Krystyna's Deli

I just stopped into the new Krystyna's Deli in Wheeling. What a treat. Absolutely charmingly decorated and crammed with primarily Eastern European goodies. A stunning array of sausages, bacons, patés, and smoked meats. Gorgeous pastries. Appetizing-looking hot prepared foods (goulash, bigos, potato pancakes, and a dozen other things). Maybe two dozen different kinds of butter, including cultured. Really a full grocery store, though very heavy on the deli side, this was a real treat.

And if you're lucky and are reading this on April 28, they also have a Groupon today. http://www.groupon.com/r/uu4150827

Krystyna's has four locations Wheeling is where I was browsing (though I'll be back for more serious shopping, now that I've got my Groupon) -- so I don't know if all of them are as attractive, but the Wheeling store was really charming (lots of stone and touches that make it look very European). Here are all four address (and the Groupon can be used at any of them).

Schiller Park
9500 Irving Park Rd.
Schiller Park, Illinois 60176

Schaumburg
1102 S Roselle Rd.
Schaumburg, Illinois 60193

Mundelein
1460 Townline Rd.
Mundelein, Illinois 60060

Wheeling
835 W. Dundee Rd
Wheeling, IL 60090

Stopped back in at Krystyna's today, Groupon in hand, and went a little crazy. I was even more impressed than I was previously.

I was interested to note that most of the pre-packaged deli stuff they have is from Andy's, which has gotten much love elsewhere on this site. (The "stuffed bacon" from Andy's caught my eye, but it was a little too large for one, so I just got the Andy's duck paté.)

Vastly more is not pre-packaged, and includes a whole wall of hanging sausages, a few different slab bacons (I sampled both Danish and "gypsy style," and though the woman behind the counter favored the Danish, the bigger flavor of the gypsy bacon appealed more to me), many kinds of hams, head cheese, and more. I got one nice dry salami, a few slices of head cheese, and half a pound of the gypsy bacon. It's so good raw, I'm tempted to not even fry it.

From the house-made soups, I selected mushroom, sauerkraut, cucumber, and celery. The sauerkraut soup was lunch, and it was amazingly good, graced with potato, bacon, and dill.

Some cultured butter, apples, and "Cossack-style" pickles, and I was done for today. I did note that pickles and sauerkraut is available in great wooden barrels. I was also very pleased to see people lining up at the counter for hot, prepared foods. I'd like to see those, and everything in this place, do well, so they're here for a long time.

But if you try nothing else, check out the slab bacon and the sauerkraut soup.

Oh -- and if anyone has tried the baked stuffed bacon from Andy's, let me know what you do with it. Do you just heat it? Slice it and fry it? Just curious.

Since I mentioned buying the Cossack-style pickles, I thought I'd follow up with a note that they are really quite wonderful. They are flavored with mustard and slightly sweet, but not very sweet, and not as sharp as some dills. The mustard gives them a different but definitely pleasant flavor. So if you see them, at Krystyna's or at other stores that carry Eastern European products, you might want to try them.

Everything else I bought has proved to be delightful, as well. The dry salami and the gypsy-style bacon are still being enjoyed, and the soups were all excellent (though be advised, if you have any food issues/restrictions -- the stuff made in-house does not always have really informative labels -- cabbage rolls, for example, were stuffed with "meat," but no idea what kind -- but yummy).

Cynthia, thank you very much for these very informative posts!

A couple of weeks ago, we had driven by the Irving Park Road Krystyna's store but were unable to stop at that moment. It caught my eye initially simply because the name is also the name of a family friend but the outside of the store looked professional and inviting and I made a mental note to get back there. Now that I am armed with a shopping list culled from your posts, I am even more eager to investigate.

I still have not been back to the newly-reopened Andy's Deli either. This year, we did not make our big Polish Easter feast that we usually do. The fact that the number of elderly family members is dwindling takes away some of the enthusiasm as the work and effort falls on the shoulders of the reluctant next generation -- and as traditional customs become several generations removed from those who had come "from the old country" long ago.

Still, there is nothing like great food to bridge the generation gaps. Everyone loves to eat!

--Joy

Joy wrote:Cynthia, thank you very much for these very informative posts!

A couple of weeks ago, we had driven by the Irving Park Road Krystyna's store but were unable to stop at that moment. It caught my eye initially simply because the name is also the name of a family friend but the outside of the store looked professional and inviting and I made a mental note to get back there. Now that I am armed with a shopping list culled from your posts, I am even more eager to investigate.

I still have not been back to the newly-reopened Andy's Deli either. This year, we did not make our big Polish Easter feast that we usually do. The fact that the number of elderly family members is dwindling takes away some of the enthusiasm as the work and effort falls on the shoulders of the reluctant next generation -- and as traditional customs become several generations removed from those who had come "from the old country" long ago.

Still, there is nothing like great food to bridge the generation gaps. Everyone loves to eat!

--Joy

I hope you enjoy your visit, Joy. I look forward to reading what you buy and how you like it -- especially because, since this is your heritage, it would be good to get the perspective of someone to whom the "wow" is familiarity rather than discovery.

I would imagine that a place like this, where you can get the hot, prepared foods and delectable pastries, would make it a little easier to carry on some of those traditions, even if the younger generation doesn't want to pick up the mantel.

Happy shopping.