For my German-heritage grandmother and my German-by-way-of-Ukraine grandfather, borscht was a staple of everyday life, especially in winter. Deeply red, beety and studded with chunks of potato and — if I remember correctly — sliced strips of bacon. It usually came lashed with sour cream, and in my mother's retelling of the tale, a few drizzles of vinegar. Dill may have been involved.
In Ukraine, the dish's final "t" is dropped. At European Dumplings Cafe, a newish Castle Hills restaurant run by young couple Olga and Simon — she's Ukranian-born — the beets are dropped as well, despite much literature stating that they're essential. Lacking other evidence, I suspect an iconoclastic grandmother.
In any case, by whatever name and spelling, the steaming pottery bowl that arrives, dolloped with sour cream and brimming with cabbage, shredded carrot, sliced cabbage and even a few, token chunks of chicken, will be different but deeply satisfying, its cultural and culinary significance all the more poignant in light of the continuing conflict.
Sauerkraut was another specialty of my borscht-making grandmother. She grew the cabbage, shredded it on a fearsome, bladed board, and she salted it down in a large porcelain crock on her back porch. The fermenting contents were held at bay by a rock-ballasted plate. I couldn't help but peek and sample from time to time. She also made mean pancakes. But I don't remember a single dumpling.
The restaurant name alone tells you how essential they are at European Dumplings.
The simplest dish is called that and nothing more: dumplings. No modifiers or extra adjectives. The choice of fillings is even simple. It's been reduced from four to two: lamb or chicken. ("Veal didn't sell well," Simon explained. Apparently neither did the beef.) Finely ground and delicately seasoned, the lamb made a low-key stuffing for the tender wrappers dusted with dried dill. A buttery broth was all that remained in the bottom of the bowl at meal's end. But for all its subtlety, it was a satisfying dish.
Add a little complexity in the form of a mantle of sautéed mushrooms to the silken dumplings, this time filled with potato and sautéed onions, and you have vareniki, another Ukrainian classic. Cabbage, lamb, pork and cheese are other traditional fillings. Take that same, roughly mashed potato and onion filling, enfold it in a yeasty dough and fry it and you have pierogi. At least in this context. The terms vareniki and pierogi mean the same thing, according to one source, perhaps dependent on whether we're talking Ukraine, Russia or Poland, where the plate is popular. Confusion is apparently both excused and expected.
At European Dumplings, pierogi arrive as two flattened oval cakes adorned with a dash of sour cream punctuated with a dot of inscrutable "red sauce." South Texans might be excused for thinking flour-wrapped tacos de papa, in terms of flavor profile, even though Ukrainians are likely to disagree. Like their South Texas cousins, these pierogi could use a jolt of hot (not just "red") sauce and more onions.
As well-executed as the pierogi otherwise appear to be, I can't help thinking, as someone with only the most tenuous connections to the culture, that they would be even more at home alongside a serving of slow-braised pork with mushroom gravy — something not on the menu but a culinary touchstone for many. A skewer of marinated and grilled chicken thigh is available, however, and it might make for another happy couple.
Pancakes also appear on European Dumplings' menu. My grandmother thought of them as keep-'em-coming breakfast fare only, but here, dusted with powdered sugar and drizzled with maple syrup, they're offered as dessert. Works for me too.
The menu describes kompot, a fruity drink, served either hot or cold, as boiled blackberries, blueberries, raspberries and apples, which didn't immediately sound appealing. Wrong. It's amazingly refreshing when served cold, and as winter finally approaches, it would be just the thing to partner with the pancakes and send a body out bolstered against the season.
Before leaving, make sure to take a quick look at the decor behind the order counter. In addition to sheaves of iconic wheat, folkloric animals and elaborately patterned eggs, you'll also find military helmets. The contrast between traditional signifiers and the trappings of current conflict couldn't be greater. There's a jar for war-effort contributions should one feel inclined to comment with cash.
European Dumplings Cafe
2211 NW Military Highway, Suite 131b | (736) 219-2483 | europeandumplings.com
Hours: 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday
Price range: $7-$14
Best Bets: Borsh, lamb dumplings, kompot
Bottom Line: This diminutive Castle Hills cafe is run by a young couple and reflects her Ukranian roots. Beetless borsh is front and center, and it's good even without the ruby root. The dumplings are tender and delicately spiced, and pierogi, while more sturdy than supple, are still worth a shot. Consider pancakes or marinated chicken skewers, but make sure to try the fragrant, boiled fruit kompot beverage, either cold or hot.
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