It's a long time since I've written in this blog but I just had to share this. It seems everyone has discovered Veselka, the Ukrainian restaurant that's been the centre of Ukrainian life in the East Village of Manhattan for my lifetime. What a great thing to have gone to NYU and had both Veselka and Orchidea close by. The Ukrainian Church across from McSorley's on St. Mark's Place was en route. The Ukrainian butcher shop was down the street. And the Ukrainian Museum was next door. The food there was extraordinary in my youth. I would alternate between pyrohy, varenyky and plyatsky, always Uki style with plenty of sour cream, although they catered to all Eastern European tastes.
As an adult, when I worked in Manhattan, I'd periodically shoot down there to Second Avenue for a fix of varenyky with potatoes and cheese. When I worked in New Jersey, I made the annual Easter trek to Manhattan for the Easter lunch staples from the butcher: ham, kobasa, kabanos, and that earthy dark rye bread. Lunch at Veselka was a must.
Orchidea, the bar, is long gone. But Veselka remains an institution, now discovered by all the neighbours as the source of ultimate comfort food 24/7. And it gets 4.5 stars on TripAdvisor. How cool is that?
https://www.hercampus.com/school/nyu/pierogis-are-replacing-late-night-pizza-parlors-east-village
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