The aroma coming from Piroshky Piroshky, the Russian bakery at Pike Place, convinced me and half of Seattle that it was worth the wait to get our hands on one of their hand-held feasts. The queue was long, but the atmosphere was of anticipation rather than annoyance. And as the line snaked past the glass window, we watched a batch of apple and cinnamon piroshky being prepared. The dough is stuffed with meat, vegetarian or sweet fillings – some flavours such as beef and onion are more traditionally Russian than others – then baked.

We tried two of their bestsellers served warm: smoked salmon, and potato, cheese and onion. The smoked salmon one was shaped like a fish, not demonstrated too well by my photo as the head had already been bitten off in haste. I assumed the casing was pastry but it was somewhere between bread, pastry and cake – much lighter than a pasty. The smoked salmon is more of a local Seattle flavour than a Russian favourite, but it works. The filling was creamy and smoky and packed with dill. The potato, cheese and onion piroshky was so fresh it couldn’t fail to be divine – none of this mush that goes into cheap pies or pasties. The smells don’t lie. Piroshky Piroshky offers absolutely fresh, faultless, flavoursome deliciousness. If only the queue had been smaller, I definitely would have gone back for seconds…and thirds…and fourths…

Rating: from Russia with love 10/10