Baked bread is the best! The fact it is a vehicle for my butter obsession only enhances its appeal. Puffy, pillowy, golden bites of delight. Fill them with meat, cheese and yes, veggies, and they become something more than just a sandwich. Particularly when they are handmade from long standing recipes by women who remind you of your grandmother—if she was from Eastern Europe.

It was the smell that caught me first. Wandering down Madison toward downtown when this waft of baking bread hit my nostrils. We all know it when we smell it. Drawing me into a tiny hole in the wall shop loaded a case full of what I like to call the original, old-world hot pocket—piroshkis. Of course, the name of the place does give it all away, Piroshki On Madison.

Smells are such a sense memory thing for me particularly when it comes to food. Bread has a special place in my nostrils, brain and stomach that brings me back to holidays at grandma Woods’ house (my mothers mother) where she always treated us to her whole wheat rolls (among other treats), a supposed family recipe she was always a little cagey about where it came from. While I don’t know how it all started I don’t mind sharing it with all and you can click here to check out me making what I thought wasn’t a too terrible attempt to recreate those little balls of bread I could literally smother in butter.

Ok, that is my trip down memory lane and now we snap to the present so I can share these meat and vegetable hand pie delights I discovered on a Seattle walkabout. There isn’t much detail to go into about each one other than the bake on the bread for every one I have had was amazingly consistent as I went (and have continued) on several different occasions to sample as much as I could. They all come in different shapes and sizes each with a king of bread logo design on top which I assume lets the bakers know what is what. For the rest of us there are signs. Each piroshki is $7.99 and to be honest, I will say, they are not all the same size, at least that is the way it seems when you are looking at all of them lined up in the case. But i. n spite of sizing, each does come rather fully packed with filling and there does seem to be a filling for everyone. Except for one flavor combo I was totally enamored of, I did quite enjoy all the other ones I have had so far. Herewith then is my piroshki journey.

The sign said beef, broccoli and cheese though, if there was cheese in here it seemed to have melted away? Either that or it was some kind of transparent thing which gives cheese essence or something. It might have been nice but not a deal breaker as some slight grease from the meat keeps this from being dry with all the broccoli.

The pepperoni was ground up which was different but not distractingly so. This one had the cheese, though I personally could have used more to give it that gooeyness you get with a slice, but again, it didn’t deter from this being a pizza hot pocket—just with more bread and you know, tasting 1000 times better than some old frozen thing.

This is one of those that is not as big as some of the others but you get your full days supply of spinach with it. The cheese I believe was like a crumbly feta giving some light salty seasoning which went great with the pillowy buttery bread.

This one is pretty big and they definitely did not skimp on the corned beef. Though this is one where I can’t say I was fond of the cheese with the corned beef. I would have enjoyed this better with just the meat and maybe some cabbage instead of cheese or mushrooms. The cheese here was a cheddar and I think they should take this cheese and put it in the beef broccoli one. It would go much better with that combo. But, if you are looking for value for the money and super filling then this is the one for you.

As a side note for one not pictured here, they do a curry chicken and broccoli which I have had twice now and kind of like. No cheese needed! It has just the right amount of curry to give some added kick and flavor and I guess maybe healthier than beef. So I am told. They also have borscht here, which I did try and it was nice on a cold day. Loaded with beets, carrots and some potatoes. It was nice as a combo with a piroshki which you can get for $10.99.

But wait, there’s more! Yes, the piroshkis are the main thing but they do consider themselves a bakery after all and do make their own sweet treats in case you need a mid-afternoon pick me up or are in a savory bread mood. Of if like me, you want both.

This was the first one I was drawn to for the both the cherries and the bavarian cream. Bavarian cream was one of my mothers favorite donut fillings. Every time we stopped in at Dunkin Donuts she always got the bavarian cream filled. So in essence, another sense memory. One bite into this and I offer up this warning—it is suuuppperrr sweet. This isn’t so much cake as it is a dense, sugary, cookie crust rolled with cherries and cream. In fact, the cherries are the least sweet thing here as they do add some needed tartness to offset all the sugar you are gonna get here. And while you may not believe this, I could not eat this in one sitting. I was on my lunch break and this would have been the ultimate sugar crash.

Then there was this. They have it listed as just honey cake, I know it as Russian honey cake and had one of the most amazing versions of it while living in SF at the now closed 20th Century Cafe. Yep, it is a sense memory food post. This version is more layered sheet cake than the actual ten layer round one. Still, I could not resist trying it but here, I am not going to really compare it to the other one because you really can’t. This had some lovely spongy layers interspersed with what is the real star of the cake, a slightly smoky, burnt caramel frosting which brings all the cinnamon and honey in the cake together. It is sweet but doesn’t come across as sweet or cloying as the cherry one above. This one I also did not eat in one sitting as I wanted to spread it out and enjoy over several days. At $6.99 a pop for cake slices, they are not small, but also not super big. But for a big city, home made dessert with such good flavor I was okay with price as a special treat.

Yes, I like this place and it is close to where I work which I still have not decided whether that is a good or bad thing yet. It is a lot bread and I usually like to temper my intake being the carb pick and chooser I am. Most everyone else is not like me and thus Piroshki on Madison is most definitely worth a visit for any variety of piroshki and sweet treat. Great for grab and go lunch or for eating and walking around the city. And who knows, maybe all the smells will create some sense memory for you too, much better than a microwaved hot pocket! Unless that is your sense memory then, well, okay, no judgement. (Maybe a little judgement)