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Dumplings are a cross-cultural culinary phenomenon, and come in all forms. Whether they’re pierogis in Greenpoint, soup dumplings in Chinatown or artisanal vegan potstickers in Williamsburg, they can be found all over the city. While pierogis are the most famous Eastern European dumpling, Belarusian-born Anton Yelyashkevich is trying to change that with his food truck outside the W4th subway station, “Anton’s Dumplings”. The food truck serves the traditional Russian dumpling pelmeni, which cost $6 for a “small” and $11 for a “large”. They offer such fillings as Siberian (a traditional Russian mixture of beef and pork), chicken and potato.
While Pelmeni are popular among the Russian community in Brighton Beach (Skovorodka serves the best, in my opinion), they’re still a relatively new phenomenon everywhere else in the city. A lot of New Yorkers don’t understand the concept of pelmeni, therefore the truck offers free samples. Educating patrons on the pelmeni allows them to start talking to people and showing that Anton’s is a fun company as opposed to any other food cart. Back in the colder months, they had a promotional offer where you would get free pelmeni if you ate them shirtless.
There are all sorts of toppings offered for the pelmeni, the most popular being the traditional sour cream and scallions, just like they’re served in Brighton Beach. Some other toppings include soy sauce, sriracha and teriyaki. All of these toppings are free, apart from a $1 dousing of smoked gouda.
While it started out looking like just any regular novelty, Anton’s Dumplings has slowly gained popularity, and has even earned the attention of the New York Times. Yelyashkevich and the head chef have been testing all sorts of meal combinations, such as the “Drunk Russian” – hangover essentials on top of dumplings – on Saturday nights. The food truck can be found outside the West 4th station Tuesday – Thursday 12 pm – 11 pm and Fridays and Saturdays 12 pm – 2 am.
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Maria Haymandou 