The Loco Moski: Cleveland’s Answer to Hawaiian Comfort Food
“This is not the meal plan that the doctors recommended,” Guy Fieri declared while digging into one of the most creative fusion dishes to hit Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. At the Rally Inn in Cleveland, chef Eric Letteri has taken the Hawaiian locomoco and given it a distinctly Eastern European twist that could only work in a city with deep Slovenian and Polish roots.
From Punch Palace to Pierogi Paradise
When owner John Oberman bought the Rally Inn, it wasn’t exactly fine dining material. As he put it, this was “a very very divey bar” — a “punch palace” with no windows and ripped-up vinyl floors. That description got one of the biggest laughs out of Guy: “Punch palace — that is one of the funniest lines I’ve ever heard.”
But the transformation has been real. Now chef Letteri is in the kitchen, drawing on Cleveland’s immigrant heritage. “We have a very big population of the Slovenians and the Polish,” he explained, “and they all make their authentic dishes here, especially the pierogies.” That local influence shows up in dishes throughout the menu, but nowhere more creatively than in the Loco Moski.
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Building the Loco Moski
The dish starts with a from-scratch black pepper gravy. Letteri walks through the process: butter and flour for a roux, then black pepper, salt, onion powder, and garlic powder. Chicken base and beef base go in, followed by water and a corn starch slurry added once there’s “a nice aggressive boil.”
The burger patty gets serious attention too. Green peppers, red peppers, red onions, and garlic get mixed into 80/20 ground beef with a blended cajun seasoning. Each patty weighs in at eight ounces — substantial enough to anchor this massive plate.
Here’s where Cleveland enters the picture: four-cheese pierogies from “the pierogi lady who makes them here locally,” arriving blanched and frozen, then cooked to steam together with the other components. The dish gets assembled with the pierogies, that hefty burger patty, eggs over easy (though Guy wanted his “on a separate plate”), the black pepper gravy, and fried red onions — or as they call them at the Rally Inn, “frazzles.”
The Verdict
Guy’s reaction was emphatic. He praised the “nice crust on the patty” and the “nice little crunchy from the frizzled mcnizzles.” The pierogi earned specific praise for its “great dough texture” and “nice chew.” But it was the gravy that sealed the deal: “the black pepper gravy takes it to another level, dude. It is lights out.”
His final assessment of the Loco Moski: “The pierogies are like butter, the meat has a little bit of spice.” Much like when Guy tried a Meatball Burger or discovered a Whole Hog Sandwich in Santa Barbara, this was comfort food elevated through careful technique and bold flavor combinations.
Tips from the Kitchen
Build your gravy with dual bases: Using both chicken and beef base creates a more complex flavor than either alone.
Season your burger mix: Don’t just season the outside — the peppers, onions, garlic, and cajun seasoning mixed directly into the meat ensure flavor in every bite.
Source local pierogies: The Rally Inn gets theirs from a local maker who delivers them blanched and frozen, maintaining quality and authenticity.
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