Tuesday Nights at "The Lady"

(Pictured above: The Painted Lady, Hamtramck)

     If you are up on your local history, you'll know that The Painted Lady (formerly Lily's 21) is no stranger to dangerously unique events. Every Tuesday night at "The Lady", there is yet another great week night event simply titled "Pierogi Night". Bartender, Erica Pietrzyk, hand makes several dozen pierogis, some more typical recipes and others take on a little bit of Erica's flare. On the night I went in to check it out, it was the same week as Thanksgiving. The menu does the convincing itself: The Holiday Special, a crowd favorite, contained organic free range turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, and gravy. A veggie pierogi is usually included on these nights. This time around it was The Crunchy Cousin (Organic Mashed Potatoes made with Tofu Sour Cream, Organic Green Beans and Organic Stuffing.) Because I showed up late, I missed the boat on a pierogi I'm dying to try that goes by the name The Becky (Jalapeño Poppers, Cream Cheese, Cheddar Cheese, and Organic Egg Whites.) Sides include sour cream, tofu sour cream, cranberry sour cream, a basic gravy, and a spicy honey mustard. 

     I had a chance to speak with Erica about Tuesday nights and she had this to say "It was the best accident that ever happened to me. All the Pieorgi are hand made with love. It's labor intensive but worth the effort." When asked if she had a favorite pierogi, she replied "My favorite are the loaded baked potato, aka Spudnik." Without giving out too many details, Erica also spoke of the process "The process is getting high quality meats and vegetables to make nutritionally balanced Polish American food."When asked about the future of Pieorgi night, Erica was right to the point "I hope to grow the company into a co-op to help provide stable employment for many people in Detroit. As of now, there is no end to Pieorgi at the Lady." 

ps. Domestic beers are $2 till 10pm and well drinks are $3 all night long!