Chorney-Booth: On the search for pierogies and other Eastern European specialties in Calgary

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Alberta, like the rest of the Canadian Prairies, has long been a welcoming place for Ukrainian immigrants. Ukrainian Canadians have been settling here since the 1890s and have continued to build communities, including recently, as the war continues in their homeland. Calgary has a smaller Ukrainian population than Edmonton or Winnipeg, but many Calgarians still have Eastern European heritage.

So, why do we have so few Eastern European restaurants?

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The best answer is probably that many Calgarians have decent recipes for traditional cabbage rolls, borscht and pierogi (the latter of which can also, of course, be purchased frozen at any grocery store), so these foods are often not considered restaurant fare. Still, the comforting nature of these meals makes them favourites for many of us, and if you want something beyond that bag of Cheemo pierogi lurking in the back of the freezer, there are a growing number of places to get your fill:

Dnipro Village

A full-service sit-down restaurant in McKenzie Towne, Dnipro Village opened this spring. Operated by Yana Sukhareva and Eugene Sukharev, who describe the restaurant as a “modern bistro and bar,” it offers an upscale but not overly fancy take on Ukrainian classics. The room is adorned with Ukrainian motifs (including plush pierogi hanging from the ceiling) and has already become a hub for Ukrainian Canadians looking for a taste of home.

“My idea was that you could come to this restaurant and feel like you came to your parents’ home,” Sukharev says. “Many people say they feel that they’re still in Ukraine or like they’re having dinner or lunch in their grandmother’s home.”

While the pierogi are a definite draw — Dnipro Village sells savoury handmade dumplings stuffed with combinations of potato, mushroom and bacon ($18 to $19) as well as sweeter versions with cottage cheese, sour cherry or strawberry ($22 to $23) — the best place to start is with the borscht. Sukharev proudly points out that the Ukrainian beet soup is on UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage items in need of urgent safeguarding, making it serious business at Dnipro Village. Borscht-eating guests are suited up with a bib to protect against beet stains, and the soup, served with pork ribs ($17) or beef ($19), comes with a board stacked with sour cream, house-baked garlic-basted pampushki buns, salo (pork back fat), salt, green onion, and a clove of garlic. Sukharev tells me to nibble on the raw garlic and taste the salt between bites of borscht (I chicken out and just dollop my borscht with sour cream).

Dnipro Village also specializes in familiar items like cabbage rolls ($17 to $19 depending on the filling), as well as Ukrainian deruny, which are delectable potato pancakes served with mushrooms, bacon or salted salmon ($18 to $19). Mlyntsi, traditional Ukrainian crepes, are also on the menu, with fillings like sweet cottage cheese, beef or red caviar ($17 to $29).

The restaurant also features a full bar featuring Ukrainian and Georgian wine, cocktails (fancy a “White Ukrainian?” renamed from the original for obvious reasons) and European beer. Don’t miss Dnipro Village’s tasting flight with house-infused horilka (a spirit similar to vodka) and gin. The horseradish horilka goes particularly well with the borscht.

45 High St. S.E., @dniprovillage on Instagram

Heritage Bakery and Deli

It doesn’t get much more old-school Calgary than this little Eastern European spot. Heritage Bakery and Deli has been a Calgary institution since 1985, selling wholesome old-country fare. Look for 10 different kinds of pierogi, Polish garlic sausages, sour pickle soup, and bigos, a traditional Polish hunter’s stew. Fill your freezer with goodies or dine in with a hot lunch combo.

1912 37 St. S.W., heritagebakeryanddeli.ca

European Bakery and Deli

Luma and Shaqir Duraj spent 20 years running a bakery in Prishtina, Kosovo (technically in the Balkans in southeastern Europe, which does have a different cultural makeup than countries like Ukraine and Poland), before immigrating to Canada in 1999. They carried on their dedication to baking and opened the European Bakery and Deli on 17th Avenue S.W. 20 years ago, recently adding a new retail space to help their children move the bakery into its next phase. In addition to making excellent bread, the bakery specializes in burak, a savoury pie filled with meat, spinach, cheese, or potato.

#160, 515 17 Ave. S.W., eurobakerydeli.com

Hit the farmers’ markets

Part of the beauty of homestyle food is that the relatively unfussy items allow entrepreneurs to easily translate their passion for cooking into a small business online or in a farmer’s market. Calgary has several smaller-scale pierogi and cabbage roll makers, all happy to sell you a taste of homemade goodness. Margarita’s Dishes at Calgary’s Farmers’ Market has been selling satisfying Ukrainian fare since the 1980s. Over at Crossroads Market, Ukrainian Fine Foods is a go-to for hot meals as well as frozen pierogi, cabbage rolls, sausage and borscht to take home. And, for a bit newer item, order colourful striped pierogi from Tisto Factory (the-tisto-factory.com) or a hearty pierogi casserole from backofthespoon.ca.

Elizabeth Chorney-Booth can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Instagram at @elizabooth or sign up for her newsletter at hungrycalgary.substack.com.