{"id":351441,"date":"2026-03-17T21:33:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T21:33:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/351441\/"},"modified":"2026-03-17T21:33:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T21:33:16","slug":"one-neighbors-quest-for-a-flourless-pierogi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/351441\/","title":{"rendered":"one neighbor’s quest for a flourless pierogi"},"content":{"rendered":"

Love Philly? So do we. Let\u2019s be friends.\u00a0Sign up for the Billy Penn newsletter today<\/a>.<\/p>\n

When Cammie Storms<\/a> was diagnosed with celiac disease, her first reaction was an immediate devastation over the loss of pierogi in her diet.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was the number one thing,\u201d she said. \u201cI remember, I was in Atlanta at the time, and my GI [doctor] said, \u2018what is that?\u2019 I\u2019m like, \u2018okay, you don\u2019t understand. I\u2019m Polish. My family\u2019s from Philly. They\u2019re from Poland \u2014 a pierogi is the best thing on earth. Like, you can\u2019t get better than that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thankfully, Philadelphians like Storms do not have to be pierogiless any longer. Little Walter\u2019s<\/a>, the modern and cozy Polish restaurant in Kensington, is making its gluten-free night a monthly staple due to popular demand.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The next installations take place Tuesday, March 17 and Tuesday, April 14. The entire menu will be celiac-friendly with cornbread, kie\u0142basa, pickled veggies, go\u0142\u0105bki, pierogi and cheesecake.<\/p>\n

A neighborly mission<\/p>\n

When Chef Michael Brenfleck first opened Little\u2019s Walter\u2019s in summer 2024, creating a gluten-free space was not his intention, but he wanted to honor his heritage with an updated approach to Polish cuisine.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And yet, even at the very start, the idea for the gluten-free series was there.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOur very next door \u2014 like share-a-wall \u2014 neighbor is gluten free and Polish,\u201d Brenfleck explained. \u201cEven before we opened, [she] had expressed her disappointment that she hasn\u2019t had pierogi in so long, and very much misses them and regularly would ask me when I was going to be doing gluten-free pierogi.\u201d<\/p>\n

That neighbor? Cammie Storms.<\/p>\n

Storms recalls the delight and dread upon learning that she would be living next-door to a Polish restaurant.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to be sitting in my backyard, like in my little garden, smelling delicious pierogi being made, wafting through the window,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s kind of horrible and amazing at the same time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to Storms, she began \u201charassing Brenfleck a bit,\u201d you know \u201cin a playful way\u201d to advocate for a gluten-free pierogi on Little Walter\u2019s menu. Gluten-free advocacy is not new for Storms. She is the director of sales at La Colombe<\/a> and helped the chain expand its gluten-free menu options.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Every few months, she would check in with Brenfleck via text: \u201cHow about that gluten-free pierogi?\u201d She would go into the restaurant, order the non-glutinous items, and ask how the flourless pierogi were coming along.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pierogi are part of Storms\u2019 DNA. They have the power to ignite old family memories and transport her back in time. Her grandmother used to make them from scratch when she was a kid.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI would get in trouble because I would kind of sneak in and reach out over the counter and try to grab one before she was finished with the whole dinner,\u201d she recalled.\u00a0 \u201cThen she would kind of smack my hand with a wooden spoon and then threaten to hit my dupa, which is my butt.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one of the only words I remember in Polish,\u201d she laughed, \u201cdupa.\u201d<\/p>\n

After around eight months of advocating, Brenfleck finally had an update for Storms. The gluten-free pierogi was getting tested.<\/p>\n

The art of the gluten-free pierogi<\/p>\n

A good pierogi dumpling should be soft and delicate, with a nice elasticity and structure. Finding the right recipe for a dough that holds together, but is also the right thickness and texture, is no easy feat.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe initially started with just using a one-to-one flour with our regular recipe,\u201d Brenfleck explained. \u201cThere\u2019s a good amount of potato and egg and more egg yolk and whey protein that I think gives our pierogi a lot of structure and makes them really delicious. Just doing the one-to-one kind of wasn\u2019t cutting it.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Brenfleck, the initial dough was crumbly and easily fell apart.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was quite an amount of tests and alterations that happened before we got to a point where we\u2019re really happy,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, getting pierogi and other menu recipes right was just one half of the equation. Little Walter\u2019s is a small space. Making sure there is no cross contamination in the kitchen on a regular night would be practically impossible.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important that people can feel comfortable if they\u2019re going to come here,\u201d Brenfleck said. \u201cI don\u2019t want anyone to be playing Russian Roulette with how they\u2019re eating when they\u2019re eating at my restaurant.\u201d<\/p>\n

The solution? One night where the entire kitchen is deep cleaned and completely gluten free.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe make bread and pierogi every day, all day,\u201d Brenfleck said. \u201cSo we do a very extensive deep clean. I literally bring my staff in when we\u2019re closed, and there\u2019s six of us. We all just go ham on the kitchen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea was like, \u2018All right, so we clean everything off like there\u2019s no flour anywhere, no traces of flour anywhere,\u2019 he added, \u201cAnd we did that, and it was bonkers how much interest there was in it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot a typical night\u201d<\/p>\n

Finally, Little Walter\u2019s first gluten-free night was born. Storms had her pierogi back.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis thing that you had when you were a child that was so nostalgic, that you love so much was kind of taken from you medically,\u201d she said. To then have a moment, where that beloved food was brought back and in a space where many of the other diners are in the same boat, was magical.<\/p>\n

Storms called it \u201cone of the best days of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone was smiling and laughing,\u201d she said. \u201cNobody knew that they were ever going to be able to experience this again. So I think everybody was just kind of absorbing it, taking it in, trying to enjoy the moment and be present.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gluten-free night was so popular that Brenfleck decided to bring it back a second time. He noted that there is a \u201cton of demand for gluten-free food.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was this neat desire to reach those people that really wanted gluten-free pierogi and knowing the limitations of our space,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Storms enjoyed the pierogi so much, she ordered multiple different kinds and stocked up. She brought the orders home, stored them in her freezer, and then popped a couple in her air fryer when she got a craving.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now, however, no one needs to be hoarding any pierogi. Gluten-free night at Little Walter\u2019s is a monthly staple. According to Brenfleck, reservations are strongly encouraged and sell out quickly.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think for a lot of people, it\u2019s them being able to experience this food for the first time in a while, or maybe ever,\u201d Brenfleck said. \u201cThere\u2019s definitely a general vibe of a little bit more excitement. You can tell it\u2019s just not a typical night.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, if it continues to be a strong thing for us, then we\u2019ll probably move to biweekly.\u201d<\/p>\n

For her part, Storms is forever grateful to have Brenfleck and Little Walter\u2019s right next door.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s trendy to be gluten free, but more people are being diagnosed with severe gluten intolerance, gluten allergy \u2014 with anaphylaxis, celiac disease,\u201d Storms said. \u201cI\u2019m just really, really happy and grateful that I\u2019m neighbors with Mike and he\u2019s taken this not just as a business opportunity, but as a member of a community, to really kind of be the front runner and trailblazer here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI love him for it so much,\u201d she added. \u201cThank you, Mike, for my happy little gluten-free heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

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