On Saturday, September 9th, I went to was Taste of Mequon. Various vendors, restaurants and food trucks gathered outside of Mequon’s City Hall to show off their creations and serve up good food.
I went to the food truck, Stuffed, which specializes in athentic pierogis. The husband and wife team, Stephen and Gosia Glazer, opened the truck last year in April. “My wife is from Poland, and we’re both in the restaurant industry,” says Stephen. Since there aren’t many restaurants in Milwaukee serving up polish food, they had originally wanted to venture into opening their own restaurant. After much consideration, they decided to dip their feet in water by opening the Stuffed food truck.
“Our Potato and Farmers Cheese pierogi and the Braised beef short rib are definitely our top sellers,” says Stephen. I was fortunate enough to try both. The potato and cheese was served with a dollop of sour cream on the side, while the short rib was drizzled with horseradish. Each order is served with four pierogis.
Pierogis are filled dumplings from Eastern origin and is a commonly made food in most Polish families. I learned, from the Polish family that sat next to me, that pierogis are typically boiled. “I’m surprised,” says Marcie Molter. “They pan fry their pierogis. I’ve always boiled mine.”
The pan frying technique ended up being a fantastic choice. “Every pierogi is fried in 100 percent real butter,” says Stephen. I loved the slight crunch I received when I bit into a golden fried area of each and every pierogi. “Our pierogi is unique because every one of them is 100 percent handmade - from the dough and the fillings, to stuffing them ourselves,” says Stephen. “Other vendors, especially at Polish Fest, use frozen pierogi.”
I tried the potato and cheese pierogi first. Instantly, I recognized the rich potato flavor. The potatoes were mashed and smashed some more; they were extremely creamy with no chunks in the midst. They were seasoned with your typical salt and pepper and additionally seasoned with a spice I just couldn’t put my tongue on – but it was superb. As far as the cheese, there was a trivial hint of it; I think the cheese could have been more apparent within the mixture.
These potato and cheese pierogis would go great with any meal. For instance: eggs, potato pierogis and bacon; soup, salad and potato pierogis; and of course, your traditional meat and potato dinner (which is how I felt after eating my next set of pierogis).
The sour cream served on the side was well appreciated by the two younger members of the Polish family, Dan and Marlene Molter. “I definitely prefer it with the sour cream,” says Dan. “It’s like a baked potato with sour cream.” Basically, if you’re a craving savory potatoes, head here.
Next, I tried the braised beef short rib pierogis topped with horseradish sauce, which gave the dish that added zing. The beef was shredded, tremendously tender, and had a great slow-cooked essence. As I bit into the highest filled portion of the pierogi, I hit the jackpot – a thick, beefy chunk, yet still easy to chew. “The beef is really good,” says Katie, another member of the Molter family. “And the horseradish goes really well with it.”
The beef was hearty and had a bold flavor to it, while the horseradish 
add-on certainly brought this short rib pierogi to a new level. I have to say, I like the fact that the beef is the only item in the pierogi because it doesn’t have to complete with other ingredients or share space in this packed polish pocket. “Their pierogis have a lot of meat in them,” says Katie. I agree, they definitely stuff as much as they can into each pierogi.
Anything I can eat with my fingers, I do. However, I probably should have used the fork they gave me because my fingers were slightly greasy after eating them. Although, usually when food is greasy it’s good – and they were.
“Business overall has been good considering we are a part time truck,” says Stephen. “I love running a food truck though it can be a bit stressful for my wife and I as we both have full time jobs as well.”
“We don't do lunches as we've found that we don't get quite the same draw when other trucks are around for lunch,” says Stephen. “Though we do great when the event involves beer.” This year they got quite a few more invitations to events as well as weddings. The Stuffed food truck is also available for other such events like birthday parties, graduation parties, anniversary celebrations, etc.
--Amanda MAniscalco--
--ON THE SIDE--
STUFFED PIEROGI TRUCK
Traveling food truck
262-366-0305
FB: @stuffedpierogitruck
Hours vary
Street parking or festival/grounds parking
Reservations not required