WE WILL BE CLOSED THIS SUNDAY, JUNE 4TH.

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We are going to be closed this Sunday because a bu We are going to be closed this Sunday because a bunch of us are heading to Chicago with a ton of pierogi for the JBF awards. It's a crazy honor to be nominees and to be included in a short list of restaurants cooking at the afterparty. Unexpected and super special. . We (Kate & Tomek) work our butts off- have the whole time. But truly -- truly -- Apteka only comes together because we have a team that really really cares, really works hard, and shows up every day with a positive attitude and a desire to make this place the special thing it is. Onwards and upwards- this crew is awesome- thank you for making each day better and better. Thank you Zach, Yola, Sophia, Sofia, Olga, Lionel, Kolin, Julia, Jon, Johanna, Holly, Garett, Ethan, Emilio, Emily, Corey, Chaz, Caroline, Brendan, Bredin, Bowen, Ben, Anna, Alex. Someday we'll get a photo with everyone, but for now, here's a lot of us:)
Spring soup swap Barszcz z Marchewki (fig. 2) got Spring soup swap Barszcz z Marchewki (fig. 2) got us through the first half of spring --> Broth built with a soured carrot zakwas from Amish winter stock of sweet carrots, those same winter stock carrots juiced and all brought up with rich veg stock. Celeriac, potato, onions, more carrot and dill in the bowl for some body. Soured soup cream from our yogurt mixed in and some spent seed toast on the side. Zupa Szczawiowa ----> (fig. 1) has been on the menu starting this week to pull all of the greens of spring into one place. Veg stock pushed into place with lovage + white pepper + nutmeg with sauteed sorrel, dandelion, chard, young kale, potato, celeriac, and fresh chervil. Cute lil potato pirozhok on the side:) C u today:*
Desserts we’ve been rocking (pictured first->las Desserts we’ve been rocking (pictured first->last): 1. Tarta z rabarbarem A) tart with gold crème pat + rhubarb compote + topped with crumble B) rhubarb sorbet on honeysuckle crumble. 2. Ciasto żytnie z sezamem A) rye cake piped with a sesame praline + dusted with sesame sugar B) sits on a carrot jam C) sesame cream D) prune jam 3. Lody Malaga A) chocolate sorbet B) sunflower seed milk ice cream C) candied sunflower seeds + dry fruit 4. Ciasto śmietankowe z wiśniami A) cream cake + almond sugar B) almond crème pat C) post-cordial roast dark tart cherries ✌️👹✌️
Current crunchy vegetable small plates:) A) Szpar Current crunchy vegetable small plates:) A) Szparagi z pomidorem: -> cut asparagus brought up with onions and dill over a small ladle of rich tomato sauce from the last gasp of last year's preserved tomatoes + an onion bun brushed with our soured sunflower butter. B) Wiosenna surówka: A grated salad mostly of: charred sunchoke+ radishes+ turnips+ apples+ leeks+ lovage -> dressed in 2x fat & an onion mayo, with black salt potatoes+ mushroom cream paste+ thin cut dark rye bread shovel. C) Sałatka ziołowa: Leafy early mustard greens+ marinated spiced carrots+ fried carrot squigglers+ smoked pumpkin seed+ fried buckwheat+ flax + onion + chive/parsley/mint+ roast pumpkin seed/pumpkin seed miso paste ->>> dressed in a marjoram/chili/thyme vin. D) Rzepa naciowa z chrzanem: Seared rabe + turnip greens + dressed in the pan with smoked onion/ white pepper lemon vin+ escabeche radishes+ horseradish double fat+ grated horseradish. 🌱
A little more than a year before we opened, we enc A little more than a year before we opened, we encountered végé-pâté in Quebec. It's a staple in many grocery stores there- it's a veggie loaf, often sold by the shrink wrapped slice- a baked mix usually made with seeds, different grated vegetables, flour and/or other grains. Two vegans on the road were in love. It had snuck in the back door of tradition, was popularized further with vegetarian cookbooks, and had somehow endeared itself to Quebec enough to appear in at least a few versions at every store we went to. We came back and developed a recipe that relied heavily on buckwheat, sunflower seeds, oats, carrots, leeks, onions and flour, etc. - baked in a hotel pan- we cut and seared it for sandwiches at Apteka for years from day 1. Forever love the stuff. Skip to a couple years ago when we learn about Pirog Bilgorajski- a classic buckwheat loaf from SW Poland with the same 'everyone does it a little differently' variety of recipes looking quite similar to the veggie loaf we fell in love with almost a decade ago. Didn't know how we missed it- it's been around us the entire time. So we took our végé-pâté, added some things, took some things away- and for a few weeks now Piróg Biłgorajski has been plopped on the bottom of the menu. Centered on the marriage of buckwheat, mushroom, and seeds, our Piróg is cut into a square and served with mashed potatoes & rutabaga from our Amish buds' winter stocks, stewed spiced red cabbage kraut, and lives in a swamp of a burnt onion/ roast mushroom. Piróg Biłgorajski Z tłuczonymi ziemniakami i brukwią, gotowaną, kiszoną czerwoną kapustą , w wywarze z mocno przypalonej cebuli i grzybów.
Białe szparagi Długo duszone szparagi+ beszamel Białe szparagi Długo duszone szparagi+ beszamel na wędzonej marchewce+cebuli+seleru+ bułka tarta+ olej grzybowy. White asparagus Slow cooked white asparagus+ bechamel built on smoked carrot+onion+celeriac+ bread crumb + mushroom oil. Last day:) Some early spring dishes already switching out.
It’s a funny thing to have on the menu. Listed It’s a funny thing to have on the menu. Listed as a small plate, the rogal has been on our to-do list since before we opened. We end up with lots of things on the menu that we have never eaten before, as in, it's not stuff our moms made or anything. Though often elements of dishes have roots in things we’ve had- most things are not drawn straight from memory. Rarely is a dish an exact replica- a direct pull. I was a 14-15?, spent the morning with my cousins rock climbing at a gym wall in Warsaw. I grew up really close with my two cousins Marcin & Piotrek because it was a small family, our moms are sisters and best friends, and we were all really close in age and spent the whole of every summer together. This was one of the first summers where my cousin Piotrek decided we weren’t best buds anymore, and I was still unsure whether it was a passing phase or the new normal. We were done for the day, all taking different buses and trams going in separate directions. People caught their rides, and it worked out that just Piotrek and me were left waiting. He was giving me the cold shoulder, and I was just standing around ready to seize the opportunity if he felt like talking. He didn’t feel like talking- he felt like eating. He was eating this rogal with poppyseeds on top, a briochey croissant shaped thing, super standard fare in Poland, and drinking a carton of strawberry buttermilk. It looked really good. He was never one not to share, so I don’t remember if we split it or I got my own, and I don’t know why he was eating it and I wasn’t yet- but I just remember watching him consume this lunch. With an attitude of ‘I eat to live’ but with a secret sweet tooth satisfied- he ate it with tempo of a young man working quickly towards being a big man. I’ve always loved this combo- buttermilk/ kefir and a fresh baked yeasty dough. It’s more common there than here, it’s perfect for the young person on the go. People order it, sometimes don’t know quite what to do with it- makes sense. Rogal z maślanką truskawkową -brioche-y poppyseed horn with our buttermilk mixed with last year’s @whocooksforyoufarmpa frozen strawberries and our sun seed margarine. C u soon❤️
Our FOH manager, Kolin, and his wife Lucy had a ba Our FOH manager, Kolin, and his wife Lucy had a baby girl a couple of weeks ago. It’s really, really awesome🥹. We’re all really, really thrilled for our dear friends’ growing family and our first Apteka baby🥹. 🥹👼😭. Just wanted to keep you in the loop why: (a) Kolin’s been missing (b) we’re all extra smiley (c) we’ve been looking a little more- windswept?- during service:p ❤️He’s back in a bit- keep it together till then❤️
Wowowowowowowow floored that we made it to the fin Wowowowowowowow floored that we made it to the finalist round of JBF- so so grateful for all of the love we’ve gotten for this project🥹 Means so much to represent Pittsburgh - our hometown - and our amazing crew with this honor♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
Kluski Śląskie Pasta z topinamburu + kasza gry Kluski Śląskie Pasta z topinamburu + kasza gryczana+ konfitury z róży + siano z łąki w postaci mocnej herbaty i oleju+ chrupkie wiurki z ziemniaków z kminkiem+ fasola Marfax + przypalony pół-surowy topinambur. Winter>>>>>>>>Spring kluski set Living off our sunchoke connect with this dude. Slow-cooked sunchoke paste + potato dumplings + hay oil + buckwheat + Marfax beans + rosehip+ crunchy charred sunchoke + fried potato tossed in caraway + hay jus. Dried grasses picked by us. David with the Amish sunchoke + potato hook-up. Marfax beans from our summer bean drop. Waiting for more wild greens to pop for the Spring switch:)
A week or two left of these two winter classic sou A week or two left of these two winter classic soups until some spring swaps. Zupa grochowa z wędzoną marchewką Yellow split pea soup with smoked carrot, onion, paprika and potato with our naturally leavened spent seed toast Zupa Ogórkowa Polish sour pickle soup from our brined cucumber pickles with celeriac, carrot, potato, turmeric, dill and cream with our naturally leavened light rye toast Lots of chatter in the kitchen about who has been finding nettles popping up -- lots of new fun things coming soon:):)
Naleśniki z różą Naleśniki z marmoladą z róży+ naszym jogurtem z orzechów+ z posypką z orzechów włoskich/ maku/ rumianku. Crepes with some lightly sweet and tart rosehip marmalade/ butter we’re making + our nut yogurt+ a sprinkle of sweetened poppyseed/ walnut/ chamomile. On the small plates. Sure, a little sweet-> but not dessert.
Winter menu still here for a few more weeks:p Pla Winter menu still here for a few more weeks:p Placki Ziemniaczane Potato pancakes with some extra-starchy Amish grown gold potatoes, double fat and two salads. One salad with cabbage, carrot, horseradish, the other is a spin on a common pairing of Prof. Marek of lingonberry jam + mustard - only we subbed our damson plum jam from late summer for lingonberry because we don’t fly back fresh lingonberries we picked while hiking in Alaska like the prof. So it’s jam + our mustard + red cabbage. Dill. Longer days, more rain than snow has plants slowly waking up-> early Spring menu starts poking out later this month. We’ll try to post a few more highlights from the winter menu over the next few days:)
Right now, in southwestern PA, produce is a little Right now, in southwestern PA, produce is a little tight. We've been getting: giant rutabagas, some potatoes, great carrots, great beets, February apples, turnips, a little bit of wintered celeriac, and after some convincing- horseradish. Joddo's in Italy, so we're high and dry on chicories:/ But-> we got some great 7-12 day sprouts. Long lentil, pea, flax, mustard seed, beet. Sałatka z kiełkami Kiełki soczewicy/ gorczycy/ zielonego groszku / buraków + kapusta pekińska + winegret z suszonych purchawek i pieczarek + posypka z lnu/ pokrzywy/ majeranku/ słonecznika/ dymki + smażona cebula+ pasta z A. dwuletniego miso z pestek dyni i B. wędzonej cebuli i C. naszej śmietany i D. zmielone wysuszone żółte buraki po zakwasie:| Sprout salad Lentil/ mustard/ green pea/ beet sprouts + napa cabbage + a vin from dried giant puffballs & button mushrooms + flax/ nettle/ marjoram/ sunflower seed/ green onion + fried onions+ a paste from some older pumpkin seed miso/ smoked onion/ double fat/ dried fermented gold beets. Reads like a bowl of the freshest/ youngest greens mixed with the contents of a dusty cupboard-> but eats better than that:p Swipe for the current menu:)
Deep winter means we’re living off the bounty of Deep winter means we’re living off the bounty of our storage pantry. Desserts this weekend and next: 1. Rurki z kremem - rolled tuiles piped with a creme pat made from a milk we made from poppyseeds+ a lil dollop of last summer’s tart black currant preserves. 2. Budyń z galaretką - a pudding made from nuts + a kisiel (loose gelee) from preserved blue plums + a set jelly from some dark tart cherry juice we made and saved in the freezer :p 3. Ciasto Marzeny z lodami My aunt Marzena’s semolina & canned blue plum tea cake + a paddle of sunflower seed ice cream. 4. Pączki Two different pączki- A. Piped with a blonde custard made from hazelnuts, glazed with hazelnuts on top. B. Filled with our roast apricot preserves, sprinkled on the outside with a chamomile sugar. C u soon🌨
Started back to normal Apteka winter menu last wee Started back to normal Apteka winter menu last weekend; regular service this week ahead. This weekend, we will be donating 10% of all sales to help with relief efforts after the devastating earthquake that hit parts of Turkey and Syria. See you this weekend🤍
So- it turns out you guys really like veggie burge So- it turns out you guys really like veggie burgers and French fries. It’s been a busy 2 weeks. Got one more weekend to go. As usual, most food we have available is reserved for dine-in. Friday, Saturday, Sunday-> 5-10pm. Limited pre-orders for takeout open Thursday (tmrw) at noon for the weekend pickup. Gonna wrap up Crapteka vol.6 with a bang-> normal Apteka winter menu kicks returns Feb. 10. See you freakos soon🥰
Good APTEKA news day🥲🥲 Good CRAPTEKA news d Good APTEKA news day🥲🥲 Good CRAPTEKA news day, too🤪 Preorders for Crapteka take-out open tomorrow at noon through the website for pick up on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday! The majority of food is set aside for dine-in, which is first come, first served. No reservations are available during Crapteka, and we don’t have any of our normal Apteka fare. Hundreds of you already know this and came by this past weekend just for vegburgers +++ 🙂 The menu is all nice- scratch made and funnnnnnn! We only offer shakes for dine in because we can’t possibly keep up for both. Had to soak over 50# worth of sunflower and poppyseeds (respectively) for just the ice cream bases for last week alone 🦾😱🦾 Also- full disclosure- since literally dozens of friends and neighbors reached out last week about the vandalism on the neon- that’s just us with some cardboard catching up with appropriate signage for these special weeks- heehee🤭 Normal APTEKA returns the week of February 6th:):)
Wowowowow thank you so much @beardfoundation for t Wowowowow thank you so much @beardfoundation for this nomination♥️ Biggest thanks to the amazing crew of people who make this scrappy lil project come to life every week. You all are the best♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
CRAPTEKA STARTS THIS WEEKEND! Here's what's up: CRAPTEKA STARTS THIS WEEKEND! Here's what's up: Friday - Sunday we will be running our CRAPTEKA menu instead of our regular APTEKA fare -- vegburgers, yuba sandwiches, fries, fun salads, and sunflower + poppyseed milk ice cream milkshakes:) Crapteka usually gets a little nuts, but we are doing a few things to try to make sure everyone gets their yearly fill, including making a lot more food:) We fortified our patio tent to hopefully add some additional + cozy seating for the weekend. Wear some extra layers and you might get a seat a little faster:P Additionally, we are doing limited pre-sale take-out. For this week, we are taking presale orders only for Saturday and Sunday so we have a day to acclimate to the different menu in the kitchen. The following two weeks we'll offer presale take-out Friday - Sunday. Due to limited pars, we will not offer day-of take out unless we somehow end up with a ton of extra food. Take-out presales will open today (Thursday) at 5pm for both this Saturday and Sunday, and we'll update with presale times for the next two weeks. ALSO! This is the first year that we will be offering gluten free options for sandwiches thanks to the awesome gf burger buns from @wildrisebakery! Amounts are limited because we have to adjust our burger mix to be gluten free as well, but we'll have some available through the weekend. Our fryer is also GF, so lots of options for you all:) All new, super fun cocktail line-up. We'll be pouring some cool wines. Gonna be a fun few weeks:)
Regular APTEKA service tonight then three weeks of Regular APTEKA service tonight then three weeks of CRAPTEKA starting next week:) Winter produce options has us squeezing the potential out of our staples- including the dish you’re all been asking for: stuffed onions. Cebule faszerowane w wermucie Your favorite (onions) stuffed with buckwheat, dried tender spring nettles, gently seared kohlrabi + more onion, roast in a vermouth + green peppercorn + juniper jus. Pictured here with our g + gf options- a classic Polish grey bread from light rye flour that we recently started baking and a flax + sunflower + pumpkin seed loaf as a solid gluten free pairing. Served with spiced pickled prunes. It’s nice. On the menu for at least today, and who knows what we’ll be doing after Crapteka. Probably more hot ticket onion items. 👉🧅👈
Kluski Lane Poured noodles with smoked celeriac, Kluski Lane Poured noodles with smoked celeriac, seared cabbage and onion, all dressed in a burnt onion/beer jus and seated atop a spiced roast carrot + rye bread paste // topped w rye breadcrumb + caraway & marjoram. Winter stuff.
Today and tomorrow we have regular Apteka service Today and tomorrow we have regular Apteka service then 3 weeks of CRAPTEKA 🙂 Simple but sweet-> Kanapki on the small plate menu:P Three types of tartines on two types of our rye breads: 1. Pasztet z grzybów- mushroom pâté on light rye with caramelized onion and pickles from this summer’s Kirby bounty  2. Marchewka po Grecku - carrot with onion, tomato, heavy allspice on dark sunflower seed rye 3. Sałatka z buraków - pickled beet + apple + pickle salad with marjoram mayo on light rye C u soon:*
Normal APTEKA this week- but next week is CRAPTEKA Normal APTEKA this week- but next week is CRAPTEKA. CRAPTEKA returns this January for three weekends starting Friday, January 20th through February 5th! For those of you new to the APTEKA scene, we host an annual vegburger + fries + sunflower seed ice cream shakes + special sandwiches and salads ++++ pop-up every year. Usual Apteka MO -- all scratch (minus Heinz ketchup)—->all good:) People get pretty stoked for Crapteka. We started it so we could prep a ton of food and go on vacation, but vacation is no longer an option for this stretch -- too many burgers to patty and fries to punch. :p:p No regular Apteka menu during this time and no reservations. If we can handle it on top of normal service- maybe we’ll do take out. We’ll post the final menu late next week. Gonna be fun:):)
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