Q: Do you know of any authentic Polish and Greek eateries? I’m craving pierogies and spanakopita.
Tom: I sure do! Zygma, the Polish grocery in Pineville, just last week began serving hot lunches from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. You’ll find daily pierogis as well as other Polish dishes such as stuffed cabbage (gołąbki), kielbasa & sauerkraut platters, polish meatballs (kotlet mielony), and other delicacies from the land of white eagles. On the Greek side, check out the new Yassou Greek in the former home of Volo on Providence Road as well as Hellenic Greek Kitchen on South Boulevard. Both will give you your fill of spanakopita, not to mention Souvlaki skewers, dolmades (stuffed grape leaves), baklava, and other dishes to make you cry out, “Opa!”

Q:  Is it too early for peaches? I have a big craving.
Tom: The old-school rule-of-thumb was you won’t find good local peaches until the Fourth of July. However, our recent run of consecutively warmer winters has resulted in not only earlier harvests, but near-summertime level, eat-with-a-towel juicy peaches as well, as was my experience last week. Watsonia Farms out of South Carolina is bringing up their first-of-the-season harvests to Charlotte and will be for sale this Saturday at the Cotswold and South End farmers markets. In addition, Matthews Community Farmers Market is having its annual peach sale this Saturday. Most will be at the not fully ripened (hard) stage, but that’s what you want. 24 hours on your kitchen counter (give or take) in a brown paper bag will get them exactly how you want them. Only then should you put them in the fridge. Happy slurping!

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