Synopses & Reviews
For more than fifty years, customers have crowded into Veselka, a cozy Ukrainian coffee shop in New York Citys East Village, to enjoy pierogi, borscht, goulash, and many other unpretentious favorites. Veselka (rainbow in Ukrainian) has grown from a simple newsstand serving soup and sandwiches into a twenty-four-hour gathering place, without ever leaving its original location on the corner of East Ninth Street and Second Avenue. Veselka is, quite simply, an institution.
The Veselka Cookbook contains more than 150 recipes, covering everything from Ukrainian classics (potato pierogi, five kinds of borscht, grilled kielbasa, and poppy seed cake) to dozens of different sandwiches, to breakfast fare (including Veselkas renowned pancakes), to the many elements of a traditional Ukrainian Christmas Eve feast.
Veselka owner Tom Birchard shares stories about Veselkas celebrity customers, the local artists who have adopted it as a second home, and the restaurants other lesser-known, but no less important, longtime fans, and he offers a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to serve five thousand gallons of borscht a year and to craft three thousand pierogi daily---all by hand.
The Veselka Cookbook will delight anyone with an interest in Ukrainian culture, New York Citys vibrant downtown, and the pleasures of simple, good food.
Review
Praise for Veselka
“Its one thing to have delicious food, its another thing to have it available twenty-four hours a day. Veselka has always been there when Ive had a three a.m. pierogi emergency.”
- Jon Stewart
“Veselka excels at comfort food. . . . Even better are the Ukrainian specials. Whatever your mood, something on Veselkas menu will appeal to you.”
- TimeOut New York
“Borscht, whether hot or cold, is hot these days, as a culinary glasnost. The best borscht happens to be found at an old standby, the twenty-four-hour Ukrainian cafe, [Veselka].”
- New York Magazine, The Best of New York
“Whenever the craving hits for hearty Eastern European fare, Veselka fits the bill with fluffy and light pierogi, stuffed cabbage, grilled Polish kielbasa, freshly made potato pancakes, and classic soups, such as a sublime borscht. Breakfast is special here. If all you want is a burger, dont worry---its a classic, too.”
- Frommers
Synopsis
A cozy 24-hour Ukrainian coffee shop in New Yorks East Village, Veselka has been a Gotham institution for more than 50 years. The perfect neighborhood restaurant, each year it sends over a half million locals and tourists home happy with its simple, delicious Ukrainian soul food. And now, with
The Veselka Cookbook, the restaurants hungry fans can recreate the foods theyve come to know and love anytime right at home. The over 120 recipes highlight all of Veselkas Ukrainian favorites including their famous borscht, sweet potato pierogi, and grilled kielbasa as well as their fabulously simple comfort foods, such as threebean chili, egg salad on challah, and peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. Complete with personal stories and photos, a special Christmas Eve chapter, holiday menus, a glossary, and resources on where to buy ingredients, this comprehensive, delectable cookbook is sure to delight Veselka fans and Ukrainian foodies for many years to come.
About the Author
Tom Birchard has worked at Veselka since 1967 and assumed ownership from his father-in-law in 1975. Veselka has grown steadily since and has expanded several times. The restaurant now employs approximately seventy-five people and recently celebrated its fiftieth anniversary.
Natalie Danford has written about food, restaurants, and cookbooks for Fine Cooking, Eating Well, Health, Vegetarian Times, and many other publications. She is also the author of the critically acclaimed novel Inheritance, published by St. Martins Press.