely remember being taught the difference between pirozhki and vereniki, but haven't been able to find anyone else since then who has ever heard of anything other than perogies. They also made something called (spelled phonetically) peh-duh-hay-uh. Do you have any idea what that could be? Or am I just misremembering pelmeni? It was a very long time ago.

←

"peh-duh-hay-uh" are ukrainian peirogys.

[emmalish]

"peh-duh-hay-uh" are ukrainian peirogys.

←

Thanks capers! After so many years of everyone just looking at me blanky whenever I asked if they'd heard of vareniki or "peh-duh-hay-uh", it's nice to know I wasn't imagining this.

Sorry for hijacking the thread...

Edited April 26, 2007 by emmalish (log)