I call my grandma Hoopie. It started when I was little, around 5 or 6, I guess. She played a Polka record called ‘Hoopi Shoopi Donna’ while I danced around the coffee table in her living room and gleefully sang along. The nickname stuck.

I have been very lucky to have a great relationship with Hoopie my whole life. She lived right across the river in nearby Rockland County so there were frequent dinners and sleepovers. She had a finished basement, complete with a full bar and decorated with Yankees memorabilia. I can vividly remember walking into her house and getting hit by the wall of smoke of her ever-present cigarette. Thankfully, she quit, although not until after her 80th birthday.

Now back in NYC after three years in Florida, I am thrilled to be near my Hoopie again and excited to revive one of our favorite traditions – feasting on pierogies with fried onions at Veselka. To be fair, the tradition actually started at neighboring Kiev, but that place is long gone, in favor of a way more fashionable (and pricey) East Village eatery.

Hoopie was born and raised in Queens, but had serious ties to the Ukranian community in the East Village. She was baptized and confirmed at St. George’s Ukranian Church on East 7th (conveniently located a stone’s throw from McSorleys) and her mother, dubbed ‘Great Grandma Soup’ for her incomparable chicken version, was laid to rest in that same location. Although she always lived in the outer borough and later the suburbs – with a brief stint in Beverly Hills – the East Village has surely always held a place in Hoopie’s heart. Perhaps it’s why I keep finding myself living in the neighborhood…

So naturally we had our reunion lunch at Veselka recently, joined by Michael, my father (the dutiful chauffeur) and Taffy. As always, Hoopie ordered her beloved potato and cheese pierogie (boiled, natch) although no one pretended that they were nearly as good as the homemade version she regularly whipped up when I was little. THOSE were heaven.

But the food was excellent, the company even better. We chatted about new apartments, travels and friends while Hoopie contentedly listened, happy that we were all back together on her home turf again.