You can taste that commitment. A few years ago, I drove around Chicago sampling pierogi at 10 different restaurants in one day, and Smak-Tak's, which featured a whipped potato filling, a light dough wrapper and a glistening blanket of butter ($9.99), were by far the best. Since then, I've become somewhat of a regular and Smak-Tak's quality persists. The Hungarian pancake ($14.99) at Smak-Tak is not an over-steamed slimy mess, but instead a crisp and lacy potato pancake stuffed with meaty, spicy goulash. Silesian dumplings, tennis-ball sized potato dumplings stuffed with peppery beef, have a tendency toward gumminess, but Smak-Tak's were airy and devoid of any kind of disturbing chewiness. The mushroom soup ($3.50), often a watery brew punctuated by curdled cream and no discernible flavor, was thick and velvety. My mother grew up in Poland and is a very fine cook; Smak-Tak is the place I take her when she's in town.