Food & Wine - Poland...

[stitch34]

Just got back... me and kids were excited to get pierogies in Epcot this trip! 100% Polish (well, kids are Polish/Ukes) Gotta say, quite disappointed. I make homemade pierogies, as do family members, we all make them a bit differently, and we were curious to try out the one's at Epcot - but wow, we are just certain they were Mrs. T's! They look like Mrs. T's, and there is an indentation along the whole back edges of them, just like Mrs. T's, and of course, they taste 100% like Mrs. T's (which I'm not a fan of). Why couldn't they have REAL Polish pierogies?

The kielbasa obviously wasn't Hillshire Farms, LOL, and the stuffed cabbage was authentic - but just disappointed in the pierogies. Spent the afternoon/evening in Future World, and then battled the crowds in World Showcase specifically for the pierogies - well, and a margarita from Mexico!
okay - vent over!

 

[TheRustyScupper]

Why couldn't they have REAL Polish pierogies?

1) Made-from-scratch pirogies are time consuming.
2) The church ladies down the block take all day to make theirs.
3) More time equals more labor money.
4) Thus, most of the booth foods are pre-packaged.

5) Money talks, home-made walks.

.

 

[stitch34]

1) Made-from-scratch pirogies are time consuming.
2) The church ladies down the block take all day to make theirs.
3) More time equals more labor money.
4) Thus, most of the booth foods are pre-packaged.

5) Money talks, home-made walks.

.

really had to LOL at the church ladies comment! So true! Yes, they are time consuming to make... trust me, I know!

 

[TheRustyScupper]

really had to LOL at the church ladies comment! So true! Yes, they are time consuming to make... trust me, I know!

1) The church ladies spend from 6:00am to 9:00pm making them.
2) Then, they are sold on Fridays.
3) They are so popular that you MUST order them by Tuesday.
4) Or, you are out of luck!
5) And, around Easter, the crowds are really heavy!

 

[lockedoutlogic]

It is best not to expect restaurant quality food or cultural accuracy in the food and wine festival.

It is what it is...the chance to get something perhaps a little different.

For me - any chance to get the snails quickly or the cheese soup without fighting the canadian mob in the restaurant is worth the price of admission...and the champagne stand and the beer tents...and...

ok...nevermind. But as Scupper says...the booths are staffed by catering crew and alot of OT cast from other places attempting to make an extra buck to attempt to cover their bills and eat...and the food is mass produced as cheaply as possible.
And if you go later in the festival (its starting to proably set in now ) the staff looks thoroughly bored/ tired of the whole thing and their attention to detail/ freshness suffers noticably.


Can't wait!

 

[JenKatt]

Just got back... me and kids were excited to get pierogies in Epcot this trip! 100% Polish (well, kids are Polish/Ukes) Gotta say, quite disappointed. I make homemade pierogies, as do family members, we all make them a bit differently, and we were curious to try out the one's at Epcot - but wow, we are just certain they were Mrs. T's! They look like Mrs. T's, and there is an indentation along the whole back edges of them, just like Mrs. T's, and of course, they taste 100% like Mrs. T's (which I'm not a fan of). Why couldn't they have REAL Polish pierogies?

The kielbasa obviously wasn't Hillshire Farms, LOL, and the stuffed cabbage was authentic - but just disappointed in the pierogies. Spent the afternoon/evening in Future World, and then battled the crowds in World Showcase specifically for the pierogies - well, and a margarita from Mexico!
okay - vent over!

The problem is they do potato pierogies, which once they start to dry out, they get really crappy. I've had them every year at F&W and I can hear my Babcia (grandmother) rolling over in her grave. However, most years you can't make the dough right in florida in October, it's too hot and humid. My Mom and I usually have to wait until December to make the dough right. I can't imagine the craziness of making that much dough in October in Florida. (NY or NJ, yes, Florida not so much).
There are a number of Polish butchers popping up in Florida that do have good pierogies, but not at Disney....

 

[TDC Nala]

By necessity the offerings at the food/wine booths are mass produced. Wouldn't go looking for fresh home-made type items there, unless maybe you are talking about an item that is easily produced in bulk.

 

[beansmom]

also, i bet 90% of the patrons have never had a real home-made pierogie anyway so they 'won't know the difference'.

Me, I'm a hillbilly from the south so Mrs T's works for me.

 

[LuvLuvLuv]

i'll be happy to get a pierogie made halfway right

since i moved from pittsburgh to cincinnati i've really missed them!! they were so common at "home" -- and now I buy Mrs. T's *IF* the grocery store has them at the time... they don't always!! it'll be fun to have them on vacation

 

[redzinner]

i'll be happy to get a pierogie made halfway right

since i moved from pittsburgh to cincinnati i've really missed them!! they were so common at "home" -- and now I buy Mrs. T's *IF* the grocery store has them at the time... they don't always!! it'll be fun to have them on vacation

Pierogies in Cincinnati? nope wouldn't count on it since it doesn't have a large Polish heritage such as Toledo ... Greek (Skyline) Chili, Montgomery Ribs, Graeters Ice Cream for sure ... and I miss them all.
I'll have to try the pierogies at F&WF, it's something I usually skip.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

Me, I'm a hillbilly from the south so Mrs T's works for me.

I'm with you there, I'm not a hillbilly from the south but Mrs. T's are pretty tasty, especially the ones with cheddar cheese. I did have homemade ones but I thought they were too mushhy!

there's no accounting for taste!

 

[JenKatt]

I'm with you there, I'm not a hillbilly from the south but Mrs. T's are pretty tasty, especially the ones with cheddar cheese. I did have homemade ones but I thought they were too mushhy!

there's no accounting for taste!

Cheddar cheese doesn't belong in pierogies!!!! My babcia (grandmother) would kill me if she saw me eat one! It's a shame most people don't know what good pierogies taste like, they are great. We make ours with farmer's cheese (sorta like a cottage cheese, but not wet and much sweeter/ smoother) with a little sugar added. Plus the dough is MUCH lighter than Mrs T's. You can fill them with anything (my Dad loves ons filled with meat, I like the cheese ones and some of the fruit filled ones)

 

[tony67]

Yeah these were a huge disappointment last year. (haven't been this year)

They were really good the previous year, so it is really frustrating.

 

[cmspacca]

The pierogi/sausage dish definitely wasn't worth $5 either. The cabbage roll was OK though.

 

[2BusyPlanning]

I thought the very same thing in 2007 when I had them! Def Mrs. T's, I thought to myself. I won't be trying them again, too many other things to try

 

[Laurin612]

I'm Polish, too, and Mrs. T's is OK in a pinch, but I would expect better at F&W. There are plenty of mass-produced pierogi brands (like Kasia's) that are much closer to homemade than Mrs. T's.

 

[disneygal55]

Cheddar cheese doesn't belong in pierogies!!!! My babcia (grandmother) would kill me if she saw me eat one! It's a shame most people don't know what good pierogies taste like, they are great. We make ours with farmer's cheese (sorta like a cottage cheese, but not wet and much sweeter/ smoother) with a little sugar added. Plus the dough is MUCH lighter than Mrs T's. You can fill them with anything (my Dad loves ons filled with meat, I like the cheese ones and some of the fruit filled ones)

My babcia and Mom would also be shocked if I ate a pierogi with cheddar cheese (I don't think they have cheddar cheese in Poland)LOL! My family also uses farmer's cheese but adds potato to it...delicious. We also have meat filled ones (kind of like a raviolli filling), cabbage filled, and sometimes blueberry filled. After gently boiling them they are served with sour cream. I guess I won't bother to try them this year at F&W even though I really wanted to.

 

[JenKatt]

To be honest, the ones at F&W are a bit better than Mrs T's. I haven't had this years, but in previous years, they did saute them with onions and butter, which helps.
Its so funny the differences in pierogies. I hate cheese and potato ones, even if it is farmer's cheese. I just don't like potato filling with all the dough! My Dad's family came from a part of Poland that didn't use a lot of potatoes in cooking, so it's just not what I am use to.

 

[chrisw127]

Yes, they were totally frozen! The kielbasa was good though. I guess I should have expected them to be frozen; it's not like they had bunch of church ladies making them. Unrelated, but I also thought the spatzle gratin from Germany tasted like bad mac and cheese.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

Oh no, that was on my list to try. I think I'll skip it now. The church ladies by me take three days to make them. Day one they make the dough, day two they make the different fillings, day three they they make their pierogi magic.