If you can believe it, this would be my first visit to any of the Kozak locations in the GVRD. Yep, I've literally walked by the original Victoria Street location countless times and have driven past the Gastown one even more. I've even passed by the New West store a few times on foot and in my car as well. Now they've opened their newest spot in Langley right near Colossus. They are featuring some of their best classic dishes on the menu including lunch combos. So I finally made it out, to their 4th location!
Next, we sampled a variety of their Handmade Varenyky (Pierogies) starting with the Bacon & Potato. Now if you are still slogging through those frozen ones you get at the grocery store, then you haven't had authentic pierogies before. Fortunately, I've had the real thing many times and these were really good. The dumpling skin was tender and thin while retaining a slight chew. Inside, the russet potatoes were soft and nicely seasoned. The plethora of housemade candied bacon provided that salty, smoky sweetness as well as a crispy texture. Add in some brown butter, and we had some nuttiness as well.
Next we tried the Potato & Cheese Varenyky topped with a housemade cheese sauce. You know how some cheese sauces taste salty and not much else? Well this one was full on cheddar cheese with the unmistakable tanginess and pungency. Furthermore, it as silky and cheesy without being greasy. It also didn't separate. The addition of sunflower seeds provided a nutty crunch while the chili flakes gave a bit of variation in flavours.
Those two pierogies were excellent, but my favourite was the Duck & Basil Varenyky. These were packed with Brome Lake duck that was super tender and moist. It had the appealingly gaminess of duck while also exhibiting sweetness from the onions. The basil provided a bit of sweetness and herbaceousness. Completing the plate was a base of tarragon cream, crispy shallots and peppercorns. We got aroma, pepperiness and the sweet anise flavour of the tarragon.
In addition to the Borsch, we also tried the Bograch Carpathian Goulyash made with beef, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, onions, jalapeños and smoked paprika. The key ingredient here was the smoked paprika as it added so much depth and smokiness. Combined with the natural sweetness of the root veggies and tomatoes, this was a hearty and punchy Goulyash. We also got some spice from the peppers. Of course we couldn't forget about the smoked pork rib sitting in the soup. It was smoky, meaty and tender.
The showstopper had to be the Chicken Kyiv. It was neatly presented on a bed of creamy mashed potatoes. These mashed potatoes were rich and especially more so after we cut into the beautifully prepared chicken cutlet. The copious amount of melted butter helped made the potatoes even more sinful. As for the chicken, it was tender and benefitted from the buttery nuttiness inside. Outside, it was uniformly crispy.
Of course we had to have the Cabbage Rolls as well. We had this with beef and yes, the filling was loaded with a good mix of that and rice. Texturally, it was on point with a slight bounce with meatiness while being fairly light. The cabbage itself was tender and not mushy. Nicely balanced, the tomato sauce was neither too acidic nor salty. It was mild with a tang. Add in the side of sour cream and that provided a bright creaminess.
If you wanted a bit of everything without needing to order full versions of every dish, you could opt for Mama's Combo for $22.00. This plate has all the goodies including cabbage roll, 3 pierogies, a fried Ukraїnian Kovbasa sausage on stewed sauerkraut, sour cream, horseradish and mustard. For this plate, we had the Potato and Dill Pierogies and they were the most mild-tasting of the bunch, but the fried onions really helped with the aroma.
As much as Mama's Combo had it all, the Kozak Lunch for $28.00 was ever more so. It included a choice of Borsch, Cabbage Rolls and Varenyky. However, to change things up a bit, we had the Nalysnyky instead of the Cabbage Roll. Essentially the crepe version of a cabbage roll, it was quite flavourful due to the use of a thin crispy crepe rather than cabbage. The flavours were more concentrated. It sat atop the same delicious cheese sauce that came with the Varenyky.
For dessert pastries in their display case, you could add a variety of things including Pletenka Cinnamon Roll, Cherry Fluff, Pistachio Butter Croissant, Apricot Fluff and Dark Chocolate Babka. Pretty good stuff here with the fluffs being my favourite. Essentially a Danish with riocotta and fruit, these were flaky and just sweet enough. That Babka was really good with crunchy portions and a softer centre. The dark chocolate had the perfect sweetness level and plenty of appealing bitterness.
As for the available desserts on the main menu, the Napoleon Cake would be the most impressive-looking. In terms of taste and texture, it was pretty darn good. I loved the light flakiness of the puff pastry intertwined with the sweet custard. It was a rather large slice but ate pretty light. Overall, the food at Kozak is fantastic. From the borsch to the varenyky as well as their baked goods, I seriously enjoyed them all. Definitely something different than your regular fare at most other restaurants.
*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*
The Good:
- Food just tastes good
- On point textures
- Something different than all of the same everywhere else
The Bad:
- Sourdough was a little on the dry side
- Seating is limited at this location
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