The flavour of Edmonton has Ukrainian zest

If you find yourself in Edmonton with a craving for perogies, there a few places in town sure to satisfy tastebuds.

When you are a food writer, many people believe you eat special things on a daily basis. Perhaps panko-crusted infusions of beet foam, sprinkled with eggplant dust. Always with the raw fish.

Truth be told, I often get a hankering for the far-less-fussy. A piece of toast with a slice of processed cheese and a slick of mayo. A can of Campbell's Cream of Tomato Soup lumped up with soda crackers. A glass of milk.

Recently, I have had a yen for the very ordinary likes of perogy, also known by purists as pyrohy or varenyky.

So I went in search of a satisfying Ukrainian dumpling, something to comfort me when I am blue, and fill me up when I have nothing but a handful of toonies in my pocket.

One of the happiest discoveries I made in my hungry travels was Wendy's Gourmet Perogies. Located in an oddly industrial setting on 99th Street at 45th Avenue, Wendy's makes 10 delicious flavours of perogies priced at $9 a dozen. Varieties include bacon and old cheddar, sauerkraut and bacon, and Tex Mex (in case you have a hankering for refried beans in your buttery pouches of potato).

My favourite among Wendy's perogies are the spinach and feta cheese, although dill and Swiss cheese run a close second. Her potato perogies taste like potato, unlike some perogies, which appear to be filled with something white and pasty but not immediately identifiable.

Owner Wendy Schultz (who spent five years selling her wares at farmers markets before opening a shop nearly six years ago) does a roaring eat-in business at lunch, but also is well equipped for takeout, with a frozen food case up front so you can nip in and pick up dinner on the way home from work. (Wendy's is closed in the evenings.)

All of Schultz's perogies are boiled and then buttered, and require only minimal re-heating.

No story about perogies would be complete without a visit to Uncle Ed's, the perogy palace located on 118th Avenue at 48th Street. (You may know it as the Mundare Sausage House, because the outlet for Stawnichy's sausages in Edmonton is attached to Uncle Ed's.)

Uncle Ed's is geared toward eat-in, although servers will happily put your choice in a take-away container. Important note: don't assume, as I did, that the boiled variety of perogy is all that's available.

You can also get pan-fried or deep-fried, lending the pillowy creatures a crisper finish.

Sour cream, fried onions and real bacon bits come with each order. Four flavours of potato-based perogy are available: cheddar, cottage cheese, onion or sauerkraut. You can buy a plate of eight perogies for $6.50, or five for $4.50. Such a deal.

The lovely thing about Uncle Ed's is that you can also get Stawnichy's famous Mundare ham and garlic sausage on your plate, as well as fragrant cheese buns or crepes with dill cream sauce, and sour or sweet cabbage rolls. Everything comes from Stawnichy's factory in Mundare.

My final recommendation is Taste of Ukraine, downtown at Jasper Avenue and 122nd Street. Don't be put off by the restaurant's reputation as a fine-dining establishment, although it's true you must employ proper terminology here. (Don't, whatever you do, use the term "perogy" around owners Orysia and George Wozniak, who say it is a slang, Canadianized version of the word "pyrohy.") Traditional flavours are available, but also cherry and blueberry, as well as a mini-pyrohy stuffed with minced mushroom.