Vegan-inspired Apteka in Bloomfield lives up to its mission

Kate Lasky and Tomasz Skowronski started a pop-up pierogi night in late 2010 “just for kicks,” Skowronski says. Those evenings of vegan food and fellowship found a following, and the co-conspirators decided to continue on with the simple goal of “feed people and make them happy.”

Now, five-plus years later, their concept of reinvigorated Eastern European cuisine has a brick-and-mortar location in Bloomfield.

Apteka, Polish for pharmacy, opened its doors along Penn Avenue six weeks ago to serve the community thoughtful and playful preparations of Eastern European classics. In this short time frame, it has become a prime hangout spot in the East End, thanks to the approachable price points and atmosphere.

The minimalist space includes a bar and tables, some fashioned by local design studio EngineHouse, lining the perimeter. If you come with a group, or bump into friends, you can easily merge tables to dine together. The room is decidedly neutral with white and gray tones and no-fuss decor of hanging light bulbs and exposed ducts.

Everything oozes a casual cool. The entrance wall features a large, handwritten menu abutting the bar at which orders are placed before sitting down. Handheld versions of the same are printed on graph paper and include a carefully crafted beverage list that keeps to the cuisine theme with Polish beers and cocktails.

A short, well-curated food list is categorized into small plates, big plates and sandwiches. Most items can be easily shared, and all items are vegan. The menu selections will rotate and evolve with the restaurant — monthly is the plan — but the current offering is a strong start.

“We are introducing ourselves politely,” Skowronski says. “We will look to be more adventurous soon, and we will still prepare everything with TLC.”

The star here is the pierogi; it is, indeed, the item that started it all. Plates of four or seven include a combination of flavors: sauerkraut- and-mushroom filled; and smoked potato, parsnip and greens. A housemade yogurt sauce adds a necessary creamy element to the plump dumplings, and pickled beets offer respite from richness. In a city awash with pierogi, Apteka's are easily some of the best. No butter or cheese needed.

Another must-order is the kanapki, a plate that features three slices of house-made bread, each piled high with a different topping. Carrot pate spread paired with radishes was my favorite bite, with both the pickle, apple and potato salad and the leak and apple toppings finishing a close second.

The house-made, whole-grain bread reappears alongside several additional dishes, including the golabki, the salatka szczawiowa, and the barszcz. Golabki is stuffed cabbage with a filling of buckwheat and porcini; a hearty tomato sauce covers the rolled-up cabbage. It is a very traditional-looking presentation with nontraditional, but very pleasing, insides. Barszcz is a beet borscht; and the szczawiowa is a salad of mustard greens, sorrel, apple, shallot and radish. The salad was the least successful dish in both presentation and taste, just fairly standard on a menu chock full of better options.

Sandwiches, for example, are hefty and packed with flavor. Both the baba jaga and the horse and pepper start with a vegetable pate. The baba jaga is rounded out with Polish pickle and pickled beet. The horse and pepper is a spicy sandwich with horseradish slaw and chiles. Each option clocks in at $8, keeping to the wallet-friendliness of the establishment. A party of four can eat well and plenty here for less than $60. The young and hip crowd has taken notice.

It also helps that the kitchen is open late, until 1 a.m. on weekends, with a special abbreviated menu in effect from 10 p.m. on. And Apteka sometimes offers a pierogi hoagie for late-night warriors, which is the most Pittsburgh — and wonderful — thing on Earth.

Newbie Apteka is already a rock star and things are only looking up. Look for an outdoor patio to open this summer and prepare to make Apteka your go-to spot for dinner, late-night and sunshine.

Laura Zorch is one of the food-savvy ladies of eatPGH.com, who contribute a weekly Dining Out column to the Tribune-Review.