Six Restaurants Where the Eastern European Nostalgia Lives On

For over sixty years, family owned Kramarczuk’s has been serving Eastern European dishes like cabbage rolls smothered in a luxurious tomato cream sauce and specialty sausages made in house. Varenyky, dumplings stuffed with meat, cheese and potato, sauerkraut or velvety cheese, are Kramarczuk's answer to pierogies, served with a tangy horseradish sour cream sauce.

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Crossroads serves traditional family favorites, inspired by their Grandma Alma, for 20 years. Their beloved matzo ball soup is a soothing concoction of homemade chicken broth with tender pieces of chicken, sweet carrots and celery and a singular matzo ball the size of a small child. Their version of the European classic cabbage roll is a hearty dish braised in sweet and sour cabbage borscht and served alongside a generous heap of garlic mashed potatoes.

Image credit: Crossroads Deli

One of the stars in the popular Blue Plate empire’s crown, Longfellow Grill is not exactly known for old-world fare, but among offerings of walleye benedict and chicken roulade, is a lovely plate of potato and cheddar stuffed pierogies topped with crisp onion strings and served with a kicky horseradish sauce. Get it as a shareable starter or as an entree complete with a thick slab of marinated steak.

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Hammer and Sickle’s Russian specialties include an impressive line up of six varieties of pierogies. The list includes the traditional Comrade, stuffed with a creamy potato and cheese filling and topped with caramelized onions, bacon and sour cream, to the sassy Sputnik, which claims to be filled with potato, ground beef, a three chili relish and served with sour cream and tears.

Image credit: Hammer & Sickle

Moscow on the Hill is another vodka focused gem that serves three incarnations of the staple dumping, including two kinds of pelmeni- boiled dumplings filled with beef and pork, and the Ukrainian vareniki filled with potato, caramelized onions and asiago and garnished with dill.

Image credit: Moscow on the Hill

St. Petersburg in Robbinsdale covers all your dumpling needs with plates of Siberian and gravy topped pelmeni, cabbage or potato Vareniki and even Chebureck, a savory, fried pastry that is a popular street food loved throughout Eastern Europe. May we suggest a chilled vodka flight with your dumplings? St. Petersburg was named one of the top 10 vodka bars in the country by USA Today.

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