It's all about the dough. That is the basis of Karen Markiewicz's business, K Sisters Authentic Pierogi. "Because we use the old fashioned dough, made from sour cream, butter, and milk, you can put anything in them!" And they do.
At any given time there are approximately 18 different kinds of pierogi in the freezer. For the traditionally minded there are sauerkraut varieties, potato varieties, and of course farmer's cheese varieties. For the open minded palate there are fruit varieties (cherry, blueberry, prune), sweet potato, tomato with jalapeno, ricotta with spinach and roasted garlic, and the new breakfast pierogi containing eggs, cheese, and Canadian bacon. If that doesn't send your taste buds over the edge, the K Sisters are constantly coming out with new creations! The pierogi of the week when I visited was the enchilada pierogi, filled with a beef, bean, and cheese mixture.
Yeah, yeah, yeah you say, been there done that. You've bought all the different brands of pierogi, even homemade from the Broadway Market and none of them compare to grandma's. Well take it from this Pol (and the 3,000 others on the K Sisters' mailing list) these pierogi are authentic, which is exactly what motivated Karen Markiewicz to open in the first place.
Markiewicz wondered why aren't there any authentic pierogi available commercially, and there is no good answer to that question, but there are thousands of Buffalonians asking it. The common scenario is that Polish grandmothers are getting too old to make pierogi from scratch anymore and the next generation of 40-50 year olds are too busy to partake in the arduous process.
But that doesn't change the fact that everyone still wants them, as evidenced by the K Sisters' first Easter sales. They sold more than 60,000 pierogi during the Easter season alone and they'd only been open for 5 months. They were so swamped that they depended on the kindness of friends and family who volunteered in the kitchen by rolling out pierogi, though the business always runs on friends and family.
It is such a community venture that even the mailman helps out; during my visit he mentioned that he was coming back after his shift to help pull a couple of bushes from the K Sister's yard.
For this year's Christmas and Easter seasons, Markiewicz plans on hiring more help to meet the constantly growing demand. She hopes the demand continues to grow so she can "retire" from her accounting business. She invested her entire retirement savings into her pierogi business and wants, in another year or two, to retire from accounting and devote herself to K Sisters alone.
Karen grew up in the Clinton-Rossler neighborhood and knows practically everyone who walks in the door. Being a Buffalonian herself, she supports other local businesses by purchasing all of her products from locally owned vendors. Produce comes from the Clinton & Bailey market and Tarantino Foods, the sauerkraut and cheese from Willowbrook. She even purchases her retail bags locally from Chudy Paper Co.
When you enter the K Sisters it feels warmly familiar. With a small "dining room" display, complete with shelves of tchochtkes and Auntie Stasia behind the counter you'll feel as though you're stopping by your own grandmother's. Auntie Stasia (literally Markiewicz's aunt) works the register up front. The little 78 year old is everyone's babci. She lives just 2 blocks away and loves speaking Polish with the shop's devoted customers.
Still don't believe me that the K Sisters pierogi are the real deal? Last year they were recognized as the Best Unusual Pierogi in Buffalo during Mayor Brown's Pierogi Pride Day (which won Buffalo the title of Mrs. T's Capital of the Pierogy Pocket ). Karen personally served Mayor Brown pierogi; he was so impressed that he's been sending in a steady stream of new customers to the K Sisters shop ever since.
Polish or not, you have to get down to the K Sisters where 90% of the recipes are Markiewicz's mother's and grandmother's. All of the food is phenomenal including items like seafood bisque, home made baked goods, chili, golabki, and czarnina. Try their most popular menu item, pierogi made with farmer's cheese, onions and chives, or my personal favorite the sweet farmer's cheese and sugar pierogi. Or, if you're having an event inquire about their budding catering branch. You can also look for the K Sisters this summer at the Elmwood Avenue Festival of the Arts (August 25-26).
Stay tuned to Buffalo Rising as Buffalo prepares to retain their title as Mrs. T's Capital of the Pierogy Pocket for 2008.
K Sisters Authentic Pierogi, 2116 Clinton, 14206, 827.4077, www. ksisters.com, call for hours