Yoga Fuel: Kenny & Ziggy's Potato Pirogen

Photo by Christina Uticone

Finding something light enough for a pre-yoga meal at Kenny & Ziggy's Delicatessen is quite a challenge--it's a huge menu, and the portions themselves are also huge. Even the salads are impressive in size, and so delicious that it's hard to stop eating even when full. I recently found myself tight on time before a yoga class and needing a quick refueling before hitting the mat. I eyed up my husband's Luck be a Latke (brisket between two potato pancakes) with envy while I limited myself to an order of three Potato Pirogen ($7.95)--boiled--with onions, sour cream, and apple sauce.

I have noticed that Kenny & Ziggy's gets some backlash from folks who don't appreciate the prices. Personally, I find the portion sizes justify the pricing, and I have never had a bite that was less than delicious. I may be from Upstate New York, but I know good deli when I see it and K&Z is great deli food.

As much as I wanted to dive into my husband's uneaten portion of Luck Be a Latke -- K&Z has my favorite brisket in town (sorry, Texas!) -- the Potato Pirogen made a perfect pre-yoga meal. The portion size was just right and the dish itself was quite light, even with all of that starch. Normally I wouldn't load up on carbs before a yoga class, when I prefer something in the veggie/protein vein, but it was the promise of sweetness from the applesauce that led me to order it, and I was so glad that I did -- the only thing worse than doing yoga on a too-full stomach is doing yoga on a too-empty one.

The onions are cooked down to a soft, buttery texture and together with the applesauce they make the dish feel a lot lighter than a potato-filled dumpling has any right to be. I didn't let myself go crazy with the sour cream, but I appreciated the slight sourness that balanced against the applesauce. The dish was sweet, savory, and just slightly sour, but it didn't leave me overly full or with a mouthful of crazy onion breath that would make my upcoming OM chants unpleasant for my neighboring yogis. I had plenty of energy to move me through my vinyasa, and after class I was just hungry enough to polish of the one-quarter serving of brisket and potato pancake my husband set aside for tomorrow's lunch me.

This little dish was a winner, and will preface many of my future meals at Kenny & Ziggy's. What a nice surprise for a yogini on the go!

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