The Polish Princess’ Pierogie Palace

Regional food always fascinates me.  On a recent trip to upstate New York, I tried pierogies from The Polish Princess’ Pierogie Palace, located at The Windmill near Penn Yan, NY.  Looks-wise, this ain’t no palace.  But the pierogies that come out of this humble establishment are fit for royalty.  (That was so cliche, eh?)  Simply put, these were the best pierogies I have ever tasted.

Served with a dill sour cream, they were light and fluffy with a tasty filling of potato and cheese. I shared six with my parents and we were all satisfied.  A plate cost $5.50. Quite affordable.  A combination platter with kielbasa cost $8.00.  I’ll try that next time.

Adriatic Grill Breakfast Sandwich

Adriatic Grill sounds all fancy shmancy. You don’t usually find fancy shmancy on campus so I was excited to try something they served. It’s probably the cleanest food vendor on campus but the sandwich tasted really bad. All look and no substance is Adriatic Grill.

I ordered a bacon egg and cheese (big surprise) on wheat toast (wheat just escaped my lips today. Should have been white but I went with the slip.) I asked for salt/pepper/ketchup but got the damn ketchup in a packet, not on the sandwich. I have said this so many times before: it is almost breakfast sandwich suicide to give the ketchup on the side. In packets. And Hunt’s! Who likes Hunt’s ketchup? Post a comment if I am crazy and you love Hunt’s.

This might be one of the most perfect-looking sandwiches I’ve tried so far, complete with the cut in half, but the perfection ended there and I only received this superficial shell of a sandwich.

Eggs: spongy, dry, tasteless. Tuckage was great, though:

Bacon: cut in little bits but this works better if ketchup is applied to keep the bits from falling out. Not much taste but the texture was a bit like jerky.

Cheese: couldn’t taste it until half way through the sandwich and the taste was average.  The cheese was liquid while eating the first half but hardened up by the second half. A hardened, solid, glob. Look! Pathetic!

And hey you North Philadelphians, Temple students, and staff: I am running out of vendors. Let me know where I should go next!

Scoring:

Overall appearance: 10

Meat: 6

Egg (quality, quantity, and tuckage): 7

Greasiness: 5

Cheese (quality and quantity): 5

Condiments (quality and quantity.): 2

Carbohydrate Delivery System (credit: Matt Palmer): 5

Price: 7 ($2.75)

Accuracy of order: 8

Overall taste: 6

Total score: 61

Adriatic Grill is along the Anderson Hall vendor strip on N. 12th St.

2008 Seyval Blanc (Hunt Country, Finger Lakes, NY)

On a recent trip to the Finger Lakes, I stopped at Hunt Country winery to escape the rain. Hunt Country is usually a pleasant enough winery to visit, but recently their wines have been a bit too sweet for my palate–I don’t think it’s a major change in their production, just a change in my taste buds.

The 2008 Seyval Blanc stood out when I tasted it as a more refined wine that my very picky husband might like, and it was on sale for $8.99 on site.  Score.

Seyval Blanc is a French hybrid grape known for its resistance to the cold, which explains why it grows well in the Finger Lakes region.  It is often compared to white Burgundies and is a fair alternative to some Chardonnays and Sauvignon Blanc varietals.

This particular Seyval Blanc has a lot of white Burgundy (typically Chardonnay) characteristics, such as the tropical fruit nose and flavors like pineapple and honeysuckle with some grapefruit and vanilla thrown in.  It does lack minerality and there is no stoniness or edge to this wine, which most white Burgundies would have.

The wine has a moderate acidity and you can tell that it’s been held in the barrel for a while due to the oakiness in scent and flavor.  And just FYI, most French white Burgundies start at $20-$25 a bottle and can cost as high as $300.