
- Jordan Barry
- Invitation to Pierogi Mondays by Syp Brand Pierogi
I'm a sucker for pop-ups and for pierogi, so this one was a no-brainer. As a bonus, these pierogi prices align quite nicely with the parameters of Dining on a Dime.
Syp has been making her "little pockets of love" since 2009, when she was living in Barre and received a grant from the Central Vermont Community Action Council. Working out of the L.A.C.E. community kitchen, Syp made pierogi for pop-up dinners and sold them wholesale and at farmers markets.

- Courtesy of Miranda Syp
- Miranda Syp at Barrio Bakery
Now, pierogi lovers can find Syp at Barrio Bakery. Since June, she has been taking over the café on the first Monday of the month — serving potato-cheddar pierogi in place of pastries and cold brew.
At the pop-up, a plate of six pierogi is $9, and a plate with salad is $12. Both options come piled with sour cream, onions and Pitchfork Farm & Pickle sauerkraut. The salad is dressed with a bright, tangy vinaigrette, which Syp said is an homage to her childhood visits to her Polish grandmother in France.
"My grandmother was a potato farmer in Poland, but she moved to France before the war because of a potato famine," said Syp. "The plate I serve is sort of a French-American-Polish fusion, which really represents who I am."

- Jordan Barry
- Pierogi plate with salad at the Syp Brand Pierogi pop-up
The salad is worth the extra $3, both to contrast the heartiness of the pierogi and to really understand Syp's culinary point of view. With both on the plate, it's a filling — and delightful — dinner.

- Jordan Barry
- Pierogi Monday pop-up at Barrio Bakery
Syp is looking forward to increasing her pop-up nights at Barrio to include both the first and the third Mondays of the month, from 6 to 8 p.m. starting in October.
Beyond that, she wants to keep things small and stick with pop-ups. A conversation with a customer at the most recent pop-up reinforced her focus on bringing people from the neighborhood together.
The customer mentioned the Polish "bar mleczny," or "milk bars." These cafeterias are subsidized by the state, offering low-priced menu items that draw in people from every social category for an egalitarian, affordable meal. Now that's dining on a dime.
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