it also seems like there are many from north of our border, too.

I turned around in Bear Creek once. I am originally from Chenango Bridge, NY..Just outside Binghamton, NY.

So, I am not from PA at all.

I live in Joisey but I work in the Lehigh Valley, does that count?

My Grandfather was an ol' coal miner in the Scranton area, and my Grandmother and most of my Mom's side of the family is still there. Grandama still makes her own pierogies from scratch, dontchaknow.

"...pierogies..."

Had to google it.

I learn something new here every day...

You Sir, have lived a deprived life.

If you are ever in the Scranton area, drop by Grandma's most any Sunday afternoon and fill up on pierogies, kielbasa, pigs-in-the-blanket, cole slaw, etc. She usually has a literal buffet set out for whoever might drop by. Although my Grandfather once complained that she doesn't make her noodles for her beef soup from scratch any more because "she's getting old".

If that's too much of a trip, Mrs. T's brand are acceptable. Start with potato & cheese. Boil and serve w/ melted butter and fried onions and/of sour cream. Sauerkraut filling is for advanced users.

Home made pierogies are definitely a treat. As is halusky, glumpki, chrusciki, and paczki. Yeah, my mom is 1/2 Polish.

You definitely know if someone is from the area when they start talking about those things... Seems a lot of people in the coalmining towns were Polish. A good mix of Irish and Italian in there too.

I like mine boiled then fried just to lightly brown them, served with fried onions, butter, sour cream and big hunks of kielbasa!

Not to mention scrapple and Italian water ice.

Jim

"...You Sir, have lived a deprived life..."

Indeed I have ( .) Some also say depraved, but we won't go there...

If you are going to speak of Polish food, please do not for one minute think that anything made by Hillshire Farms resembles a decent kielbasa. A decent kielbasa has chunks of pork in it and so much garlic that it cannot but help to be smelled for more than 30 feet away, if left unsealed. I've put a few of them in three layers of ziplocks bag and a fedex box, and the smell came through the outside of the box.