Let S Talk About The Dumplings At Pierogi Street

• Michael Gebert
• Pierogi at Pierogi Street

One thing I’ve noticed about online food discussions is that nobody gets into fights about steak or foie gras or other luxury goods. If you really want people to go nuts, start with the most plebeian ingredient of all: flour. People argue about pizza (and its crust), about bread and pie, about pasta, about ramen (and its noodles) and the soup dumplings known as xiao long bao—and, of course, about doing without it (and its gluten). It’s not really unusual that flour should excite such passion—one, many of us eat it, and two, it’s the closest thing to foodie alchemy, turning lead into the gold of supple pasta, toothsome ramen noodles, crusty bread, flaky pie, and bubbly, crackly Neapolitan pizza.

• Michael Gebert
• The Wawel zapiekanka

Pierogi Street, 1043 N. California, 312-675-8385, pierogistreet.com.