Any decent kosher deli's in the western burbs?

This may be a bit of a holiday food emergency Growing up in Skokie, my family started a tradition of kosher corned beef and salami for Christmas day. My parents moved out of Skokie last fall (after 52 years!) and are now in NW Indiana near my sister, leaving me as the sole family member still in the Chicago area. Of course, they still want our traditional Christmas dinner so it's up to me to buy it. My plan was to drive from Batavia to Kaufman's Deli in Skokie (out usual place) today to buy everything and then take it to NW Indiana tomorrow evening. I tried, but I hit white out conditions out here and it took me 45 minutes to go the 5 miles from my house to I-88, and 88 was totally snow covered so I aborted the mission.

I am going to try again tomorrow, but just in case, can anyone recommend a deli closer to Batavia that has good kosher corned beef, salami, new pickles, rye bread and Kaiser rolls?

Try HP Schmaltz and company in Naperville. I can't vouch for how good any of it will be compared to what you normally get though. Their sandwiches are awesome. Maybe call them first to see if they have what you need.

http://www.schmaltzdeli.com/content/welcome.php

H.P. Schmaltz & Co.
1512 North Naper Blvd. #152
Naperville, IL 60563
630-245-7595

I'm in Batavia too, Ron_L and Schmaltz is the only one I know of too. There is a real lack of some place to get a good made to order sandwich out here.

I was at Schmaltz last Friday and came out smelling like a latke. This is good for me. They were making bushels and bushels of the buggers, so I had a freshly made latke and matzoh ball soup for lunch and took a few home, too.

Schmaltz does good work. Not as good as the best delis in America, perhaps, but they compare respectably to other places in the Chicago area, and it is a whole lot more convenient that going to Manny's or Skokie.

Yup. Schmaltz is quite good.

Incidentally, it's located in a small storefront in a shopping center, and it doesn't have a lot of visibility from the street. Look for TGIFriday's and McDonald's, and it's in the strip mall behind them.

Haven't been to Schmaltz since I worked in Naperville, but it was always quite good. Except for the chicken soup that was awful thin. Wherever they get their bakery goods from they were also very good.

Thanks, everyone! Based on the weather forecast that I just watched on TV I think well try HP Schmaltz. I'm going to finish my coffee, clear the driveway (again ) and then head over there

nsxtasy... Thanks for the landmarks! That helps.

Since the problem's been solved, I feel the liberty to post this tangent on the topic of restaurants which pick names (like HP Schmaltz) to signal the Jewishness of their offerings. I think the HP Schmaltz name is cute and appealing, but it started me thinking, "Gee, why doesn't someone just cut to the chase and name their place Jewz or Heeb's or something?" And then I realized I once saw a place that pretty much did that. It was back in the eighties--don't know if it's still around. We were driving up Pulaski just south of Madison and discovered a charming establishment called Jewtown Polish.

riddlemay wrote:We were driving up Pulaski just south of Madison and discovered a charming establishment called Jewtown Polish.

This is undoubtedly a reference to Maxwell Street. "Jewtown" was an African-American nickname for Maxwell Street some years ago.

I remember when I was a freshman in high school and a African-American buddy of mine asked me if I wanted to go to Jewtown with him. I looked at him funny and he said to me, "Oh, don't be offended. We don't call it that because there's Jews there. They're all gone. We call it that because you can go there to 'jew people down'". (read: bargain)

I think a lot of people just called it "Jewtown" without thinking of any particular significance behind the name.

Ah, you beat me to it. "Jewtown" was the common name for the Maxwell Street neighborhood, and would not have raised any eyebrows back even in the early 80s. I know many older Chicagoans who still refer to that area as Jewtown.

I personally don't associate the term with African-Americans, although that may have been its genesis. All my reference points for the term are older, white Chicagoans. You'll find the term used in plenty of Chicago books written in the 60s and 70s. Royko's "Boss," for instance, immediately comes to mind.

edit: Looks like Wikipedia guesses that it started out as African-American slang:

After 1920, most of the residents were African-Americans from the Mississippi Delta, who came in the Great Migration (African American), but most of the businesses continued to be Jewish-owned. During and after the period of Jewish predominance, the area was colloquially known as "Jew Town." In the 1980s and 1990s, both the neighborhood and market became predominantly Mexican-American. Most of the older Jewish merchant families had gathered wealth and moved to the suburbs but the area was still widely known as Jew Town. It appears this name was first created by Blacks, and some middle-class Jews were later uncomfortable with it.

At this risk of being the pedantic kosher-keeping person on the forum, I would point out that Kaufman's does kosher-style meats, not actual kosher. It probably doesn't matter to this poster, or 99 & 44/100 of the readers, but would not want others who do care about actual kosher to be misled.

The best true kosher corned beef in the area is available at Romanian Kosher in Rogers Park.

Romanian Kosher Sausage
7200 N Clark St
(between Chase Ave & Touhy Ave)
Chicago
(773) 761-4141

I don't think there are that many good Jewish/kosher-style delis where I live in Skokie! I know of none in the western burbs.

Franabanana wrote:At this risk of being the pedantic kosher-keeping person on the forum, I would point out that Kaufman's does kosher-style meats, not actual kosher. It probably doesn't matter to this poster, or 99 & 44/100 of the readers, but would not want others who do care about actual kosher to be misled.

Thanks for the clarification. I didn't know that. You are right that is doesn't matter to be, but I would hate to mislead anyone.

I went to HP Schmaltz today and was able to get almost everything I needed. The strip mall was a madhouse since there is a Honey Baked Ham store a few stores north on Schmaltz, but the deli wasn't overly busy. There were quite a few folks picking up phone orders for party trays, etc.

I was able to sample the corned beef and it was lean and tasty. I ended up buying 6 lbs of corned beef, 1 lb of pastrami (for me!), 4 soft salamis, two bags of rolls, a large loaf of rye and two large jars of half-sour pickles. The pickles were the only disappointment since I really wanted new pickles. To Schmaltz' credit, however, the gentleman behind the counter told me that the new pickles that he had didn't look good so we wouldn't sell them. I respect that. A lot of places would sell them anyways.

Now I have to wait until tomorrow afternoon to eat any of it!

Thanks for the recommendation!

Happy Holidays!

Franabanana wrote:At this risk of being the pedantic kosher-keeping person on the forum, I would point out that Kaufman's does kosher-style meats, not actual kosher. It probably doesn't matter to this poster, or 99 & 44/100 of the readers, but would not want others who do care about actual kosher to be misled.

I didn't know that. When I've been there, the meat and cheese are in separate display cases, and they have separate slicers.

What are they missing from really being kosher?

And I guess not knowing that myself means that you're right, and it doesn't really matter to me. All I know is that I always face Kaufmans when praying.

"Excuse me, but is that lobster Kosher for Passover?"

When I've been there, the meat and cheese are in separate display cases, and they have separate slicers.

The meat and cheese are actually not in separate cases at all, and as far as I can remember, they never have been. They do have some meats (salami, bologna, some hot dogs) that have a hecksher -- that is they are certified kosher meats--but they are definitely sliced and mixed with meats that are not kosher. Their corned beef is not kosher. I can't say for sure that Kaufman's carries "trayf" (i.e., pork products, shellfish) - I can't ever recall seeing them.

Still if you go to a true kosher deli, they will be MEAT or DAIRY. They would have entirely separate sections and kitchens, with no shared counter, storage, display, etc. Many places just go one way or the other for simplicity. Also kosher deli would have a kosher certification on the door.

What are they missing from really being kosher?

In terms of taste, product, etc., nothing really. Kosher is more limiting and more expensive than non-Kosher. Kaufman's misses serving people who keep kosher, as they would not buy from Kaufman's -- but from what I can tell they aren't hurting. They are firmly established as kosher-style Jewish American deli, and that is plenty good for most everyone!

All I know is that I always face Kaufmans when praying.

As long as you're facing East!

Franabanana wrote:

Their corned beef is not kosher. I can't say for sure that Kaufman's carries "trayf" (i.e., pork products, shellfish) - I can't ever recall seeing them.

Their corned beef isn't kosher? What brand is their corned beef? Whatever it is, I'd like to find it a bit closer to home than 43 miles away.

I've never seen anything pork or shellfish in the place.

There are rather complicated rules that must be obeyed for meats to be considered Kosher, governing everything from how the animal is butchered, to how the meat is kept (e.g. free from dairy), etc. As Frana notes, you're more likely to find a Kosher deli that's either meat or dairy, rather than going to the trouble to mix both. Same thing for Kosher restaurants. (I'm talking true Kosher, not Kosher-style or Jewish-style.)

Those who keep Kosher probably know all the laws and places where they can obtain Kosher foods; this website has a fairly comprehensive listing.

j r wrote:

Franabanana wrote:

Their corned beef isn't kosher? What brand is their corned beef? Whatever it is, I'd like to find it a bit closer to home than 43 miles away.

I've never seen anything pork or shellfish in the place.

Try Romanian Kosher Sausage at 7200 N Clark strictly kosher and excellent corned beef, salamis and hot dogs

Try Romanian Kosher Sausage at 7200 N Clark strictly kosher and excellent corned beef, salamis and hot dogs

And how is this connected to the Western suburbs?

I thought I would post a further follow up. Everyone was very happy with the food from HP Schmaltz! The corned beef was almost as good as Kaufman's (it was leaner, but not quite a flavorful), the salami was the same brand (Sinai 48), the rolls and rye were very good and even the half-sour pickles in a jar were good. Everyone agreed that we would buy from them again.

Thanks for the recommendation!

riddlemay wrote:We were driving up Pulaski just south of Madison and discovered a charming establishment called Jewtown Polish.

You don't see too many of these signs in Chicago anymore but here's one at a "Chicago-style sandwiches" place on the highway south of Memphis.

Route 61, August 2008

For bagels and lox, you can't go wrong with The Onion Roll in Oak Park. I can't vouch for the rest of the food, but the nova is first class--hand sliced on order. The bagels are from New York Bagel and Bialy, saving you a trip to Skokie. If you feel like joking around with the counter guys, you're in for a riot. This is an excellent deli in the western suburbs, they have sit-down service with a full menu as well.

The Onion Roll
6935 W. North Ave.
Oak Park, IL
(708) 383-2548