Oswego restaurant delivers scrumptious dumplings, Polish beer and authentic Polish favorites
By Julie McMahon
Pierogi & Pints
17 W. Cayuga St., Oswego, N.Y., 13126
315-207-2473
www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61577510822153
Tuesday to Sunday, Noon – 10 p.m. (Closed Monday)
Pierogi & Pints in Oswego delivers on its name by bringing its unique, delicious Polish dumplings and beer to the city.
Unassuming from the outside, the joint is a quiet and cozy bar inside with a very friendly and welcoming server who greeted us as we made our way down the stairs on a Tuesday night.
We immediately ordered the Zywiec lager ($7.50) and a local Ithaca Brewery Flower Power India pale ale ($6). Our server told us how to pronounce the Polish beer’s name and it was the hit of the meal as far as drinks go.
Zywiec is distinctive from an American lager, very flavorful, and smooth with a little bit of a tangy flavor. The IPA on draft was also good and fresh, served in a cold glass, but the Zywiec was such a hit and perfectly matched the meals we were eating, so we ended up ordering two more of these.
Pierogi & Pints is a soccer bar, with Polish flags hanging down from the rafters, a big screen TV featured in the center of the space, a dozen or so tables and 10-12 seats at the U-shaped bar. It gives off a beer hall atmosphere, but smaller and snugger. Light ’80s music played in the background, while the TV on low played a Canadian football match.
Our very charismatic server worked the room, chatting with each of the tables (it was a pretty light crowd on a Tuesday night) and making recommendations.
We ordered a spread of different options at her encouragement.
Starting with the Plaki, or potato pancakes ($12.99), these tasted more like a traditional pancake than expected, with lots of cinnamon and nutmeg and warming spices. The Plaki was served with applesauce and sour cream, which boosted the flavor and texture of the pancakes. These came three to a serving, a good amount to start us off for an appetizer — but this ended up being the least exciting part of the meal.
For our entrees, we also ordered the kielbasa and pierogi platter ($12.49), served with side of onion rings. We ordered our pierogi served “all the way” — loaded with onions and sauerkraut (no extra cost) and sour cream on the side ($0.49), as well as an addition of mushrooms ($0.99).
The first thing we noticed as our server brought these out was that they smelled absolutely delicious. The large sausage and three pierogi covered with mushrooms, and a heaping side of onions and kraut, filled the plate.
The kielbasa was nicely grilled, butterflied first, and had the right mix of salty and spicy. The sausage had good texture and grill marks, was not dried out or overcooked but juicy instead, and the outside snapped as you bit into it while the inside was chewier and softer. It was exactly the right combination of textures and flavors that you want in a kielbasa.
The onion rings were very crispy, maybe slightly overdone, but we liked them like that, with a little extra crunch.
The three potato and cheddar pierogi with mushrooms were scrumptious, very classic Polish-style dumplings, pretty large with tasty sauteed mushrooms on top. The flavors of the vegetables and cheese blended together well.
We also ordered the Buffalo chicken pierogi, also “all the way” ($12.49 plus $0.49 for sour cream), a specialty menu item invented by Pierogi & Pints, combining an American favorite with the classic Polish food. These came six to an order.
The chicken inside was shredded and spiced, then the pierogi was drizzled with hot sauce and ranch. Between the flavoring within the dumpling and the sauces, these were nice and spicy, and packed a little bit of a punch. These were especially good with the kraut, onions and sour cream served in a heaping pile on the side of the plate. The dumplings themselves were chewy and slightly crunchy from pan-frying. Altogether each bite tasted a little like buffalo chicken wing dip, which we loved. These were creative and tasty.
The sauerkraut overall was not overly pungent, which we liked, but it added a nice balanced cabbage flavor to the pierogi, and the onions were cooked to perfection. These add-ons made for an especially delicious meal.
Our server checked on us appropriately, bringing us a box for leftovers at just the right time. She made us feel welcome and at home from the moment we walked in to the end of the meal.
The bill came to less than $75, which really was the cherry on top of everything. We felt like we had a very affordable meal that was also high-quality and memorable.
