The Pittsburgh Dish
Do you really know the food scene of Pittsburgh?! The Pittsburgh Dish introduces you to the people, places, and recipes that make our regional cuisine so special. By sharing personal stories, weekly recommendations, and community recipes, we aim to inspire you to connect with local taste makers and experience the unique flavors that shape our city.
The Pittsburgh Dish
057 Olive Visco of Polska Laska
(00:37) A pierogi crafted with love isn't just food—it's heritage on a plate. For Olive Visco, owner of Polska Laska in Sharpsburg, these Polish dumplings represent generations of maternal tradition transformed into a thriving business.
Polska Laska began as pandemic pierogi pop-ups before evolving into what Olive affectionately calls her "Polish diner"—a warm, inviting space where traditional recipes meet creative innovation. The counter-service eatery serves classics like potato cheddar pierogi, but don't be surprised by adventurous variations such as buffalo chicken and bagels & lox. Along with soups to desserts, it's the signature Polish Platter that may be Olive's "claim to fame," offering generous portions of various menu items that customers often share.
(18:01) Beyond the food, motherhood has shaped Olive's entrepreneurial journey. After years working in Pittsburgh's restaurant industry, becoming a mother crystallized Olive's vision for Polska Laska as a true brick and mortar. Despite initial anxiety about balancing new motherhood with restaurant ownership, she found resolve in building something meaningful for her family's future. With support from her husband Sky, who works at the restaurant daily, and parents who contribute to menu planning and decor, Polska Laska truly embodies its familial roots.
Every element of the restaurant carries personal significance—from the counter built by Olive's father to the vintage dishware and art adorning the walls. Whether you're craving familiar comfort food or curious about Polish cuisine with a twist, this neighborhood gem proves that culinary innovations often begin with honoring what came before.
(35:36) And later in the show, if fresh summer produce is in your future, Roxanne Easley shares her veggie-packed lasagna recipe to put garden abundance to good use. Pull up a chair and bring your appetite!
Welcome to the Pittsburgh Dish. I'm your host, Doug Heilman. How does being a new mom and maternal traditions factor into opening a new restaurant and influencing your menu? Olive Visco shares her story of Polska Laska, from pierogi pop-ups to a brick-and-mortar Polish diner a brick and mortar Polish diner. And as we start to gear up for summer gardening, wouldn't it be nice to have a recipe for veggie lasagna in your back pocket? Chef Roxanne Easley has us covered All that ahead. Stay tuned. Well, thank you so much for coming over and for being on the show.
Olive:Oh, my pleasure yeah.
Doug:Would you introduce yourself to our listeners and what you have going on right now in the world of food?
Olive:Yeah, absolutely so. I'm Olive Visco and I opened up Polska Laska in Sharpsburg about three and a half four months ago and we've been busy so I've been busy.
Doug:If someone hasn't discovered Polska Laska, can you just describe to our listeners what the cuisine is, what you're serving up generally?
Olive:Absolutely so. In short, it's Polish food, but I like to think that it's a little more like Polish American food. That's how I was raised. My mom is not from Poland, it's my great grandmother, so it's recipes that have come down from her, although my grandma, my bocce she was raised in a very Polish centric, 100% Polish family, you know, and it kind of came down through into my mom's family and then into my family. So, you know, it's my take on all those recipes that have come down, you know, and now I'm kind of doing it with my family and also making a business out of it.
Doug:I love that you are extending these family traditions, this Polish heritage, but again, it's a new generation and I just love your shop. Thank you, you call it a Polish diner. Did I see that written somewhere?
Olive:Yeah, so that's one of my favorite words to use to describe it Um, because that's how I think that's. I'm manifesting something. Um, you know I that's the vibe I'm wanting to go for. Um you know there is counter service, there's sit down service. It's very casual, you know it's meant to be kind of a neighborhood feel, neighborhood vibe. You come in, you know I know you and or if I don't know you, I'll know you soon.
Doug:Yeah, and it's small enough. You can kind of talk across the room. Absolutely. I sat at the counter. It felt like a diner in the best way. It is in Sharpsburg, as you said. What are your current hours right now?
Olive:Yeah, so they're short. It's Wednesday through Friday, 11 am to 4. And then on Saturday it's 11 am to 3.
Doug:And folks should also know that this is your production. You have a few employees in the back, but if you sell out of something, that day you sell out and you usually post that like on Instagram, say, hey, you know, just to let you know.
Olive:Yeah, absolutely. Um, you know, we have it's a. It is a small business, uh, and literally it is a small, uh establishment. I do have a nice team, a strong team, and we do make as many as we can without going overboard. But, yeah, we used to sell out quite often. I would say now we've wrangled the beast and I would say that on Saturday we sometimes sell out, but it is not always, and I do. I post on my Instagram and my Facebook as soon as we do sell out, just to give everyone the heads up so they don't make the trip and, you know, feel like they wasted their time.
Doug:Right, right, right. Well, why don't we do this? Let's go into the standard menu. I know you are always changing up what you've got going on, but there's probably a soup on the menu. There's lots of pierogi and different stuffings, fillings. What do you say? Yeah, fillings Right, yeah, so let's go through it and then we'll like lead up to the platter Right.
Olive:Okay, cool, cool.
Doug:What would be a couple of soups that we would find.
Olive:We try and keep it seasonal, so during the winter time, you know you're thinking of like hot soups. So, some things that we've done, we've done a mushroom soup, uh, we've done a couple of kinds of mushroom soups. Uh, we've done Hunter's stew, which is very, or Bigos, which is a traditional Polish um uh stew, and then we've also done, like a cream of mushroom, because I love it, and then we've also done a brothy, more brothy, mushroom soup with noodles, which is a common thing you'll see in Polish food. We've also done pickle soup, which is also, yeah, that's delish. And then we, just last week we did borscht.
Olive:Yeah, think when I was in did you have a white borscht yes, okay, yeah, so zurek, uh, and that is, it's called a white borscht but there's no beets in it. It's it's a rye sour soup. So it starts with a rye start starter. So you take like rye flour um water, garlic bay leaves that kind of thing and you let it sit and ferment for a few days and that's kind of like the base of the soup.
Doug:Wow.
Olive:And then from there you can add in you know it's usually white kielbasa, which is fresh kielbasa instead of smoked, and then you know veggie and all that and that's a really popular, or rather traditional soup to serve around Easter time.
Doug:Okay, yeah, oh, that's, I was in just before Easter, so that makes total sense. Yeah, I'm learning like right now in the moment. And then I'm also thinking, you know, the whole aspect of fermentation or kind of pickly things. I mean, that's that speaks to the region as well, Absolutely.
Olive:That's something I love to do in my my free time. Now the whole like permits and the rules with um Allegheny food department and things like that I don't have that all like you know. Like uh, I'm not out here like fermenting my own pickles and stuff like that for the restaurant, Maybe one day. That being said, uh, pickles, sauerkraut, all of that funky goodness.
Doug:Yes.
Olive:Definitely a huge Polish or Eastern European food. I mean, it likens so many cultures honestly Right. But yeah, no, definitely something that my mom's always done, I've always done. We really enjoy like canning and pickling and things like that.
Doug:I love that. My sister has really gotten into canning in the last couple of years. She cans everything, but I don't know if we made pickles. I don't know, I'll have to ask her.
Olive:Yeah.
Doug:So why don't we just move through the menu, as if I'm having like a full meal with you, then of course we have. I'm not going to say it right, go blocky.
Olive:No, that's okay. So it's Gumpk y.
Roxanne:That's how you, that's how you, that's Polish.
Olive:Now Pittsburgh will say glubki, and then I think, people from Croatia say hlubki.
Roxanne:It's like an.
Olive:H or something. Either way, I know exactly what everyone means when they start saying it.
Doug:And this is the stuffed cabbage roll. Delicious, that is what I had. And then, of course, you have some hlubki and are and are you making the spaetzle.
Olive:Yeah, yeah we do make that homemade. I wasn't sure, like I mean, I knew I was going to have halushki on my menu, um, but I wanted to make it special and I wanted to have like a homemade twist on it, um. So I was like, oh you know, I don't even know how I came up with the idea of spaetzle. I think it just kind of like just seemed like the right thing to do. And yeah, so we make that homemade. We make that at least three to four times a week in house.
Doug:It's a labor of love. I've made Spetzle. I mean it's like a German thing for me and I love it too so. I kind of love that combination Absolutely.
Olive:Right, yeah, and yeah, it's, instead of using the store-bought egg noodles, it gives it, you know, a little bit of a fresh twist.
Doug:Yes, yeah. Now let's give folks a definition for something that's on the menu. A lot carmies.
Olive:Those are caramelized onions. And I just thought it was like, honestly, I think it maybe is just like a restaurant industry thing, like that's a very common thing to write on the Cambro Right that you know. I think a lot of people who work in kitchens would know exactly what that is. I do not deal with a lot of people who work in kitchens that come in to eat. That's not my, my demographic. It is not fellow industry people. So I do explain that a lot yeah.
Doug:I noticed that the day I was there. That's why yeah exactly.
Olive:So when I rewrite this menu, will I still have carmies up there instead of caramelized onions? I don't know.
Roxanne:I don't know Well.
Doug:I think it's cute, but it does get you. You know, in some ways it's sort of like um a gorilla maneuver to have to talk to people which might be a great thing.
Olive:Honestly a maneuver to have to talk to people, which might be a great thing.
Doug:Honestly, I'll always find a reason to talk to people. All right, let's just. Let's just dial into some pierogi. Yeah, let's go through, like the basic fillings, but also maybe some things that you do that you think are more your twist.
Olive:Yeah, for sure. Okay, so our basic pierogi or rather I shouldn't say basic, it's more traditional I always have potato cheddar, I always have farmer's cheese and herb, sauerkraut and mushroom and then potato onion. Like those are just, like you know, a very common. A lot of people were raised with those.
Doug:It's what people are asking for.
Olive:Yes, exactly Now. That being said, I have a whole next like in the next month I'm going to have another menu that comes out with another four. You know pierogi that are also traditional, that also everyone was raised on Cause I feel like every week, or, you know, every few weeks, I learn about another kind of pierogi that was like well, my favorite pierogi is potato and sauerkraut. I'm like, oh girl, I guess you know. Well, I don't have that, but maybe next time.
Olive:So, you know. But yeah, so those are kind of the more traditional family oriented, and by family oriented I mean how my family made pierogi. But I have done everything. I've put everything in a pierogi, probably to like to the extent where it was like girl, that was a little too much. You went too far.
Doug:These are the radical rogies. Yes.
Olive:Yes, so some of the like popular ones that I've done that are like not traditional Polish, you know, buffalo chicken pierogi um cheeseburger. Pierogi Reuben pierogi perogi cheeseburger.
Roxanne:Perogi Reuben perogi taco perogi, like that kind of thing.
Olive:So, just like fun, I think of it like junk food like, but like I'm like, okay, what kind of like ooey, gooey, like stoner food do I want to put into a perogi? You know the perfect snack? Yes, exactly. So that's kind of you know where my well. Well, I get a lot of inspiration from everywhere but, some of the really weird ones that I've done that again. I just don't know if I would do again.
Olive:I think it usually comes down to seafood because, I've always like I I want to play with seafood, with pierogi, but it just doesn't quite ever really like, really hit right for me right so I've done a clams casino pierogi before yes because also clams casino is like such an underrated dish I'm like I kind of love it gives me like palm springs vibes or something.
Olive:and then, um, we, what else have I done? Oh, and then I did like a caesar pierogi, which again I thought they were delicious. Um, and then another one that I do think hits just right and is popular is a bagels and lox pierogi and honestly, that's something I started doing back in high school like with my family, cause I, we, we grew up with bagels and lox for um, for like special, you know, celebrations, holidays, that kind of thing.
Olive:And I was like, well, that's an easy pierogi filling celebrations, yes, holidays, that kind of thing. And I was like, well, that's an easy pierogi filling and that was kind of like my first like claim to fame is like my family being like you are such a good pierogi maker I'm like I know own it yes, yes I do want to describe.
Doug:I mean, folks can check out your socials, but the I want to say it the pinch or the curl you do on the edge of the pruning. It's beautiful, it's beautiful and uh, if folks are getting hungry right now, not only can they come to your shop and eat, but they can buy pierogi to go like frozen or in the takeaway. How does that work?
Olive:Yeah, absolutely. So it used to be frozen. My freezer broke, so they're all. They're all fresh right now. But yeah, absolutely, you can still get a bag like a ziploc baggie of pierogi, half dozen or full dozen. They're fresh, they're boiled um and then and refrigerated. You just would take them home. You can freeze them or you can like cook them yourself right away yeah, all right.
Doug:What do you like best? Do you like a boiled pierogi and like straight into some butter and stuff, or do you like a boiled pierogi and like straight into some butter and stuff? Or do you like a fried?
Olive:pierogi no, and honestly, you probably won't ever see a like a soft boiled pierogi on my menu, unless I do kind of like a dish that is surrounded by that, maybe like a fruit wine or a dessert wine.
Roxanne:I just haven't really.
Olive:It's just not how my family made pierogi. I know some people would be like, oh, blasphemy.
Doug:Or that's not how I do, my Mrs T oh, of course Right.
Olive:So yeah, all of our pierogies have a crunchy sear on them.
Doug:Yes.
Olive:And if I'm making them at home, I put like a good amount of oil in my pan so that they're like pretty like evenly crisped all around. I like the crisp and then like soft and yummy inside.
Doug:Like a shallow fry is how you like to do it? Absolutely so. Olive says pan fry your pierogi for the best experience.
Olive:Absolutely yes, okay.
Doug:You did mention dessert, so maybe we should go there in a second, but I want to touch on the Polish platter.
Olive:Yeah.
Doug:That looks like the best thing on the menu.
Olive:Yeah, and I think that it's my claim to fame. I think it's why I am successful. Who knew?
Doug:You get pretty much a little bit of everything.
Olive:Yeah, absolutely. So. The whole idea started when I was doing pop-ups, because I was just trying to like streamline but also like make the most money as possible.
Olive:I was like okay how can I like force these people to get like more food? So I was like, okay, so we'll do this Polish platter, which this is not something I was raised, you know this is. This is Pittsburgh and I, you know, I've done my fair share of research and I know, like Bloomfield Tavern, like they had a Polish platter, and I think a lot of places with Polish food, it's that that's a thing. So, anyway, so I was like, ok, well, I want to definitely do that at the restaurant, but I wanted to be like Polish, I want to be cutesy. It is very cute. So, you know, I got the cute like lunch trays and you know, it kind of also reminds me a little I got a little inspo from also the idea of like a barbecue platter with the parchment paper and have everything lined up and spread out on it.
Olive:But, yeah, so you get a little bit of everything. You, um, and I wouldn't say you get a little bit of everything, you get a lot of everything.
Doug:You could share this with somebody if you wanted to.
Olive:Absolutely People do. Quite often the pro move is, if it's two people, it's like they get a platter to share and then they get like a gowamki or two, and then they get like a salad or, you know, like a soup to share or you know, or an extra kielbasa, because they're like, I want my own kielbasa.
Doug:Yeah, that kielbasa looks killer and I love the cross hatch cut because I did that on bratwurst.
Olive:So when I saw it I'm like oh yeah, oh my God, no, it's great. I mean more crunchy bits.
Doug:That's exactly it. It's more surface area, so it gets more brown. Oh, so good Totally.
Olive:Totally.
Doug:Okay, so before we leave the menu, then we've taken people through.
Olive:you did mention something about maybe a pierogi as a dessert? Have you done desserts or is there a common dessert you have on the menu? Yeah, so okay. So pierogi for dessert, for example, easter just passed, so we did a lekvar pierogi, which is a prune butter pierogi, um, and ours has walnuts and oranges in it, um, and that's. You know, that is a delicious.
Olive:That can be kind of like a twist on either savory sweet or you can go the whole way to sweet um some other, like common dessert pierogies are with ripe seasonal berries, so like small blueberries or like bilberries, cherries, like strawberry, that kind of thing, and I think we'll probably get into it this summer. But again, it's not something I was raised on it's something I want to explore right this is more to come.
Doug:Yes, I've had cherry pierogi and they were delicious, yeah absolutely, yeah, absolutely.
Olive:It's like I said, it's something I want to, you know, kind of expand my knowledge with uh. But yeah, on at the restaurant itself, though you know I always we're trying to do like a slice of the month and this is kind of more of my manifestation of a diner you know uh you know, I kind of what we've been doing this last.
Olive:this last month we did carrot cake, um, and then, you know, violets are popping up everywhere, so we're going to do like a violet cake, I think, this next week or two, and then soon we're going to do rhubarb pie, strawberry rhubarb pie. That's going to be like the next slice of the month.
Doug:Okay, I love all of this because you are hitting a true diner note with all of these too. But those are like desserts that everybody loves.
Olive:Exactly.
Doug:This is Olive Visco from Polska Laska. And you're listening to The Pittsburgh Dish. All right, Olive, we should shift a little bit away from the menu. And I just want to ask sort of the bigger question when did this all get started? You alluded earlier that you did pop-ups, so when did Polsk Laska begin?
Olive:Yeah, so Polska Laska I you know, I was thinking about this question a lot today before I came here, and I think that it was. You know, I think the idea of this whole thing was birthed out of motherhood and I thought about my great grandma and I think about my great-grandma and I think about my grandmother and my mother and me becoming a mother and I think about how heritage and like food through heritage comes down through your maternal side so often.
Olive:My dad's Portuguese. I don't have a drop of knowledge about Portuguese food in me. My grandfather is Sicilian. Although we did have a little bit of that growing up, not much. My roots have stemmed completely through the mothers on my mother's side.
Doug:This has dominated the culture Absolutely.
Olive:Absolutely no-transcript little post one time, cause we were just like we lived near each other.
Olive:So you know he had had my pierogi before and uh, you know, and that kind of gave me a nice little boost and people followed and I was able to get some regulars to the point where it was like, you know, and that kind of gave me a nice little boost and people followed and I was able to get some regulars to the point where it was like, you know, I was busy, I was having orders every single week, you know. From there it just grew and I went under the radar for a while and then I was doing pop-ups and then I was kind of like working through, you know, like through some people in some people's like kitchens, um, and then the kitchen that I met now in sharpsburg was, um, you know, mentioned to me through instagram actually, like one of my followers was like under a pose, was like polska, alaska, are you looking for a store? Because this is this mindy's is leaving her spot. And I was was like, oh well, I don't know, I guess I am, I could make that leap, I could do it. And, um, you know, I don't know if I'm ready, but let's, you know, okay, well, that number's good and okay, this makes sense, let's do it. And then, very quickly, like, and I was like okay, cool, let's open, like, let's do it.
Olive:And then I became pregnant and so again, the whole idea of like motherhood and you know where it all kind of came from. You know I I put opening the restaurant on the back burner for a while because I was pregnant and I just wanted to like focus on the normal orders that I had. And you know I was doing, I am doing wholesale, for you know, some restaurants and holiday orders are huge for me.
Doug:Oh, I bet.
Olive:And I also wanted to like perfect the restaurant, but I also had a lot of like anxiety and hesitation because I was just like, well, what does this mean being a mother and being a good mother and opening a restaurant? Like what does that look like? I didn't know and you know there there was a lot of anxiety behind that. And then I, I had the baby his name's Kip and uh, I do have. You know, I have a very wonderful like supportive family and I have a supportive husband.
Olive:Shout out Sky yes, hi Sky, hi Sky and um, but yeah, honestly, like after the baby was born, I like kind of, you know, things became super like crystallized, everything like really like came into focus. I was just like, oh no, I want to do this and I want to put my energy into this so I can create this like wonderful life for my son the broader.
Doug:Like sweet long-term experience Absolutely.
Olive:Absolutely. I know it's like, you know, day to day, I think a lot of moms well I don't know I think a lot of moms are working moms right now. But I would say that you know, I don't have as much like day to day time with my son as. I would like to Um, but I do see the bigger picture and I know what I'm doing and I'm like, okay, these memories, when he has them, he doesn't have them, yet when?
Olive:he does have the memories. I will be there, um, and I will be able to be there, and maybe I can even take him to Disneyland.
Doug:You know what I mean. You are shaping and controlling your whole world with this pursuit. Yes, thank you so much for sharing that story because I think your anxiety and someone else out there listening in the same situation it's such an inspiration to say hey, yeah, work through that and find that balance and think about the longterm.
Olive:Yeah, no, absolutely yeah. And opening a business it's hard and I mean taxes are so hard and working through like the government it's so hard and it is so overwhelming and I you know me, who I I think I probably have ADHD or something or I'm just like a spaz. Anyway, I mean it was such a challenge to just like get into it and just like sit down and do it. And that was like one of my biggest hurdles.
Doug:Well, I think what's cool in your experience is that you started as, like, this little cottage thing and then knew that you had to move into the commercial kitchen to do your thing, and now you've elevated even more into your own thing. So you are almost like at graduate level of all the things that need to happen when someone has a food business. What's next, I don't know.
Olive:Me neither.
Doug:I do have a question for you about that, so we'll talk about it, because I have been watching you from afar on socials and I'm like, oh my gosh, this woman, I mean she's been doing all these great things, she just had a baby and she's opening a restaurant. I mean it's pretty incredible.
Olive:Absolutely. Yeah, I feel like superwoman.
Doug:Yeah.
Olive:That being said, I mean that it's not like I am not a type A person. I have. I've dealt with depression, anxiety, drugs and alcohol. I mean, I'm an industry gal. What do? You expect from me. You know, and I've been through it, I have lived a life babe and but if I can do it, like definitely other like I mean other people can.
Doug:You have a story to share with other people.
Olive:Oh for sure, and yeah, like it's, it's, it's a fun one.
Doug:Well, let's take a step back, then, because you also mentioned beyond these family decisions and and some of the traditions you've inherited or grew up with. You did say you're an industry person. Tell us a little bit about your career in the food world before Polska Laska.
Olive:Yeah, so it all started when I was 15 years old. Yeah, so I started working in the and this is kind of fun because I can talk about my line cook too so I started working at Bella Cucina in Franklin, Pennsylvania, where I grew up, and it was like the only like real fine dining restaurant, but also like a neighborhood restaurant. It was like an all encapsulating restaurant in my small town.
Roxanne:All the things.
Olive:Everyone went there.
Doug:Yes.
Olive:And you know, I started out as a busser and then, when I was like 18, I became a bartender in high school oh my you know and, um, I was, I worked there, even through a little bit, through college. It was like such a like if a restaurant was like a reality tv show I bet and I was like in high school. Believe believe me, my mind was blown.
Olive:You know, I was like, oh my gosh, and my parents knew what was going on here. No, I mean, and it was great though I mean, it was woman owned, I mean you know the, and everyone was. There was characters everywhere, and you know what, though Also like, the service was elevated there too and the food was good and I think that I really had like a jump start into what the industry was yeah.
Olive:I wasn't like starting at, you know, like a calm, cool, collected little cafe, like no, I was like with the big dogs, you know, I kind of like fell in love with it, probably because a little bit of like the drama of it all you know which comes kitchens and um, but I was front of house for like ever and um, you know, I went to school.
Olive:I went to Chatham, um, and I thought I was gonna like get into more of like a nine-to-five world and you know, my dream was like public relations, that that was my mom, what my mom did, um, and I was like maybe I'll work from a food public relations company.
Olive:I don't know, you know I didn't really know what it was, but but I you know, I ended up, after I graduated, working at Union Standard and I opened Union Standard with. Derek Stevens and again it was kind of like that idea. I was back into it. I was back into like, kind of like, more of like the fine dining downtown city industry life.
Doug:And we should remind listeners, Union Standard is now occupied by Ritual House. So that's the spot right downtown, right downtown.
Olive:Yep, exactly, and Derek's now with Moonlit. Okay, and I loved working there. I loved, hated it.
Olive:I loved, hated it.
Olive:And I, you know, I became friends with the owner, with Derek and um, and I met so many of my friends there that are still friends now. And you know I was kind of like, okay, this is like I love doing this, the money's quick, this is fun, I can go out with friends afterwards. And you know, I was in my super early twenties and I was like, okay, this is like the vibe I'm trying to do. And again, it was like quick money and yeah, you know how it is and um, so you know.
Olive:And from there I bounced through some other places doing bar, managing work at Ironborn, Um, ooh gosh, where, oh you know, I waitressed at Piccolo Forno, and, uh, you know just a couple other places, um, but you're building your network along the way, oh for sure, yeah, yeah, um, and, and I, and I was a girl that was out and about too. You know I was at the industry nights.
Olive:You know I was, like you know, doing the shots with, like, the chefs, and you know, you know it was party girl, um, and that was a great way to also network, I suppose, um, but yeah, you know, uh, so it was it. It has been like such an enormous part of my life for the for the good and the bad. I mean it's how I met my husband and I. I should say I mean bella cucina, one of my first line cooks that I ever worked with is the line cook that works at polska laska right now oh his name's, eric krupitzer, and, uh, he's worked at a couple of places.
Olive:I think he's worked at Cure, he's worked at Bistro to Go over on Northside, but anyway, you know we both are from the same small town, yeah.
Olive:We found each other again.
Olive:I know I'd find you in any lifetime, Eric.
Doug:Well.
Doug:I love that. That's a great story.
Doug:Do you have any other support system, like from family that's supporting the business now?
Olive:Yeah, absolutely so. My husband Sky. He works at my restaurant every day that we're open. He's an enormous help and support for the business. He's made so many sacrifices to help me make my dream come true. And you know what's become kind of our dream, for our family, and also, though my, my parents are, I've mentioned, I do have such a supportive family, uh, but you know there are parts of the, the cafe, the diner, uh, itself that you know my parents have had complete influence on my dad designed and helped build the counter um and you know my parents have had complete influence on my dad designed and helped build the counter Um and you know my mom is an enormous part of behind a lot of like the tchotchke that's all around.
Olive:She is like a thrifter. She is a um design designer. I mean she, my dad and my mom have. You know these beautiful homes that he's designed. You know the home and she's designed the inside and I really trusted them and wanted their help to create you know the to create the big picture of what Polsk Laska would look like and feel like. There are a ton. There are pictures in um and paintings inside of Polska Laska that have been in my family home growing up.
Doug:It feels that way. I love the vintage dishware. It's a vibe. If people haven't visited, they have to. I think we should jump forward too and just talk about the future. When you think about where you are right now with the business, are there any other things you want to start doing you alluded to, maybe some more wholesale in the future, but do you have any short or long-term goals or events, or even just a new dish you want to put on the menu?
Olive:Oh, my God, where do I start? So some like short-term goals to expand. The business is catering.
Doug:Oh yeah.
Olive:And I'm going to, I'm going to put out a catering menu, and then I'm also going to start taking phone orders again, because I had to, like, shut off my phone. Oh yeah, because I was just getting inundated and it was overwhelming. So that is like short term goals, long term goals. You know, I don't know right, right now, to be honest with you I just oh my god, but everyone asks me um, how long has the diner been open?
Doug:about four months, yeah, it's fresh, although you've been around town and we've heard the term polska alaska for since the pandemic five years, yeah that's what I say.
Olive:I say I've had a pierogi business for five years, but this storefront has been open for under four months. So absolutely, and then, yeah, on the menu, we're going to have a menu switch up here in the next month. Keep it seasonal. We're going to do like a summer menu. We're going to do specials, new pierogi fillings, you know more traditional Polish dishes that you're like, why is that not on the menu? Well, babe, it's coming. Yeah, so I'm always, I'm always thinking about the next step how to make it better.
Olive:How do I make it better?
Doug:Always. I love that. Well, I'm so excited for this business I mean, in four months of having this physical location. I think you've taken the world by storm and I hope it just keeps happening. If somebody has not discovered you yet, let's let them know about your social handles and also the location address polskalaskapgh on Instagram.
Olive:You can just Google me to find my Facebook Polska Laska. And then our address is 1100 North Canal Street. That's in Sharpsburg, but you know Pittsburgh PA. That's right, yeah, and then you can also follow me Olive Visco, and you know, I mean, I'm fun too, and I also talk about Polska Laska and my baby.
Doug:I'm going to do that. I don't think I'm following you personally, so that's amazing. All right, olive, it's been so great to talk with you. I have one more question while we're together. The name of the show is The Pittsburgh dish. What's the best dish you've eaten this past week?
Olive:Gosh this past week. Okay, Okay, I will say my mom made these rice bowls with fish wife. Do you know fish wife? I don't. Okay. So fish wife is a like premier, like canned fish.
Doug:Okay.
Olive:You can find it Like she's it's cool, it's woman owned, okay. It's like like canned fish, okay. You can find it like she's it's cool, it's woman owned, okay. It's like it's real, it's elevated.
Doug:I'm sorry, tinned fish. Yes, elevated tinned fish, it's a thing, absolutely.
Olive:And this is the one that kind of, I think like started a little bit of that, like that storm that trend. So she did like a smoked trout veggie rice bowl. My mom cooks for me on Wednesdays. Thank you, mother, because she watches my baby. So any day that I can get a home cooked meal made for me, I'm happy.
Doug:It's always going to be the best bite, and if it comes from mom, it's certainly the best bite of the week.
Roxanne:Absolutely.
Doug:Olive Visco, it's been such a pleasure. Thank you so much for being on the Pittsburgh Dish.
Olive:Doug, it's been my pleasure.
Doug:I can't wait to go have some more pierogi.
Olive:Oh my God, can't wait to have you, babe.
Doug:I can't wait to visit Polska Laska again soon, and I think you should too. So we'll just leave it there as our recommendation of the week Up next. If you're planning a big vegetable garden or you just like a recipe repertoire of how to use up all that summer produce, chef Roxanne Easley has got us covered. Hey everyone, we're joined today with Chef Roxanne Easley of Roxanne's Catering. Roxanne, when you were here last, we talked about that vast menu that you have online and a couple of the dishes we didn't get to were some of the vegetarian dishes. I was taking a look the other day and I saw that you have a veggie lasagna that you even do vegan. Yes, could we share a bit of a recipe for our listeners if they wanted to make veggie lasagna?
Roxanne:Sure. So with our vegetarian lasagna we use a lot of different vegetables. So we use squash, zucchini, mushrooms, bell peppers, onions and stewed tomatoes. So we use that as the base with a red sauce. So sometimes we use a marinara sauce, a spaghetti sauce Sometimes we'll use if we're really being fancy, we'll make a sauce, but it just depends on the budget but whoever, if you're doing it at home, whatever favorite jarred sauce you like you could.
Roxanne:Yes, yeah and pretty much what we do is you can do no bake lasagna, or you can do a lasagna where you have to boil the noodle and we also add spinach, so we add spinach to the ricotta I love that.
Doug:Yes, so you. We add spinach to the ricotta, I love that yes.
Roxanne:So we add the spinach to the ricotta with eggs and a little bit of seasoning in that part. We prepare that separate and we roast all of the vegetables and then we add it to the sauce.
Olive:Oh.
Roxanne:Yes, so we cook the vegetables first and we roast them, season them, roast them, add it to the sauce and it's just a layered effect. Now, this can be vegetarian or this can be vegan, and the way you make it vegan is just change the noodles to a vegetable noodle, okay, um, and, and it can also be gluten-free. If you use a gluten-free noodle, yeah, or you can use a vegan cheese. The cheese that we use to layer with is a mozzarella provolone cheese, but if you're using the vegan or you can use a vegan cheese, the cheese that we use to layer with is a mozzarella provolone cheese, but if you're using the vegan cheese, you can use a vegan mozzarella cheese. I've seen those, yes, so, and it's just a simple layering of sauce, noodles, veggies, cheese and continue on yes, so you fill up your 9x13.
Doug:Yes absolutely.
Roxanne:And then we put a parchment paper on top, cover it with a double foil in the oven for 350 for about 45 minutes, uncover it and then we let the cheese melt on there and brown just a little bit, just to get a nice little coating on top of about 10 minutes Okay.
Doug:It sounds easy, but I think that trick is the roasting the veggies first, because you're getting rid of the water and concentrating their flavor. Yes, and are you just with all of the veggies you mentioned? Are you just slicing them thin?
Roxanne:Yes, we slice them and we'd make it small enough so that when you put it in a sauce, it's easy to mix in and cut the lasagna.
Doug:Yes, yes.
Roxanne:Perfect Yep.
Doug:Chef Roxanne Easley's veggie lasagna or vegan if you want it.
Doug:Yes, thanks so much, roxanne, and thanks for being on The Pittsburgh Dish, thank you, thank you. You can follow Chef Roxanne at Roxanne's underscore catering on Instagram. Do you have a recipe? Share it with us. Just visit our website at wwwpittsburghdishcom and look for our Share a Recipe form. If you enjoyed the show, consider buying us a coffee for this episode or supporting the show monthly. You can find links to those options at the bottom of our show description, and if you want to follow my own food adventures, you can find me on social media at DougCooking. That's our show for this week. Thanks again to all of our guests and contributors and to Kevin Solecki of Carnegie Accordion Company for providing the music to our show. We'll be back again next week with another fresh episode. Stay tuned.
