Lithuanian Plaza Bakery and Deli

Lithuanian Plaza Bakery and Deli


Straight away I must express my thanks to Rene G for turning me on to (what's left of) the Lithuanian Marquette Park neighbourhood. Of course, he has posted about this neighbourhood and its businesses:

http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=35598#35598
http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=50093#50093

But it was after a Mexican lunch out with Rene G himself, Pigmon, Sazerac and others last February that Amata, Lucantonius and I first went there. Unfortunately, this neighbourhood is all but vanished and I've heard a not so surprising rumour that one of the last Lithuanian businesses there, the Lithuanian Plaza Bakery and Deli, may not be around all that long either. I can't compare this store to other Lithuanian delis but I can compare it to lots of other ethnic delis I know; it's a a great little shop with a friendly owner and an almost 100% Lithuanian-speaking clientele. I strongly recommend you visit this place if you have any interest in things Lithuanian in particular and old Chicago neighbourhoods in general. For obvious reasons, the front door is locked these days but don't be a wimp and let that deter you; just ring the bell.

Monument to the Lithuanian aviators Darius and Girenas, Marquette Park (northeast corner, by 67th and California):


Church of St. Mary, 69th just east of California:


One of the last of the Lithuanians in Marquette Park:


Some of the stuff we got last time we were there included: smoked Hunter's cheese from Latvia (excellent!), the mild and very tasty Lithuanian Roskis'kis cheese, Lithuanian style 'dry Russian' sausage, a bag of frozen, cheese-filled koldunai, various kinds of beer, a jar of salted mushroom soup imported from Lithuania, a bottle of Lithuanian mustard, a big Lithuanian smoked sausage (from Canada) and some Baltic Bakery rye bread:


Back last February, we got some of these thingies, the name of which now escapes me... for the time being I'll call them gefüllte Kantüffelklöße mit Fleisch; quite tasty they are too:


I'm especially fond of the Lithuanian style (lightly smoked) sausage, which LP gets from a maker in Canada:


This sausage is good with mashed potatoes...


Good with Bratkartoffeln (any style)...


And to show I'm a fusion chef, good with rapini (homemade brown bread too)...


And good with buttered spätzle to boot:

On the above plate there appears also the Lithuanian mustard which has a depressing number of ingredients but is nonetheless very delicious.

Man liveth not by sausage alone. Beer is also required for good health, and Lithuanian beer is pretty good in general; to my tastes, not up to Belgo-Czecho-Deutsch standards, but good with a nice range of flavour profiles across the brands and different products (more on that in the drinks forum later).


Perhaps some of you already know that I am scheduled to appear on ESPN2's new and upcoming series High Stakes Champions of Uno. For some reason, I always play better with a good glass of beer on hand.


Antonius
Bin gar kein Russe, stamm' aus Litauen, echt Deutsch...

Lithuanian Plaza Bakery and Deli
2616 W 69th Street
Chicago
773.778.4000

Antonius wrote:
Lithuanian Plaza Bakery and Deli


"Perhaps some of you already know that I am scheduled to appear on ESPN2's new and upcoming series High Stakes Champions of Uno. For some reason, I always play better with a good glass of beer on hand."

Good to see you back on the circuit. I know many of us were concerned after your shattering defeat in the Extreme Mille Bourne finals at the last X-games.

Thanks for the interesting post but what...no bacon buns?

A,

That sausage looks particularly intriguing. It reminds me of the sausages you see in Texas at the various BBQ "temples". I can just see it now, smoking away on my WSM. I think I'll head to "Little Lithuania" in the next couple of days.

Another indefatigably interesting post. And a tip of the hat for the appropriately tinged title. Next time: I wanna go

kuhdo wrote:

Antonius wrote:"Perhaps some of you already know that I am scheduled to appear on ESPN2's new and upcoming series High Stakes Champions of Uno. For some reason, I always play better with a good glass of beer on hand."

Good to see you back on the circuit. I know many of us were concerned after your shattering defeat in the Extreme Mille Bourne finals at the last X-games.

Thanks for the interesting post but what...no bacon buns?

Kuhdo,

At this level, there are no excuses, but I feel certain that were it not for the groin injury, I would have won that competition.

Anyway, both the groin and ribs are healed; concussion symptoms down to a minimum. I'll be back... and with a vengeance...



Antonius
We play today, we win today. Dah' 'z eet.*

*Anyone out there recognise this quote?

Antonius wrote:

Back last February, we got some of these thingies, the name of which now escapes me... for the time being I'll call them gefüllte Kantüffelklöße mit Fleisch; quite tasty they are too:

Are these kibinai (which, now that I think of it, is more along the lines of a pasty), or perhaps kotletai ? Whatever it is, it looks like something I want for breakfast right now.

The Lithuanian sausages I've had back home in Toronto looked like that, which is similar to what I'm eating these days in Central Texas, however, I recall them as being a little drier (less greasy), but certainly not in a bad way. I don't recall them having much pepper-heat as, say, the Chicago-style link (which might be my favorite kind), although they occasionally were as coarsely ground.

Interesting stuff,

Nab

tatterdemalion wrote:Antonius wrote:

Back last February, we got some of these thingies, the name of which now escapes me... for the time being I'll call them gefüllte Kantüffelklöße mit Fleisch; quite tasty they are too:

Are these kibinai (which, now that I think of it, is more along the lines of a pasty), or perhaps kotletai ? Whatever it is, it looks like something I want for breakfast right now.

Nab,

Yes, from what I can see, they're definitely not kibinai, which are, as you say, more pasty- or empanada-like, judging from what I find on the web, e.g., here:
http://www.litauen-info.de/4images/deta ... mage_id=54
I don't believe they're kotletai; images I find on the web, though, are small and it's hard to be sure from them, but at Healthy Foods, what they call in English 'cutlets' are fricadelles of ground meat (in this case, veal) and I'm fairly certain 'kotletai' is the Lithuanian name for such fried meat patties:
http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=93628#93628

What those meat-filled potato dumplings are called is, I now believe, cepelinai (with another name also in use), that is, 'Zeppelins' (mentioned without explanation in passing by chicagostyledog in the Healthy Food thread); here's a good photo and recipe (auf Deutsch):
http://www.litauen-info.de/html/cepelinai.html
A nice take on the Central and Eastern European potato dumpling/cake theme.

The Lithuanian sausages I've had back home in Toronto looked like that, which is similar to what I'm eating these days in Central Texas, however, I recall them as being a little drier (less greasy), but certainly not in a bad way. I don't recall them having much pepper-heat as, say, the Chicago-style link (which might be my favorite kind), although they occasionally were as coarsely ground.

Indeed, that's what I really love about these Canadian-made Lithuanian sausages (I wonder if they're from Toronto...?). They're relatively speaking quite delicate -- the smoking is light, no piquancy, no strong or assertive flavours at all, just a really pleasant balance of smoke and sweet porkiness.

The fresh sausage at Healthy Foods I reported on also had a -- to my mind -- very nice, mild balance, with the use of flavourings being quite restrained:


In a general way, I find Lithuanian food is more like Prussian (i.e., Northeast German, though of course that area is no longer German) than Polish food, though I'll add that I cannot claim to be well versed in all the regional cuisines of Poland. What I mean is that the use of garlic and spice in Lithuanian and Prussian food is very much more restrained than in the Polish food I know from restaurants and shops here and relatives' cooking back east. All three, not surprsingly, share a huge number of basic ingredients and methods of preparation, each with their own takes on them, but all in all, the Prussian and Lithuanian seem to me to be more on the bland (negative perspective) or, as I'm inclined to think of it, delicate (positive perspective) side overagainst the Polish approach. In any event, I love all three cuisines.

***

Gypsy Boy,

A, L and I went alone after the Mexican lunch (after getting instructions from the intrepid explorer, Rene G), not as a part of group outing, but maybe you and I and a few others can get together for a visit to some of the culinary marvels of that general part of the Southside.

I'm glad you liked the use of colours!

Antonius

Antonius wrote:"Perhaps some of you already know that I am scheduled to appear on ESPN2's new and upcoming series High Stakes Champions of Uno. For some reason, I always play better with a good glass of beer on hand."

Good to see you back on the circuit. I know many of us were concerned after your shattering defeat in the Extreme Mille Bourne finals at the last X-games.

Thanks for the interesting post but what...no bacon buns?[/quote]

Kuhdo,

At this level, there are no excuses, but I feel certain that were it not for the groin injury, I would have won that competition.

Anyway, both the groin and ribs are healed; concussion symptoms down to a minimum. I'll be back... and with a vengeance...



Antonius
We play today, we win today. Dah' 'z eet.*

*Anyone out there recognise this quote?[/quote]

Joe Torre ainit? (Uanuyawka?)

Antonius wrote:Straight away I must express my thanks to Rene G for turning me on to (what's left of) the Lithuanian Marquette Park neighbourhood. Of course, he has posted about this neighbourhood and its businesses:

http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=35598#35598
http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=50093#50093

I'm so happy you enjoyed the deli. That would be a great shame if it closes. People ought to visit sooner rather than later. The Marquette Park neighborhood is very much worth visiting even though the Lithuanian presence is getting a bit thin.

I notice I promised a report a long time ago. I was working on it but somehow never finished. Now that Antonius has done the hard work, I'll add a few pictures and comments.

Back last February, we got some of these thingies, the name of which now escapes me... for the time being I'll call them gefüllte Kantüffelklöße mit Fleisch; quite tasty they are too:

Is that like meat-filled kugelis? Here's a picture of a related dish I had at Seklycia (2711 W 71st).


These went by the name zemaiciu blynai and consisted of fluffy mashed potatoes (not kugelis-like) surrounding minced meat and onions. They came accompanied by some fried bacon and onion as well as sour cream.

Lithuanians take a back seat to no one when it comes to encasing meat in starch. Here's a shot of kibynai (short pastry, baked) and bacon buns (yeast dough, baked).



And here's a shot of a long, deep-fried one, sort of a pork-filled long john.



Finally, here's a cepelinas (with a slightly chewy potato shell) on a combination plate at Mabenka (7844 S Cicero).



The list goes on, and that's not even mentioning the small dumplings.

For some reason, I always play better with a good glass of beer on hand.

What! You don't have a proper Svyturys glass?



Neither do I. This was taken at a local restaurant that takes beer presentation seriously (more to come, in less than a year this time).

Again, Rene G, I'm in your debt for telling me about the neighbourhood and the deli. And I still need to get to Seklycia...

Rene G wrote:Lithuanians take a back seat to no one when it comes to encasing meat in starch. Here's a shot of kibynai (short pastry, baked) and bacon buns (yeast dough, baked).

You're certainly right there! And thanks for helping to clear up some of my terminological ignorance and confusion. I see now clearly that 'zepps' are quite different from that the thingie I showed in my first post above... 'zeppelin' is a bit easier to remember than 'zemaiciu blynai' but the latter are quite tasty...

Rene G wrote:

For some reason, I always play better with a good glass of beer on hand.

What! You don't have a proper Svyturys glass?

I have a pretty good beer glass collection but, no, no Svyturys glass... I thought the Berliner Kindl was at least sort of geographically appropriate... well, less inappropriate than most of my other choices... But now that I see Svyturys glasses are around, I have to get one.

By the way, that soup looks good...

Antonius

Yes, I've been there lots of times. Also, check out the website about the food from lithuania www.valgiai.com you going to like it. I buy bread and other goods from there very often.

good luck!
mukas

Lithuanian Plaza Bakery and Deli

Ach, weh mir! Some time back I had reported that I had heard a rumour that Lithuanian Plaza Bakery and Deli might be on the Endangered Business List and I can now update this news: when Amata and I visited recently (within the last couple of weeks), a "For Sale" sign was to be seen on the storefront. On this occasion, the woman, who is, I believe, the wife of the man whom I usually encounter there, was on duty and her English is somewhat limited, so I didn't make any inquiries but I do hope to find out if they have any intention of setting up shop elsewhere and not abandoning us. I've said before I love this store and now, facing the prospect that it might not be around too long, I find myself quite sad about this development. Perhaps it will take some time for them to find a buyer and so perhaps there may be more time to enjoy this place than I fear... In the meanwhile...

Some recent items purchased at LPBD included these two cheeses mentioned above: Roskis'kis and Hunter's Cheese:

The former is Lithuanian and is a mild cheese, nothing extraordinary but very pleasant and available at a very attractive price. The latter, the Hunter's Cheese, is from Latvia and is a lightly smoked cheese that is in my opinion really quite tasty and also reasonably priced.

We recently got a couple of zeppelins to go and they served as a very satisfying Sunday brunch, with the potato shell, nice pork filling and the accompanying sour cream and bacon:

Another view:


I also picked up a slab of house-smoked 'bacon'; this is a relatively strongly flavoured product and one which I rather like:

I chopped some up and used it in a battuto for a dish of spaghetti with porcini and crimini mushrooms; perhaps I shall call them lietuvis'kì spagettai, in ogni caso erano veramente buoni!:


Pras'aû ras'yti!*

Antonius

*Please get acquainted!

http://www.whitepages.com/1005/log_clic ... w&KW=WPcom

or

Lithuanian Plaza Bakery & Deli

9921 S Roberts Rd

Palos Hills, IL 60465-1532

(708) 599-9866



Happy shopping and eating Ate!

In the immediately preceeding post above I reported that I had heard a rumour that LPBD on 69th Street might not be along and that a 'for sale' sign on the building had further worried me. But a subsequent visit to LPBD and a chat with the folks there -- despite some difficulties in communication -- leads me to believe that all is well. The 'for sale' sign was for the building, not the business, and the owners of LPBD are staying. I also learned that they have a second shop out in the burgs, which I see today announced here:
http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=122884#122884

So then, as so many of the good old ethnic shops and restaurants disappear, here finally is some good news! Though I shall check out the Palos Hills location one of these days, the 69th Street shop is much more convenient for me and I'm delighted to be able to continue to shop there.

Antonius

*N.B. Things got moved around a little so that the post above (which had been a separate thread-starter -- is now here, between this post and the previous post by me to which I refer above in this post... Whatever... The news remains the same!

Wow thanks guys I used to live practically across the street from the one on 69th street. I want to say in 1986 that place was robbed like 6 times. Talk about a testament of will they are still there.

This was another example of a place with "real food" that could match and surpass Mc Donalds prices. Not know if it's still true.

Sundaysous wrote:Wow thanks guys I used to live practically across the street from the one on 69th street. I want to say in 1986 that place was robbed like 6 times. Talk about a testament of will they are still there.

This was another example of a place with "real food" that could match and surpass Mc Donalds prices. Not know if it's still true.

S.,

Yes, it's a tough neighbourhood -- they keep the door locked for the most part and so you must ring the bell to get in. (When did you move out of there?)

The prices are still generally quite reasonable, with some things surprisingly inexpensive for what they are, some a little less inexpensive, but nothing over-priced, at least to my mind. And they do carry lots of great stuff, including the many homemade items.

I haven't gotten over there in some time and need to do so forthwith. Thanks for the reminder...

Antonius

I've been trying to find Lithuanian sausage since Mayhew Meats closed a couple of years ago. Not sure if it was lightly smoked. Didn't have garlic in it. My mother still lives in Brighton Park (!) and would really like to get some authentic sausage...Anyone??

Hey Lithuanians!!! My name is Tony Green and just wanna ask and to know the recent menu of this restaurant. I'm from Illinois my family and my friends want to know the menu of this resto before we go. I hope one of you can help me with this one. just post it here or you can send it to my email @ greentony69@gmail.com thank you so much!!!