Yesterday was the first day of snow for the winter season that is taking over. There’s still snow and ice lingering outside and the temperature is predicted to stay below zero for the whole day. Somehow that just screams “FOOD TRUCK TIME”, well at least in my head it did. To twitter I go and what do we have here, The Perogy Boyz food truck is setup just off of 9th street and 16th avenue southeast. With an empty stomach and my camera I hit the road.
I arrive early and the truck’s side windows are closed but the menu is already out in front, combing it over I realize I’m about to buy a lot of food. Did I mention I’m Ukrainian and this is my ultimate comfort food. Borscht, kelbasa, perogies and what do we have here, carrot cake perogies? When they finally open and I jump to the head of the line I order borscht to start, tranditional perogies with kelbasa, saurkraut perogies with jalepeno cheddar sausage, duck perogies, and carrot cake perogies. This is a lot of food. I’d recommend eating a lot less. But it your daring then by all means order away.
The borscht is served to me right away, the smell of dill lingers heavy in the air, the soup has the welcoming red beet coloring and tastes incredible. There is lots of cabbage and bacon in the soup, I wanted bigger pieces of beets in it but it’s still working on so many levels. It’s cold and the soups so warm, I finish it off quickly waiting for the rest of my food to show, by this time quite a crowd has developed. There’s as least a dozen of us now waiting in the cold for food.
My four remaining courses arrive. I lay them out of the hood of my Jeep to snap and few photos and immediately throw a saurkraut perogy in my mouth. It’s hot, crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside, a little green onion with it and it tastes great, the saurkraut isn’t too tangy but has the right bite with a little potato and onion mixed in for good measure. The dough is soft and is lightly fried on a flat top in the truck. The kelbasa is next and it’s cut into large medallion like slices and piled ontop of some sauted onions and bacon. The kelbasa is mild and goes well with the bacon and onion. The onions remind me of french onion soup, they are so soft and full of flavour, I’m putting them on everything there so good.
My next large container contains the traditional perogies and the jalepeno sausage. The sausage is a single link cut in half, first bite I don’t get much for heat until the end, once I’m about to move on I feel the heat fight back a little and swell up in me. It’s a good burn nothing major but you can tell the jalepeno is in there for sure. The sausage is locally sourced from Illichmans Sausage Shop and are made with no fillers or binders it’s just straight up meat and spices and it shows in the great taste. The traditional perogies are as expected, they take me back to simpler times, lightly flavoured with what I imagine is salt and pepper and then slightly brown on the flat top in butter. They are good, it’s like I’m at home and my moms making them. With the heat off in November and we’re eating outside for some reason.
Duck perogies. It sounds like a strange combination, but I felt obligated to try them. Just three to a small box they are served with a side of ponzu. I immediately eat all three of them without looking back. The fatty duck with saskatoon berries and light ponzu sauce go nicely together, it’s an interesting combination but in the end it’s way to much like gyoza and although I like gyoza I’m looking for more of the eastern european flavours that I’m now craving.
Now dessert, dessert perogies to be more specific. Sprinkled with powdered sugar and place on top of what I can only assume is a caramel molasses mixture these are just super. A spiced carrot, raisin and sweet potato mixture inside a perogy dough is just a solid idea, the caramel sauce is great for dipping although you really have to smear the perogy through this viscous sauce to really pick up enough of it.
It was a cold day to be hitting up a food truck, but definitely worth it. I’d stick to some borscht and one order of perogies with sausage, probably going with the traditional because they are really what you’re craving when you want perogies. The bacon and onion mixture you get with the perogies is a welcome addition and really adds to the meal. I got in contact with one of the Perogy Boyz after the fact and he assured me that his baba passed on the recipes willingly since you really can’t beat the original. A final pointer from the Perogy Boyz, perogies are meant to be boiled, then fried, it’s a two part process to give them that incredible texture. As for the dough, that secret is apparently going to the grave, so you’ll have to track down the Perogy Boyz truck the next time you’re craving some eastern european comfort food.
The Perogy Boyz truck started it’s life in LA. It’s a ’95 Chevrolet chassis on a complete custom build that finished up in November of 2010. It’s starting to look like the Chevy chassis is the food truck choice for a starter platform.
*NOTE: Wondering why I make reference to November? This review was originally written on the 5th of November of 2011. I only just manage to get it onto my site. It originally appeared on Beyond.ca.