John Kruk loves the Philadelphia Phillies, and he loves Major League Baseball. But it seems like he loves pierogis even more.
With Philly leading the Chicago Cubs 10-2 Saturday afternoon, Kruk was in search of some Polish fare, prompting fans to reach out with recommendations. And as soon as Kruk heard “pierogi,” that was it, nothing else mattered, certainly not the baseball game that was playing out right in front of him.
Kruk hunted down The Pierogie Kitchen’s menu on Google, and was immediately sold when he read “homemade pierogis made by hand from scratch.”
“Oh man. Boy, they got fried pickles too. Oh, potato pancake. Poutine,” Kruk said before expressing what sounded like a high-pitched feeling of euphoria. “Listen to this, tell me this don’t make your mouth water. PK Poutine, homemade golden brown potato pancake, smothered in brown gravy, and topped with sautéed farmer’s cheese pierogis.”
The former Phillie is of Polish descent, but you don’t have to be Polish to appreciate a good pierogi. And you certainly don’t have to be Polish to feel whatever it was that Kruk was feeling when he learned there was a food establishment cooking up pierogi poutine.
“Oh my god,” Kruk continued to play-by-play voice Tom McCarthy, who was still trying to call the game. “I better pay attention to the game here. We do have a game going on, right?”
But Kruk couldn’t just pay attention to the game, not with pierogis on the mind, at least. Luckily, it was a blowout win for the Phillies, so fans probably weren’t too upset with Kruk shifting his focus from baseball to pierogis.
“As you get older, it’s the little things that get you excited,” Kruk said. “And pierogis are a big part of that with my Polish heritage.”
