Commentary: Bridging the political divide with pierogies in Morristown

By Karl Fenske, Esq.

So, I am sitting here thinking about my grandfather, Gottfried, who came over on a boat as a youngster to Ellis Island with his mother.

His brothers and father were already here, and his mother and he were the last Fenskes to leave Lipno, Prussia (now Poland).

The Fenskes were fleeing political and economic conditions that resulted in a wave of German immigration to this country in the late 1800s early 1900s. They didn’t speak English and were as poor as kirchenmausen (church mice) when they arrived.

And I am thinking of our dysfunctional immigration laws and bureaucracy. According to the Wall Street Journal, we have 700,000 open immigration cases and more every day. It takes over two years to get an immigration hearing (way worse than getting a divorce in Morris County).

Both sides of the aisle agree the system needs massive reform, but that is all they agree on. More judges? A wall? Amnesty? Lottery? Exclusion of certain ethnic or religious groups? Open borders?

All this arguing makes me hungry — maybe the Urban Dictionary term is “hangry”–  and I start to consider my dining options here in Morristown:

Chinese, Japanese, Central American, Mexican, Italian, Indian, Thai, Greek, Irish and much more recently, Vietnamese, Malaysian, Cuban and Polish.

Such a wealth of culinary diversity. We have an embarrassment of riches in the food department to go along with our Sanctuary status.

So methinks, maybe a journal of some of these immigrant restaurateurs and entrepreneurs would be a positive step in diversity awareness and proof positive that the foreign-born amongst us are truly a boon to our economy and our quality of life. A là the late Anthony Bourdain of Parts Unknown.

Here goes. Our first stop:

PIEROGIES HOUSE, hand-made pierogies, 145 Morris St.

THE OWNER:

Evelina Berc came to the USA from Poland. She already had what she calls a Master’s from a Polish University in Fine Art. Unable to figure out how to earn money with that art degree in her native Lezajsk, she opened seven chocolate shops.

Some family members had already settled in America. They were dissatisfied with the Communist regime. These aunts and uncles were very contented living here so she sold the candy stores and took a flyer, moving to New Jersey.

She dragged her husband along. He shares child care duties for their two uber-cute boys, but he has his own profession. If this is “chain migration,” I say, more chain migration, please.

Evelina went to a university in New York City and got an American bachelors degree in art and tried making a living in photography. Weddings and babies were not cutting it for her. She missed her favorite comfort foods from home, because there were no Polish restaurants in New Jersey.

She had traveled a bit in the Garden State and visited Morristown a few times. So she decided to start an authentic pierogi restaurant here three years ago. To say that Ms. Berc is a go-getter, an entrepreneur par excellence, is an understatement.

It has taken her all of these past three years to open. Unlike other towns, she felt Morristown had an urbane European flair and a friendly community aura. She liked the hustle and bustle of the sidewalks and the people she met here. She liked the diversity of Morristown, which she felt made it more likely to embrace an upstart unfamiliar cuisine.

What was her greatest challenge? Financing? Town inspectors? Getting customers?

No. It was finding and keeping the kind of devoted employees it takes to run this kind of restaurant. You have to train them, supervise them, fill in for them when they don’t show and get new ones and start again when they bounce. It’s tough, but Evelina loves to see customers smile when they dig into a plate of beautifully crafted pierogies. The effort’s worth it to her.

THE SPACE:

Next came finding a space that was the right size (“small but not too small”) and reasonably priced. Then, of course, the artist in her needed to design the space from top to bottom, and she needed to hand build the tables and wall decorations.

The kitchen – the nerve center of any restaurant – needed to handle the kind of prep that goes into authentic Polish cuisine. No pre-prepared anything. All fresh and specially sourced ingredients, lovingly cooked each day for each customer.

Ms. Berc wanted to be Green, so the utensils and plates are recyclable natural materials. She wanted vegetarian selections and also hearty meals of meat and potatoes. Most Polish restaurants would serve beer and wine, but a liquor license was out of the question, so her restaurant is BYOB.

Liquor stores and a fine wine delivery place are only a block away. There are outdoor dining tables, a takeout counter and regular seating in a very comfortable but not fussy ambiance.

The feng shui bespeaks the owner’s art background nicely. If anyone thinks you just put some tables and chairs in a storefront, and a stove in the back, and open up, you are seriously deluded. Passing zoning- and health regulations is a maze, but Ms. Berc persevered and opened to rave reviews and a steadily growing customer base.

Each time I have visited, gastronomic tourists from far-flung places like Bergen County and New Brunswick have come for a taste of the Old Country.

THE FOOD:

Pierogies, soups, stuffed cabbage, stew, desserts, including blueberry pierogies with real wild Maine blueberries.

Ms. Berc gets the flour for the pierogi dough from Poland. Why? American flour did not have the right taste and elasticity. I’ve heard this from some fancy pizza makers, like the guys at Millie’s up on South Street.

Could she use a pasta machine to roll out the dough? Yes, but the result would be thicker than what Evelina remembers from her childhood, so hand rolling is de rigeur. Every day her dough chef comes in early and starts rolling.

After some serious wrist- and upper body work, he uses a massive cookie cutter to make the fluted rounds that then are filled by the filling person, folded in half and smooshed together to form the pierogi pocket.

Dunked for a bit in boiling water and done – unless you want yours fried. The fried orders are browned in butter in a pan, and I guess they are okay. But I like mine just fine out of the boiling water with caramelized onions and sour cream.

Here are the offerings comprising the standard menu, which is augmented with daily specials. Of course, there is the old stand-by potato and farm cheese. Sauerkraut-and- onion is delicious.

In Poland, Greek cuisine is considered exotic, so feta and spinach is offered. I loved them, even if they were decidedly not exotic.

What impressed me as creative were lentil and mushroom and “Philly cheesesteak” pierogies. The kielbasa platter is hearty. The beet salad – well I could make a meal of just that.

Bigos may be more of a winter item, but the cold soups – mushroom, borscht and cucumber–all were perfect.

For dessert, Ms. Berc is getting cakes and specialty items from a Polish baker, but the blueberry pierogies are to die for. My grossmutter made kartofellpfannkuchen with apple sauce that was heavenly. In fact, Grandpa Gottfried’s congestive heart disease may be explained partially by his love of them and her. Evelina’s potato pancakes taste almost as good but are much more healthy.

So here’s what I am saying: Leave your preconceived political notions at the door and tuck into Evelina Berc’s soul-satisfying pierogies first chance you get.

Further, this affiant sayeth naught.

Karl Fenske is an attorney in Morristown.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The opinions here are the author’s, and do not necessarily reflect those of this publication.