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I usually go to the Polish deli in the Richmond (the name escapes me), but I can't make it there tonight.
Are there any good places south of the city that would have good kielbasa and dried mushrooms?
Absonot
Jun 17, 2005 12:57PM
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I could have sworn I saw some sort of Russian deli on El Camino Real in San Mateo in the block or two north of 25th Ave. on the west side of the street. Looking at the website I linked to below, I wonder if it's Bz Bee Market, but I wonder if it's less a deli, more a store.
There is a Russian deli in San Bruno like Russian Family (next door to a restaurant of the same name). It's on El Camino Real at Kains, in a strip mall slightly removed from the street. I know these resources are Russian, not Polish, but I give you what I know hoping that they carry a variety of Eastern European foods.
I've seen a Russian market in Mountain View off San Antonio Rd., and another in Campbell next door to Russian Cafe and Deli (oh - that's the deli in the name). The website mentions Winmart in Sunnyvale.
Good luck!
Link: http://magazine.baraban.com/distr.html
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Thank you for the recommendation- it was indeed the BZ Bee and it was the perfect place for what I needed!
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Great - The Polish Deli in Palo Alto ... great, great, great, but I'll rave more at the end.
Polish is usually a compromise except for Polish Deli and Seakor which is who I think you are referring to as the Polish Deli in the Richmond. Given that, in terms of Eastern European stores:
Russian Family Bakery & Deli
719 Camino Plz, San Bruno, CA (650) 588-2950
Haven't been yet, but they might be the closest. You might give a call and see what they have
Crossroads World Market, Mountain View
corner of San Antonio and Middlefield
Polish Deli doesn't have dried mushrooms and this would be the closest source. The other stuff is vacuum sealed or frozen like some of the European Delis in the Richmond. They have Bobak Products. If you want fresh Kielbasa, down the road is Dittmars
Then you get further down like Win-mart in Sunnyvale. There is another Seakor in Campbell, but you might as well go to SF, distance-wise. Near Seakor in Campbell is the Russian Cafe and Deli.
This link has a recap and links where you can get more info.
http://www.chowhound.com/california/boards/sanfrancisco34/messages/119119.html
But thank you for the opportunity to give another rave to The Polish Deli in Palo Alto. It is one of those worthy little places Chowhound is always saying need to stay in business. I've been meaning to post an update, but was waiting to get down there for their Keilbasa sandwiches that the grill outdoors on the patio.
My reg pc is down, and this cheap junk I'm working on doesn't have the right type of port to get to my recent notes on my backup media, so this is from memory.
This place is small, but everything is just top grade. It is mainly about the meat, but there are lots of canned goods direct from Poland and the quality is fresh, fresh, fresh. No dusty jars like most Eastern European places.They will have Polish beer soon. Knowing this place it will be good Polish beer.
The small selection is to keep things fresh. When I was there a few weeks ago the owner was enthusiastic about some pate he has. He says that he only orders enough to be sure that it doesn't sit more than a day or two. Everything is like that. I had a fantastic smoked sausage and some excellent Polish ham.
He is using Esther's Bakery for his bread. I've only had limited Ester's exposure. While what I had was the best of the lot in Eastern European breads, it didn't make me estatic either. However, the owner swears by their rye, so I really want to get down there for that grilled Kielbasa.
I like the light rye at a near by bakery, but the owner didn't have too high an opinion of it.
Great bottled horseradish from Poland. A freezer case of pierogi. The only thing I didn't care for was a bottle of pickles from Poland, the ones with the horseradish leaves in them. The were soft and just wierd. The other pickles are great though.
The kielbasas and cold cuts are from some great Chicago meat markets.
Give them a call to check the hours. They recently changed and are now open on Mondays. However, I don't have the notes.
Polish Deli
456 Cambridge Ave (between El Camino and Birch, up the street from California Ave) next to Hair of Today and a Methodist Church.
Palo Alto
650-248-8696
polishdeli@sbcglobal.net
Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/...
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WOW I didn't have the time to go all the way to Palo Alto, but this place sounds like it's worth the drive for future cravings!
I did pass the info on to a Polish friend of mine, though.
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bless you. Get the word out about Polish Deli. Sandwiches are only Monday - Friday. I think that he gets orders on Wesdnesdays, but I may be wrong.
Thanks for reminding me I want to try that grilled kielbasa. Again, it's very small, think a place like Roseamunde but with more meats and cold cuts and a few groceries. I'm going to see if I can arrange things and get down there again.
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Do they serve hot food? I'd love to eat pierogies that weren't frozen first that I didn't have to make from scratch.
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Sadly no.
When I tried to talk to him into serving pierogies, he said that there were some health deparartment requirements for restaurant equipemnt that wouldn't allow for cooking hot foods.
The OP got me craving Polish Deli. Thinking about it I remembered the smoked sausage I tried had juniper berries in it. It was a nice coarse sausage with a snappy casing. It was more peppery that juniper berry, but there were tastes of the juiniper.
On one hand I don't want to over sell it, because it is so small. I don't want some hightened expectations. But on the other hand, the small selection is just so fine. Maybe Tuesday I can get back down there.
A lot of the canned goods are SMAK from Poland which I'm finding I really like. I usually buy more that I would normally, just to do my part to keep the best source of kielbasa and smoked sausages in the Bay Area in business. So I've discovered a lot of nice canned goods. I really wish I was in that area more often to do my bit to keep them in business.
Also, I meant to ask. have you been to Bz Bee? What does it have?
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No I haven't been to Bz Bee. I've only walked by at night when they're closed, so I really don't have any idea if they serve food and what it is.
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Speaking of Polish food, anyone getting any decent radishes in the area yet? I recently wasted $1.89 for some souless radishes at Real Foods. To me, it is not a radish unless it has some heat, some bite.
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Horseradish, semmel, HORSEradish
Although there is some use of those ugly black radishes in Polish cooking, those cheery little red globes are only in the same plant family, mustard, so are cabbage, rape, broccoli, turnip, and rutabagas.
I was sitting there thinking, what the heck ... Speaking of Polish ... radishes ???
I had shut down my computer and if finally hit me ... oooooh ... horseradish. Gave me a giggle though. I was beginning to think my relatives were holding out on those common radishes. Perhaps there were secret Polish menus I wasn't privy to.
Link: http://www.lib.niu.edu/ipo/ihy000234....
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radishes aren't a Polish staple? What about ham and rye bread? Did my dad lie to me all those years? Is my mom teasing when she says Brits drink tea with milk and sugar?
I've eaten a few times at Old Krakow in West Portal. Last time I took 3 Chinese pals, who I think liked it, but I doubt they've gone back on their own. And you can find parking in West Portal!
Not a fan of wasabi or Japanese food. Usually just order yosenabe.
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Yep. Even on Father's day, I will say your dad lied.
Never eat at Old Krakow. IMO it is Polish swill (differing opinions amply covered on this board so do we really need to go into THAT again.) Eat at the Polish Deli in Palo Alto for good Polish food. Look for an updated post about Polish Deli, say Wednesday or Thursday.
I'm third generation 100% Polish. Of course we were peasants. Perhaps the Polish royalty was importing those radishes from France. We kind of stuck to sausages, pierogi, and the simple basics.
Have you bought the Chowhound guide to San Francisco yet? There is a section that covers most of the Eastern European food in the bay area plus lots, lots more.
BTW, was Old Krakow serving radishes? Gee, it's hard enought to find pierogi around here, let alone ham and radish ... wait, wait .... you got me again ... yes ... your dad is right, but it is ham and HORSEradish sandwich. i eat that all the time. HORSEradish. Kielbasa with horseradish. Hard boiled eggs with horseradish. Trust me on this one. :-)
Link: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/...
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I'm not majority anything, but 3/8s Pole. My dad didn't speak English until he went to kindergarten.
Lol, check out this website. http://www.polamjournal.com/Library/R...
I haven't thought of Old Krupnik in years. Blueberry Pierogies?
I see that radishes were first cultivated in China. And my sister likes raw potatoes.
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