• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

Enter the humble pierogi. If there is one preparation most representative of the city of Cleveland, it’s the pierogi, a big boiled dumpling filled, traditionally, with potatoes and cheese. It’s a staple of Eastern Europe, common in the cuisines of Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Latvia, and Slovakia—ethnicities that are pervasive in Cleveland. And so are pierogies; people are very familiar with them. They’re comfort food.

Beef cheeks, however, were not initially comforting to Clevelanders in the 1990s. The idea of eating any cheek meet was foreign to them and therefore to be avoided. While this heavily worked muscle results in a deeply satisfying braise, I’d never have been able to serve a straightforward dish of braised beef cheeks, the way I could serve a braised lamb shank or osso bucco. Ah, but if I slipped some of this succulent tender braised beef cheek inside some of my grandfather’s pierogi dough, boiled them, then fried them crispy on the outside and served them topped with some mushrooms and a creamy horseradish sauce, people were willing to try it. Now it’s Lola’s most popular dish, one that symbolizes what Lola is: we took the intimidation out of fine dining and helped people to eat outside the box even though they didn’t realize they were doing just that.

My menus are filled with this kind of twist on common American culinary idioms. Tater tots became crab tater tots to accompany grouper. Mac and cheese evolved as a pasta dish with rosemary and goat cheese. People in this town love their brats, and I love to serve foie gras, so I put foie gras in the form of a brat on the menu and people embraced it.

This is what I mean by approachable food: food that doesn’t intimidate, but also that doesn’t compromise at all; food that’s fun to eat, that makes you happy.

BEEF CHEEK PIEROGIES WITH WILD MUSHROOMS AND HORSERADISH

If have a signature dish, it’s this, a sour-cream-enriched dough from Pap, my dad’s dad, filled with beef cheek that’s been braised until it’s meltingly tender. Traditionally the dough is filled with potatoes and cheese and boiled, then served with some sauerkraut or some caramelized onions on top. But I wanted to make my pierogies a little more special.

These can be made a day or two in advance through the braising stage and then covered and refrigerated. The pierogies can be made and refrigerated for up to four days before cooking them, or frozen for up to three months. Finish them quickly at the last minute for an excellent, and special, dish for entertaining. The recipe may look daunting, and there are a few steps, but none of them is particularly difficult.

This recipe makes enough filling for about thirty 3-inch pierogies. You may have leftover filling; it’s delicious with pasta, on a toasted baguette, or inside a Corn Crêpe.

Like the corn crêpe, the pierogi is a vehicle for other flavors and garnishes:

If you can’t find beef cheeks, cubed beef shoulder or pork shoulder can be substituted.

Any leftover braised meat you might have—such as from beef stew, pulled pork, or osso bucco—would make a great filling, as would duck confit.

You can always go classic with mashed potatoes and cheese filling. Other vegetarian versions can be made using sautéed spinach or seared mushrooms.

Finally, I’ve even made dessert pierogies, filled with bananas sautéed with brown sugar, and topped with caramel sauce and hazelnuts. In a sweet European version, they’re stuffed with stewed prunes.

To me nothing screams Cleveland more than the humble pierogi.

Serves 8 to 10

Pierogi Dough

1 large egg

¾ cup sour cream

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling dough

Beef Cheeks

2 tablespoons olive oil

1½ pounds cleaned beef cheeks

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 red onion, sliced

1 carrot, peeled and sliced

2 garlic cloves, smashed with the flat side of a knife

¼ cup red wine vinegar