Chances are you'll leave toting enough plastic bags to be mistaken for a pack mule. This Polish grocery great lies a solid 10-minute walk north of the Logan Square Blue Line. Enter and immediately grab a number for the deli from the red dispenser next to the door: You'll have your shopping done by the time it's called (in Polish, natch, the only wrench in the Kurowski experience).
City-dwellers who haunt upscale markets will likely be slapping their palm to their forehead after a quick look at the variety…and the prices. The two-room shop sells much more than sausage, which you'll discover as soon as you head to the left-hand side of the store. Reasonably priced produce, metals racks piled high with giant, less-than-$2 loaves from the Laramie bakery (the Lithuanian rye is exceptional), European yogurts and cheeses, big blocks of butter wrapped in paper and a wall weighed down with jams, jellies and pickles overwhelm. A giant tub of marinating sauerkraut in the rear may not be the prettiest thing you've ever seen, but it is one of the tastiest.
After enough Polish numbers have crackled through the PA, make your way to the deli counter, where you'll most likely have to elbow through a crowd and wave your hand furiously when you're up. More than a dozen varieties of sausage, ridiculously priced in the neighborhood of $2-$4 a pound, hang along the back wall (if sausage doesn't jive with your diet, keep this in mind: At your next party, a $6 plate of sliced sausage sided with hot mustard is sure to disappear quicker than the $40 homemade guacamole you dish up, and yes, I'm speaking from experience). There's also a small range of sliceable deli meat, a large case of cheese and plenty of chicken, pork and the like.
Ahh, but there's more to be had. A mustard-lover's dream awaits on shelves touting yellow goodness; boxes of fruit juice prove hard to select among; teas that stray from the Lipton norm provide yet another gastronomic adventure. And the true prize: Rows upon rows of imported candy, from divine 80-cent hazelnut and chocolate bars to Kindereggs to marzipan, will make sure your pantry is stocked like everyday is Halloween in Europe.
Centerstage Reviewer: Kate Schwartz
