4 November 2014. Now, For Something ENTIRELY Different… Hey, Hey, Hey, It’s National Sausage Week!

Kiełbasa (that be the Polack spelling) in Plymouth PA… that’s pronounced “kah-bah-see” in PA, New York, and New Jersey

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Here be “galoomkies” and kapusta with pivo… all normal people have this alongside their kolbasa (that be the Russkie spelling)

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Here be pelmeni (that be little Russkie “pirogies”) with sour cream… another good thing to have with one’s kolbász (that be the Hunkie spelling)

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Put my vote in for smoked garlic kolbasa… plenty of it, with kapusta and pivo. Now, that’s American Slavonia on a plate! Y’ know, “galoomkies”, “pirogies”, the White Eagle Club, Rova Farms, the Magyar Othon, the Nassau Ave Meat Market, the M & I, the International Bar, Happy Louie and Heavy Chicago, listening to the “polka show” on the radio, having the Kulich basket blessed on Easter… the whole banana. That’s a milieu that I’m proud to have grown up in! Be sure to make enough for seconds, please…

BMD

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Well, Waddaya Know… Another First for Pittsburgh: World’s Largest Pierogi

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On National Pierogi Day, this morning, chefs at Rivers Casino made what Guinness World Records verified to be the world’s largest pierogi. The giant dumpling weighed in at 123 pounds (56 kilos), establishing a record. Filled with 60 pounds (27 kilos) of potatoes and 5 pounds (2¼ kilos) of cheddar cheese, the pierogi was so big that the casino had to make a stainless-steel holder to first boil and then bake it. The total cooking time was about 2 hours. Executive Chef Richard Marmion said, “It’s pretty cool. What a totally neat experience we can be proud of”. He laboured for more than a year to come up with the recipe and figure out how to cook it. Assistant Executive Chef Adam Tharpe added, “We’re part of that Guinness weirdness in a very Pittsburgh way. Only in Pittsburgh would there be so much excitement over pierogies”. However, already, controversy is brewing. Minutes after the official proclamation by Guinness adjudicator Michael Empric at 10.00 EDT, the folks at PGH Pierogi Truck took to Twitter in protest. They tweeted, “We have fundamental problems with this ‘pierogi’. Because it isn’t one. It’s pagach”. The pagach is a variation on the pierogi. It’s an Eastern European yeast bread stuffed with mashed potatoes, sauerkraut or sweet cabbage, and then baked.

8 October 2014

Gretchen McKay

Pittsburgh (PA) Post-Gazette

http://www.post-gazette.com/local/region/2014/10/08/Another-first-for-Pittsburgh-World-s-biggest-pierogi/stories/201410080174

Pierogi Drama Engulfs PNC Park as Cheese Chester and Potato Pete Race Head-to-Head

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Editor:

Click on the URL below, it’ll take you to a page where there’s video that I couldn’t embed here.

BMD

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After spending some time on the DL, Pittsburgh Pirates racing pierogi Cheese Chester was rather eager to return to the starting lineup at PNC Park. During Friday’s race, Chester even showed up at the finish line and attempted to attack his replacement, Potato Pete, with an aluminium crutch. On Saturday, Potato Pete again coasted to victory in the race, only to be confronted by Cheese Chester once more. The Pirate Parrot quickly intervened to calm things down, but it was clear Chester wanted just one thing… to defeat Potato Pete on the field. So, they devised a solution… the two pierogies would race at the end of Saturday’s Reds-Pirates matchup, and the winner would be allowed to race with the other the pierogies for the rest of the season. The loser would be out. Sure enough, after the Pirates recorded the final out of their 3-2 win, Pete and Chester made their way to the field for the ultimate race. Things couldn’t have been tenser. At the three-quarter mark along the track, Pete had a sizeable lead over the Comeback Pierogi of the Year and seemed sure to win. Pete was so sure of his victory that he even turned to taunt Cheese Chester. It was a tragic mistake. With that, Chester passed his nemesis and cruised through the finish line, earning his spot back in the Pirates Racing Pierogies lineup. After his battles with both injury and Potato Pete, you won’t find a happier pierogi anywhere.

30 August 2014

Dakota Gardner

MLB.com

http://wapc.mlb.com/cutfour/2014/08/30/92296152/video-great-pierogi-race-off-between-cheese-chester-and-potato-pete?partnerId=as_mlb_20140831_30780326

5 April 2014. Here’s an Old School po-Nashemu Smile… Barechested Guy Joins Pierogie Race in Pittsburgh

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Editor:

We all need a smile. Yes, the serious news IS important… and we’ll get back to it. However, we need to unwind and smile, too. Here’s to all youse Yinzers out there… especially, with a hat tip to the memory of the late Metropolitan Constantine Bugan, who never left the old nabe and never forgot where he came from (light a candle for Metropolitan Gus the next time that you’re at liturgy). Does he still pull pranks in eternity (he was famous for his mechanical mouse)? One hopes so…

BMD

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Oliver Onion, 0-4 in pierogi races this season, didn’t finish last during Wednesday night’s sprint. The bowtie-and-glasses-clad pierogi crossed the finish line in right field a solid three seconds before Luke Emory Oyler. Police spokesman Sonya Toler said that Pittsburgh police charged the Chambersburg PA man with defiant trespass after he decided to enter the highly anticipated showdown that follows the fifth inning. At least five park staff members chased Mr Oyler, 29, as he ran shirtless across the outfield whilst the pierogies raced. He crossed the finish line and leaped over a railing, where park staff tackled him and the cops handcuffed him. Today, Mr Oyler didn’t respond to requests for comment. Cheese Chester clinched his first win of the season by edging out Sauerkraut Saul. During the other show at PNC Park on Wednesday night, the Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs 4-3 in 16 innings. The game, which carried into Thursday morning, lasted 5 hours, 55 minutes, making it the longest baseball game ever played in Pittsburgh.

Editor:

Everything is still fine with the world. Metropolitan Gus would’ve loved this… it’s a hoot…

BMD

3 April 2014

Lexi Belculfine

Pittsburgh (PA) Post-Gazette

http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/pirates/2014/04/03/Shirtless-man-arrested-after-joining-pierogi-race-at-PNC-Park-during-Wednesday-s-Pirates-game/stories/201404030327