A Dish We Love: Butternut Squash Pierogi

It could be my Eastern European heritage or the fact that I've lived in Cleveland my whole life, but when I see pierogies on a menu I have to order them. I'm betting my grandmother, who labored for hours making the traditional version I grew up devouring, would turn up her nose at the butternut squash pierogi ($16) from Bistro 83. It's too trendy, it's too fancy, I can hear her hollering at me as I dive in. But I don't care — it's bursting with flavor. Each bite of the fluffy pillows of dough, stuffed with butternut squash, blue cheese and chipotle peppers, is met with a comforting earthiness thanks to a roasted pumpkin cream sauce, caramelized onions and sauteed kale. But it's the quick fry in a fenugreek brown butter that takes me back to my family's tasty culinary past. 36033 Westminister Ave., North Ridgeville, 440-353-2828, bistro83.com