The Jewish Ashkenazi version is called 'pirogen', which are usually boiled and fried before serving.

Bill Levy, 72, the semi-retired owner of the linen shop Harris Levy, reminisced about the great soups, potato pirogen and apple blintzes at the long-gone Grand Dairy Restaurant.

While late diners eat blintzes and potato pirogen, dozens of swaying men in homburgs, fedoras, baseball caps or yarmulkes crowd a 20-foot-long corridor and side room normally used for preparing takeout foods.

In English, the word pierogi and its variants: perogi, pyrogy, perogie, perogy, pirohi, piroghi, pirogi, pirogen, pierogy, pirohy, pyrogie, and pyrohy, are pronounced with a stress on the letter "o".

For the sentimentally inclined, Mr. Harmatz noted that several Ratner's staples, like the pirogen and the blintzes, have found their way onto Lansky's menu, interspersed with the tuna sashimi and the crab crepes.

Kalduny, dumplings of unleavened dough filled with meat, mushrooms, or other stuffings, are related to similar dishes in the West and in the East alike, from Italian ravioli, Hungarian derelye, and Ashkenazi Jewish pirogen to Russian pelmeni and Central Asian manti or chuchvara.