Pierogi Wagon

Woah these pierogis are crazy good. We had the pleasure of trying out their food truck at Imperial Oak Brewing in Willow Springs. Honestly, we were speechless! A MUST TRY!!!

I came across the Pierogi truck on my way into the Art Institute. One minute after I ordered, I had half a dozen pierogis and was seated in the South Garden on a great fall day. Perfect. You can mix and match. The order I got was a mix of cheese, sauerkraut and spinach, topped with onions, sauerkraut and sour cream. The cheese were the standout but all were good. These were fried, not boiled, and I prefer boiled, but this gave me a chance to try them fried, and they were pretty good. A little heavier than I am used to, but hey, pierogis are not going to be light no matter how you prepare them! Depending on your appetite, you can order 4, 6, or 9. After finishing this lunch, I was well-​fueled for an afternoon of strenuous labor, exercise or a marathon. What followed was none of the above, but a walk through the precincts of the Art Institute. If you happen upon the Pierogi Truck, go for it.

Found this little Polish palace on wheels at the food truck alley near the Sears, er Willis, er Sears Tower… and glad that I did!
Its a food truck, so options are limited. But its a PIEROGI food truck, and pierogi they have. They were offering about 3 – 4 different varieties, which you could mix or match, and then you can choose from toppings such as bacon, sour cream, bacon, onions, and bacon. So between the toppings and different types of pierogi, there are a ton of different combinations you could come up with.
The pierogi were excellent and served up quick. Price is a little high for what you get, but that seems to be the case for most food trucks so I just «rolled» with it. See what I did there?

The potato and cheese pierogi and braised beef pierogi with sour cream sauerkraut and bacon bit toppings were so good. They were pillowy, stuffed to the perfect amount, not overly greasy, and steamy hot. I got 6 for $ 9 and although it seemed a little $$ it kept me full and satisfied all afternoon.

Best since Sophie’s closed down. Caught up with them at Imperial Oak Brewery in Willow Springs. Great dough, perfect fillings, nice toppings.

Came in 10 minutes before close and they were very accommodating and gracious. Pierogi was delicious. We tried the 8 piece and had a sampling of all except mushroom which they had ran out of. Being that it was about to close we are more than understanding. The toppings included were also very good. I don’t know why the $$$$ listing for this place perhaps for it is a pierogi joint and should be cheap. We didn’t find it overly priced but just about what you’d expect. We will be back

3.5 stars. Rounding down because they don’t offer not pan-​fried pierogi options, and prices have gone up.
Pierogi Wagon always hits the spot. Not my favorite pierogi in the city (Pierogi Heaven takes the cake there), but here the pierogi are pan fried which always makes things more exciting. Their sauerkraut mushroom pierogi are delicious. The onions, bacon, and sauerkraut toppings are always peppery and well seasoned — sometimes a little overpoweringly peppery, but still good. I leave with a full belly every time.
They also have punch cards!

One of my favorite food trucks before they raised their prices. The pierogis are mostly great. The meat ones are good but a little dry. I love getting them with all the toppings.

Pierogi Wagon;
dumplings of such perfection
I must use haiku.
Tender dough cocoon
yields to the tooth’s lightest touch
and offers spinach.
Sauerkraut mushroom
pierogi: the Polish soul.
Longing, spiced with earth.
Pocket of cheddar
potato, your transcendent
heartiness delights.
Peppery, char-​grilled
onions. You are the perfect
pierogi topping.
Vegetarian
or carnivore? Pierogis
topped with chopped bacon?
Cold, leaden, lunchtime.
The Pierogi Wagon’s not there.
The skies cry my tears.

Delicious, plump pierogi was expected, but the polish sausage knocked my socks off. You get much more than you pay for, just eat it on the spot before the pierogi get cold and make sure you get the mustard with the sausage. You guys are doing it right.

I was around Daley Plaza for this year’s food truck rally, so thought I would check out the items on offer. The event took place a couple of weeks ago, so I can look back with some measure of nostalgia. I consider myself a reasonably well-​informed local, so was surprised to note that this event had been a staple of prior years at this location. None of the other food truck options spoke to me for lunch, so I decided to try out the Pierogi Wagon. I went with the sampler of four, and enjoyed mixing and matching. I tried the spinach, braised beef, and cheddar and potato. My favorite was probably the cheddar and potato. I opted not to go for any toppings, since this could have become pretty messy, seeing as how I was standing around the Goose Island tent, quaffing a Green Line in a plastic cup. The pierogi were the perfect little snack to complement my brew, and the whole experience put me in mind of Oktoberfest. The pierogi were the perfect comfort food on a crisp day, and I give kudos to Pierogi Wagon for its well-​edited menu and for moving customers through in a timely fashion, all while turning out a quality product.

Torn between 3 and 4 stars, because I do really enjoy the food, but I’m struggling with a few things.
When these guys first hit the road, they were enormously popular whenever they came to the University of Chicago campus. They offered a 4-​pierogi option for $ 6 and a 6-​pierogi option for $ 8. All three of my roommates during my last year of college had eastern European roots, so we even had a Pierogi Wagon magnet on our fridge supporting their Kickstarter campaign before they started selling for the first time. I visited a few times and enjoyed the pierogi a lot — my go-​tos are usually the beef or the potato and cheddar.
Lately, though, it’s seemed like they only ever go to the UChicago campus — a bummer for me, since I graduated and now work in the Loop. Day after day the Chicago Food Truck Finder lists the Pierogi Wagon at 58^th and Ellis. Today, they finally returned to Clark and Monroe, and all morning I looked forward to visiting them for lunch. To my dismay, prices had increased to $ 7 and $ 9 for the 4-​piece and 6-​piece pierogi options respectively. This on its own wasn’t a dealbreaker, especially since they visit this area so seldom these days, but the real kicker was when I asked for a can of soda and they told me it was $ 1.50. I should have just said forget it and gone to a different truck for a $ 1 can, because I’m almost certain every other truck on that block was selling it for a dollar.
I guess 50 cents doesn’t seem like a big deal, but it’s 50% more expensive than every other truck I’ve ever been to, and overall I was just pretty surprised by how quickly their prices have increased. Similarly, one dollar increases in the pierogi orders don’t seem like much marginally, but again, they’re increases of 16.7% and 12.5% — pretty significant when we’re only talking about portion sizes of 4 – 6 pierogi. The food is still great (although I kind of think that if the ingredients you’re working with are butter, beef, onions, bacon, and sour cream, it’d be very difficult to make something NOT taste good), but ultimately it’s probably for the best that they don’t frequent my office much anymore.
TL;DR — food is good, but the price increases have made me real sad.

I missed the Whiting Pierogi Fest this year so I’ve been living a pierogi-​less existence for over a year now. Thanks to Pierogi Wagon that has changed! And what a great change it was!
I ordered the cheddar and potato, braised beef, and spinach and cheese (2 each) topped with bacon and grilled onions. It was $ 8 which is a fair price.
All of the pierogi were cooked prefect. Nice, think dough cooked all the way through and a little browned and crisp on the outside.
The cheddar and potato was hands down my favorite. The filling was smooth and creamy with a good cheddar flavor. It was the perfect pierogi!
The spinach and cheese was my second favorite. Good flavor. Good filling texture. All around good though maybe not outstanding.
The braised beef had excellent flavor, but the beef was a bit dry. It definitely needed the onion and bacon on top.
The onions (and subsequently all my pierogi) were a bit peppery for my personal tastes, but it wasn’t so bad that my experience was ruined. I just had to drink some extra water.
The bacon was perfectly crisp and generously applied.
I didn’t try the Polish sausage because I’m not a fan.
This is definitely a food truck I would look out for!

I have to say the idea of pierogis for lunch just wasn’t speaking to me, but neither were any of the other trucks, and whimsy somehow seized me. I had beef, cheddar, and spinach, topped with sauerkraut, onions, bacon, and sour cream. The whole combination was a whole lot more appetizing than you’d think– the toppings provided a range of flavors and textures, which is good because the underlying pierogis were kind of bland.
All that said, I felt like I’d had a really unhealthy lunch and yet I was ravenous from 1:30 pm until dinnertime. Not bad for a food truck, but I doubt I’ll be back.

Walked by the Pierogi Wagon many times on my walks to the food trucks in Hyde Park, and always has a line, so that must be an indicator that its good, but I didn’t try one till today. It was also my first Pierogi ever. I got the regular size (which comes with 6 pierogis). You can mix and match, so I decided to get the braised beef, cheddar and potato, and the spinach. I like the chewy texture. I liked the braised beef by far out of the three. You can add «sides» to your pierogis but these are more like toppings. The sides I got were sour cream, onions, and bacon bits. I also got half a sausage with mustard topping. I think the regular side without the sausage makes for a nice snack if you aren’t too hungry for lunch. With the half sausage, I think it’s a bit too pricey.
Fun fact: the food truck had a kickstarter campaign.

Honestly… I’m extremely impressed.
I’m very proudly 50% Polish and can speak it fluently!
I grew up eating nothing but Polish food!
My mother is straight off the plane Polish, so my Polish heritage runs deep.
With that being said, I can be pretty critical when it comes to polish food,
It’s either the
or a hot mess.
This little food truck popped up out of nowhere and definitely impressed me.
I was spending the day in the city. There was a makeup show that was being held at the Bridgeport Art Center that I had to attend all day.
Easy extra hours earned for school! Woot woot!
We had been there since 8am and by noon we were starving!
The Bridgeport Art Center has a really small parking lot and the event was packed so we didn’t want to go anywhere where we had to drive. We had a prime parking spot!
When we walked outside there were about 5 food trucks waiting for customers.
There was a cupcake truck, a sandwich truck, and 2 others that weren’t memorable.
My friend that was with me is a vegetarian so we had to look for something that could accommodate her needs.
We didn’t want the cupcake truck because we wanted actual food.
The sandwich truck had no meatless options.
The only thing that was left was the Pierogi Wagon.
I was quickly attracted to it because:
1) It’s Polish food and I love Pierogi
2) It said Pierogi!!! Not Pierogis! (Pierogi is already plural)
With the vegetarian options there and the correct spelling on the truck, I was ready to roll!
They had the classic options available, Cheese and potato, meat, and sauerkraut.
They also gave you the option to pick your own toppings like spicy onions, sour cream or bacon.
We both decided on the cheese and potato, which is my favorite!
I topped mine with spicy onions and my friend topped hers with sour cream.
The pierogi were delicious!
The dough was thick like it should be but wasn’t dry and had flavor.
They were boiled for the perfect amount of time, no raw dough.
The filling was again seasoned and creamy!!!
I can’t tell you how many times I come across potato and cheese pierogi that are super dry and crumbly, gross!
The spicy onions were exceptional as well!
They weren’t too spicy to overpower everything but definitely gave it a nice kick.
I honestly can’t remember how much we paid for them but it wasn’t anything more than what other food trucks charge. They gave you the option of getting 4 pierogi that they called the snack size or 6 for a full size order.
I am definitely a fan!
My friend even loved them and she hasn’t had the best experiences with Polish food ha.

I am in love. I tried the Pierogi Wagon for the first time this afternoon, as it was parked in front of my building. They were out of Polish sausage by the time I got there, but I still ended up with six fat little pierogi (cheddar and potato, and spinach and cheese) smothered with onions, bacon, and sour cream. For $ 8. On wheels. And it was delicious beyond words. And now I’m full. And desperately need to take a nap, which is bad, because I’m still at work. But that’s kind of my issue.
As an added bonus, the guy in the truck is adorable and super friendly. Hi, guy in the truck!