Sunday, August 21, 2011

Forgotten Taste Famous Pierogies - Wexford, PA

When Kevin and I were back in Pittsburgh two weeks ago, we made our rounds to check out all of the "Pittsburgh" food that we miss so much. Primanti Bros, Eat' N Park, Tokyo Sushi and Buffet (I know, this isn't exactly Pittsburgh food but I love the sushi there!)...you get the idea. Another thing that I really really miss from Western PA is pierogies! Boy, I used to look forward to "Pierogies Night" every Wednesday at the dining hall, back when we were still in college. It was so so so gooooooood! If there is a type of food that you MUST try while you are in Pittsburgh (apart from Primantis, of course!), it has to be pierogies! You can be sure that people from da Burgh take their pierogies seriously. They even have pierogie races during inning breaks at the Pirates games!! Sooooo, naturally we must not leave Pittsburgh before getting our hands on some yummy pierogies.
Pierogies Plus is probably one of the more popular pierogie shops in Pittsburgh, known for their authentic, made from scratch pierogies. Kevin wasn't really in the mood to drive all the way to McKees Rocks just for pierogies so I tried to google for somewhere nearer. I then found Forgotten Taste. They claim to have the best pierogies in all of Southern PA, so we decided to give it a try. They have three outlets around the greater Pittsburgh area and we went to the one in Wexford. Since it was located at the strip mall at the Village at Pine, there were ample free parking right at it's doorstep. Please note that the signboard of their shop doesn't say "Forgotten Taste" but just plain "Pierogies" in bold red. I guess they know what they are famous for!
The store isn't really all that large. You just have to walk up to the counter and order whatever that you want. Then, you can either grab a table (there are not that many though) and wait for them to bring up your food to you or you can just wait (if you are getting it to go). Most of the food are pre cooked, so it doesn't take long at all. What I like about the place is how they have pictures of everything on their menu, hanging up on the wall. This way, you know exactly what you will be getting. Since Kevin's mom was back home and we needed to get lunch for her too, we ordered our food to go.
Both Kevin and his mom each got the Meal #6 ($6.69). One Stuffed Pepper with Tomato Sauce, Haluski and four pieces of Potato & Cheese Pierogies with butter and onions. The Smoked Polish Keilbasa ($3.49) that you see in the picture is actually half of what we ordered from the a la carte menu. As you can see from the menu, most of the food from Pittsburgh has Polish/Czech/Eastern European influence. You might be wondering why. Well, in the later half of the 1800s, large numbers of Polish immigrants settled in Pittsburgh due to the steel industry. I am guessing that it must have started from then. In case you didn't know, Kevin's ancestors (from his dad's side) probably came to America right about then too.
I ordered the Meal #3 ($6.99) which was one Stuffed Cabbage with Tomato Sauce, Haluski and four pieces of Potato & Cheese Pierogies with butter and onions. Also, you can see the other half of the Polish Keilbasa that I was sharing with Kevin in the picture. I must say that I really enjoyed my meal. The stuffed cabbage was really good and so was the Haluski. Oh, for those of you who don't know, Haluski is actually thick soft noodles made from flour, egg and water. It is then boiled, rolled in oil or butter and then served with vegetables or meat. The Haluski that we had was served with cabbage.
Since this was a pierogies place, we HAD to order more pierogies. Four pieces each just wasn't enough! So, we ordered an extra half dozen of Beef and Mushroom Pierogies ($5.90). You could either get it with the traditional butter and onions, with tomato sauce or you could get it deep fried. Also, if you are planning to keep it for another day, you could buy them frozen. Apart from Beef and Mushroom, they also have a whole lot of other different fillings. You can check it out here. I must say that the pierogies from Forgotten Taste is really really good. We must remember to head out there again the next time we are back in Pittsburgh. Oh, and if you are planning to do so, you might want to head out there on Mondays and Wednesdays. They are currently having a promotion where all meals are just $4.99 on Mon and Wed!!


Forgotten Taste Famous Pierogies
11978 Route 19 Village at Pine,
Wexford, PA, 15090
Tel: (724)940 2277
Web: http://forgottentaste.com/

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