Mark Izydore is a financial and healthcare advisory professional who currently serves as co-manager of CJ Consultants in Jupiter, Florida. Since joining the firm in 2020 and stepping into a leadership role in 2022, Mark Izydore has provided analytical support and strategic guidance to attorneys and physicians across the United States.
Earlier in his career, he worked as an accountant at Arthur Andersen & Co. in Pittsburgh, where he developed a strong foundation in financial analysis and reporting.
His connection to Pittsburgh, combined with his interest in food and culture, offers a practical lens for exploring the city’s well-known pierogi tradition.
Outside of his professional work, he maintains a vinyl and record review blog and participates in food and wine events.
Pittsburgh and Its Legacy of Traditional and Gourmet Pierogi
One of Pittsburgh’s emblematic dishes is the pierogi, introduced by immigrants from Eastern Europe who helped build steel mills and coal towns across Western Pennsylvania. Pierogies were convenient to pack for lunch because of their naturally doughy texture.
Whether served in fire halls, church basements, or the kitchens of hard-working families, affordable, filling pierogies are associated with communal dining events that bring generations together.
Considered the national dish of Poland, pierogies are called “pie” in Slavic languages and are popular across nations such as Lithuania, Slovakia, Ukraine, and Russia. They are traditionally made from unleavened dough that resembles fresh, uncooked pasta and is rolled out with a rolling pin.
Chefs cut circles from the dough and dollop the preferred filling onto them. The dough is then folded over to form a half-circle and pinched, sealing in the filling. Boiled in water, the pierogi is ready to consume when it floats.
Traditional Old World pierogies date back to the 13th century in Poland and likely contained a mixture of minced meat and vegetables. Traditions vary across regions: for example, the pierogi z łososiem, common in the Polish Baltic Sea region, features fresh salmon, while the sour cream-topped pierogi z szpinakiem is filled with fried spinach.
Lublin, in eastern Poland, is known for its pierogi Lubelskie, which combine mint, bacon, and buckwheat. Numerous Old World examples of pierogies more familiar to Americans also exist, with popular fillings including potato, cheese, sauerkraut, cabbage, and meat.
Even within Pennsylvania, variations on the pierogi abound. For example, the preferred dough recipe at Cinderlands Beer Co.’s scratch kitchen in Lower Lawrenceville is one of flour, water, olive oil, salt, eggs, and sour cream.
The chef rolls out the unique dough, fills and seals it, then steams the pierogi before dunking them in an ice bath. From here, he finishes off the dough by frying it on one side in clarified butter.
As for the filling, Cinderlands’ chef started with an elevated traditional ingredient mix that combines roasted parsnip and fennel, sauerkraut, and goat cheese. He has since expanded the repertoire to include a pierogi with Yukon Gold potatoes, Gruyere cheese, and charred leeks. Another feature is a caponata-style eggplant filling, while grilled peach pierogies are paired with goat cheese and herbs.
Destinations for “grandma-style” recipes in Pittsburgh also abound, with Pierogies Plus! a local favorite. Reflecting the city’s location at the heart of the pierogi belt, the annual Ukrainian Food Festival, now in its 15th year, features the comfort food prominently. Each September, some 60 parishioners associated with the St. Peter & St. Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Carnegie gather to break down 60 pounds of fresh Idaho potatoes.
The volunteers peel, cut, mash, boil, and portion the cheddar-infused spuds into hundreds of perogies, which are sold alongside other Eastern European staples such as borscht, holubtsi, and halushki.
The Pittsburgh Pierogi Festival takes place in May at SouthSide Works and features the creations of two dozen pierogi vendors. One of the most notable creations in 2025 was Oven Pizza Co.’s sour-cream-and-chive potato pierogi pie, featuring bacon, cheese, and caramelized onions.
The crew from Austin, Texas, at Rogues Over the Top Pierogi delivered a sweet pie filled with lemon and blueberry, and topped with powdered sugar, lemon curd, and streusel.
About Mark Izydore
Mark Izydore is a business leader and accounting professional who co-manages CJ Consultants, a financial and healthcare advisory firm in Jupiter, Florida. He previously worked as a staff accountant at Arthur Andersen & Co. in Pittsburgh, where he earned recognition for his analytical work.
Izydore holds degrees in accounting from Duquesne University and music theory from Carnegie Mellon University. He is also active in food and wine circles and enjoys blogging about music and records.
