If You've Never Had Pierogies, You Aren't Living Life Right

And I mean that with all of my heart.

Mmm...sauteed in butter and lightly salted. How can you NOT like these?
image from http://onceuponasmallbostonkitchen.blogspot.com/

In college, I had a boyfriend from the South who honestly didn't think black people in the North ate or even KNEW about soul food. Not only did I laugh in his face at how ridiculous that was (I mean, 90% of us have family connected to at least one Southern state, so of COURSE we know about fried chicken, corn bread, candied yams, greens and the like) but I remember being shocked myself when he said he'd never eaten a pierogie before and insisted on pronouncing kielbasa as "keel-baw-suh" instead of "ka-boss-si"! No no friends, black people (in my region of the North anyway) enjoy our barbecue and sweet potato pie right next to our favorite German, Greek, Irish, and Polish foods. I actually think we get the best of both worlds that way, but I digress...

Soul Food-- not as secret as some from the South think it is lol.
This looks like a typical plate from my youth-
except the sauce would be slathered all over those ribs and we'd have cornbread instead of toast
image from http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/soul%20food

I knew I wanted to go to a Cleveland eatery because the city has gained quite a culinary reputation over the last few years. But I also wanted to go someplace that people actually living in the city enjoyed- not just Food Network TV stars and visiting chefs. Google and a few of my fellow Trip Advisor commenters consistently mentioned Sokolowski's University Inn- and that was good enough for me!

Sokolowski's is the oldest family run restaurant in the city of Cleveland, and has been going strong for 90 years. The interior was a little dark, but it reminds you of going into your grandparents' den.
So why the whole pierogie intro? Well, Sokolowski's serves mostly Polish food, cafeteria style. That means you get a tray, pick up your dessert, and then go along picking your entree and sides. Naturally, being that I LOVE those potato filled pockets of goodness, I chose them as a side, as well as a cream-sauce covered chicken fillet, sweet potatoes, and a slice of apple pie. My plate wasn't "pretty", but it was tasty (thankfully not too salty!) and packed with way too much food.

My plate at Sokolowski's

Another bonus is this place is literally down the street from famous West Side Market (that was sadly closed on the Tuesday I made my way there). I got off the Red Line RTA train one stop from Tower City (the central hub station) and walked for about ten minutes before the restaurant was on my left. I crossed a bridge and went under another one- it started to look a bit shady for about two seconds there but never to the point I felt unsafe.

Almost done posting my Cleveland adventures. Currently (trying) to be fiscally conservative these upcoming weeks as I prepare for my 4 days in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and you know, actually buying my plane ticket to Seattle for my trip to Washington/Alaska. As always, my Facebook page is up and always accepting thumbs up!

See you next adventure!