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Alef Sausage and Deli Review – Mundelein, IL

May 24, 2021 BurgerDogBoy

Alef Sausage and Deli Review

Dry smoky salami. Delish.

I had a delightful time at Alef and found the clerks helpful and friendly. So you can pronounce some of the names of the meats in the service counter? TRY? It goes a long way. Just as it would be appreciated if you were traveling abroad.

Take some time to read the bio of the founder online, an American dream come true for an immigrant. Amazing accomplishments!

The store is bigger than it looks from the outside, and has a very good selection of Russian, Polish, and other Eastern European fresh and boxed groceries, as well as a wide choice of hearty breads. There’s a hot food counter as well.

I picked up some bresaola, a favorite of mine, it’s air-dried beef that can be eaten as a snack or as part of a sandwich. I’ve seen it across Switzerland, but it originated in the Northern Alps on Italy’s border. It’s salted before air drying for 2-3 months, when it turns almost purple you know it’s ready. Usually made from top round, it’s lean and tender.

I also bought a salami I could not pronounce, so many choices. It is delicious, frim, dry, lean, very smoky.

I see they offer droewors, another favorite of mine, a South African style of dried meat stick with interesting spices.

Alef Sausage packaged products are widely available in grocery stores throughout Chicagoland and can be purchased online at their website.

Take some time to read the bio of the founder online, an American dream come true for an immigrant. Amazing accomplishments!

I also bought a salami I could not pronounce, so many choices. It is delicious, frim, dry, lean, very smoky.

I see they offer droewors, another favorite of mine, a South African style of dried meat stick with interesting spices.

Alef Sausage packaged products are widely available in grocery stores throughout Chicagoland and can be purchased online at their website.

Alef Sausage and Deli Review

Category: Uncategorized Tags: Chicago Polish Food, Deli, Russian #catfish

The Original Nottoli & Son Review Chicago

August 9, 2020 BurgerDogBoy

The Original Nottoli & Son Review Chicago

The area around Harlem Avenue, just south of Interstate 90, about twenty miles NW of downtown Chicago, has truly become the area’s new “Little Italy.” There are literally dozens of Italian-centric delis, markets, bakeries and restaurants.

I’ve looked at a couple of them before, including another deli named “Nottoli” (no relation I am told), a restaurant/pizza called “Dino’s,” (superb pizza), and a market and take out operation, “Rex.”

This particular Nottoli I became aware of due to shouting on the internet saying it was absolutely the best, and also being featured on a local tv program called “Chicago’s Best.” (Irony)

My goodies from Nottoli? An Italian Beef Combo sandwich (combo means with a sausage nestled in the beef), an entree of sausage and peppers, some repacked Cerignola olives, several pounds of fresh Italian sausage for the freezer) a loaf of bread and a pound of meatballs.

The Italian beef was one of the best I have had anywhere, ever. It came “baptized” (completely dipped in au jus) so it was quite messy, but isn’t messy food the most bigly funniest? The olives were a real disappointment, as the giant Cerignola red olives should be very firm and bursting with woodsy flavor (I cure olives at home, so like the insurance company ad says “I know a thing or two.”) These were lifeless and mushy. I suspect this happens when a quantity is taken from a vat of intense brine and they are repacked in smaller containers in a water bath. Just no.

Meatballs were fine, good flavor, good texture, but I prefer the ones at Rex, they have a much more intense flavor of fennel and garlic. Bread? Superb. Sausage and peppers? Same great sausage as in the Italian beef, so no complaints there.

If you love Italian food, take an afternoon and plot a course for this neighborhood, have a pizza, buy some treats at the Sicilia Bakery (which I will write about in a bit), and then hit one or more markets. The markets also stock dry and canned goods imported from Italy. The other Nottoli has the largest selection in that realm.

Meatballs and bread

The Original Nottoli & Son Review Chicago
The Original Nottoli & Son Review Chicago

Category: Deli, Hot off the Grill, Sausage Tags: Deli, Italian

Jungle Jims Dry Salami Review

January 7, 2018 BurgerDogBoy

When I did my post last week about my first visit to the magical food kingdom of Jungle Jims, I didn’t talk about specific products, wanting to give them their own space and time.

Like their packaged (house brand) dry salami. Now if you love salami of all types as much as I do, Jungle Jims is the place for you with dozens and dozens of varieties from producers all over the world.

I picked up this one as an afterthought, an impulse item, stock stuffer, what have you. I’ve written so much about processed meats over the past ten years that I’ve committed to memory (mostly) an awful lot of the USDA plant numbers you will see on processed meats in the US. And I recognized this one – Jungle Jims is no slouch in who they dole out their in-house product manufacturing to, this salami is made by Busseto in California, one quality operation. (Link leads to their Facebook page, their website is a little wonky today).

You can’t find many salumis (the word means Italian cold cuts in general) purer than this product, which contains pork and salt and traces of flavors and cures. Nothing alarming at all. And the true measure of any processed meats for me these days, and you know this if you’ve read any of my posts, is DOES IT TASTE LIKE THE ANIMAL? So many processed foods have been over processed as to not really resemble the original muscle meat anymore.

Not so with Jungle Jims. Bite after bite, it tastes like pork off the farm, before one even gets the sense of the seasoning. And that’s important to me.

Their dry salami is very mild, great ‘bite’ (texture), and is great for snacking, or appetizers, even a sandwich, depending on how thin you slice it. I’m having some tonight as an accompaniment to fondue, both perfect for a chilly winter night. Wish I’d picked up multiples. Next time.

A pic of one of Busseto’s ultra-modern processing plants is below.

Jungle Jims Dry Salami Chub

Busseto’s California Processing Plant

Category: Deli, Hot off the Grill, Sausage Tags: Deli, Salami

Potbelly Sandwich Review

February 16, 2016 BurgerDogBoy

(Spoiler alert) I have missed out by not being a customer of Potbelly.I painted them with the “same brush” that I have used against a couple of their competitors that I truly don’t like, and that wasn’t fair.

I was recently contemplating a visit when coincidentally the company invited me in for a taste.

At our table was the broccoli cheese soup, an “Italian” sandwich, the “Mediterranean” Sandwich, 2 bags of Zapp’s Potato Chips, a mixed berry smoothie, and a chocolate chip cookie.

Wow. Seriously. Wow.

Name your favorite sub chain and know that Potbelly is better food and a much more enjoyable experience.

You’ll notice it the minute you walk in, subdued lighting, lively music(including live performances), seating and tables designed for comfort not to see how fast a place can flip a table……….and then there is the food.

If you’re ordering a sandwich, you have a choice of a regular roll, whole wheat or flatbread (gluten free), and you can order a half or whole, from the menu suggestions or design your own. Wanna double up on the meat, you can!

The rolls are fresh every morning from Chicago’s beloved Turano Baking; they’ve been around for over half a century. As I said earlier, I went with the “Italian,” capicola, mortadella, pepperoni, salami, and provolone cheese, slipped into the oven, served warm and melty. You can choose from any or all of these condiments at no charge: Mayo, Brown Deli Mustard, Hot Peppers, Lettuce, Onion, Tomato, Pickle, Oil, and Italian Seasoning. The vegetables are ultra fresh.

Sides include chips, cole slaw, macaroni salad, potato salad, and whole pickles. (They carry a good selection of Zapp’s potato chips, a New Orleans favorite). Salads are available and customizable, and there are daily soup specials as well as chili, their best selling broccoli cheddar, and a new favorite, siracha black bean (which is vegan). Finish off your meal with made to order shakes and smoothies, or a fresh baked cookie.

A bit about Potbelly – it started as a single restaurant on Chicago’s near north side; it operated successfully as a single location for many years, until 1996, when entrepreneur Bryant Keil purchased the shop, updated and standardized the offerings and operation, and built Potbelly to have over 300 outlets in the U.S.

Some locations deliver, any of them can arrange to serve your office party, school, team, or church gathering, or family reunions. A typical order form looks like this, and you can fax it in.

The ‘dining in’ menu lists all your choices, and you can find the nearest Potbelly with their locator.

The location I visited was in the suburban Chicago burg of Algonquin, and is capably and cheerfully managed by Dan Horwath. He knows his product well, and is so enthusiastic about the company he will undoubtedly climb the corporate ladder quickly.

Italian Sandwich with Broccoli Cheese Soup!

Potbelly Sandwich Review

Ed Note. Potbelly comped the meal.

Category: Food Business, Hot off the Grill, Sandwiches Tags: @potbelly, Deli, Sub Sandwiches

Certfied Angus Brand Deli Corned Beef

August 3, 2015 BurgerDogBoy

Geez, I just get finished with my “deli roast beef” smackdown, and I run into Certified Angus Brand on sale, which I previously had skipped over. Certified is a brand that was created by a group of Angus ranchers in the late 70s, who wanted to produce a higher quality product, held to higher standards.

This is a good one, deserving to be in the top 5, if not top 3; clearly “whole muscle” meat, and by the taste and texture, lacking the dreaded “injected solution.”

I like it. I’ll be back. Here’s where to find Certified Angus Brand products, at stores and restaurants.

Certified Angus Brand Corned Beef

Certfied Angus Brand Deli Corned Beef

Category: Deli, Hot off the Grill, Sandwiches Tags: @CertAngusBeef, Corned beef, Deli

Hormel Deli Roast Beef Review

June 30, 2015 BurgerDogBoy

I’ve been trying out a lot of deli meats, lately, mostly pastrami and corned beef. I’m a fairly big snob / choosy about what I buy, eschewing the more inexpensive brands, which tend to be what I refer to commonly as “chopped, pressed, and form,” meat and other additives reconstituted to resemble roasts. I much prefer companies that use whole muscle meats for their deli offerings, like NY’s Carnegie and Chicago’s Vienna Beef.

Today I picked up a pound of Hormel Roast Beef ($6.99 a pound, Wal Mart), and upon investigation of the packaging, and noting the USDA establishment number (15835), I find this product is produced and packaged for Hormel by a company called Dan’s Prize, in Long Prairie, MN. Dan’s Prize was started in the 80s; Long Prairie is in the middle of the state, about 3.5 hours NW of Hormel headquarters in Austin, Minnesota.

The taste and texture of the meat is acceptable, and my only red flag is the printing on the front of the package “contains isolated soybean proteins.” Upon further investigation, this is a powder used to emulate flavor in food products, and are a highly concentrated form of protein. They were developed nearly 80 years ago for industrial purposes, mainly as (wait for it) adhesives for paper coatings. Yum.

If you choose to shop the deli counter at most Wal Marts, your brand selection is pretty narrow. Most of the product is Prima Della (Wal Mart’s house brand) (also made by a variety of contract manufacturers), at the store I stopped at today, in addition to the one Hormel product, there were about half a dozen Sara Lee deli meats.

They don’t stock any of the premium national brands at the service deli, however you may find some pre-packaged items elsewhere in the store.

Would I buy the Hormel beef again? Well, most likely, it’s a fair price, and as I said, the taste and texture are palatable. And who can’t use a little more paper coasting adhesive in their diet? Pix of Dan’s Prize factory below.

Hormel Deli Roast Beef Review

Category: Deli, Food Business, Hot off the Grill, Sandwiches Tags: Deli, Hormel, Sandwich

Klements Corned Beef Review

June 1, 2015 BurgerDogBoy

I have been on a mission lately on corned beef and pastrami, haven’t I? Last week, it was WalMart’s house brand, and I’ve previously covered Dietz & Watson, Vienna Beef, and others. This week, it’s up to sausage town Milwaukee, to cover one of their iconic brands, Klement’s, which was on sale at one of my local groceries for $6.99 a pound, almost half the price of national brands.

Klement’s is full of rich flavor and has a fairly nice texture/chewability.

Ingredients and nutrition are not found on the Klement’s site, unfortunately.

The product is showing a little of that iridescent one occasionally sees on sliced meat, which naturally occurs when the iron in meat comes in contact with a knife or slicer resulting in a slight oxidation. The sharper the knife or slicer, the more brilliant the colors.

Klement’s can go on my ‘regular’ list, especially when it’s at this price point. Chicago’s Vienna Beef remains my number one choice, preferred for its texture.

I’m working up to trying to make corned beef and pastrami at home; any suggestions would surely be appreciated. If you have a craving and want to order quality corned beef or other meat products, just click over to our Amazon shop.

Klements Corned Beef Review

Category: Deli, Food Business, Hot off the Grill, Sandwiches Tags: @KlementSausage, Corned beef, Deli

Lunch Mate Hard Salami Review

December 6, 2014 BurgerDogBoy

Another bargain from Aldi’s (locator) this week was their “Lunch Mate” brand hard salami at $2.99 for an 8 ounce resealable pack, making is $6 per pound. Compare with your grocery deli counter, and you almost always save 30-50%.

The product is made by Patrick Cuhahy’s Wisconsin plant, USDA establishment 28. Cudahy, founded in 1888, is a brand that is part of the John Morrell Food Group, which is in turn, owned by Smithfield, which is now owned by Chinese investors. Many, many Smithfield/Morrell sub-brands come through this factory, here’s just a few:

Armour Food Company, Armour-Echrich Meats, LLC Butterball, Carando, Carolina Turkey, Cook’s Ham, Inc,. Country Lean, Curly’s Food Inc., Decker Food Company, Eastbay Packing Co,. Farmland Foods, Inc., Farmstead, Gwaltney Hunter, Krey Packing Co,. Hunter Packing Co., John Morrell & Co., Kneip, Krakus Foods International, Kretschmar Brands, Inc., Krey Packing Co. Lakeview Lundy’s Maple River Brand Mohawk Provision, Inc. Moseys, Northside Foods OhSe Partridge Meats, Inc. Patrick Cudahy Peyton Packing Co., Inc. Premium Farms, Premium Pet Health, Premium Standard Farms, Quick-To-Fix, Racorn, Inc., Rath Blackhawk, Inc., RMH Foods, Rodeo Meats, Inc., Roegelein Selective Petfood Services, Inc, Smithfield Foods, Inc., Smithfield Packing Co., Spring Hill Brand, Stefano Foods, Tobin’s First Prize Meat Co., Valleydale, Inc.

The salami is a thin sliced, slightly-smoked, pork and beef product with seasonings and the usual curatives. It’s quite flavorful, and I said above, a really good value. Cudahy makes a pepperoni (under their name) I like, too, which is often value-priced at the market.

Cudahy is currently planning to expand the plant, located just between the Milwaukee airport and the shore of Lake Michicgan. Pictures of the plant below from Google street view (if accurate).

Hungry now? Here are some salamis that ship.

Lunch Mate Hard Salami Review

Category: Deli, Hot off the Grill, Sandwiches, Sausage Tags: @Aldi, Deli, Salami, Sausage

Fricks Ham Review

November 13, 2014 BurgerDogBoy

Ran into a product I hadn’t seen before, a boneless half ham from Frick’s Meat, a purveyor from Washington, MO (about 40 miles west of St. Louis, halfway between I-70 on the north, and I-44 on the south. Frick’s has been around for nearly a century and a quarter, and manufacturers processed pork products, including hams, bacon, and sausages.

Family owned and operated for four generations, the products are widely distributed. The ham is fully cooked in the wrapper, but has a 10-15% shrinkage when pan-fried.

This is a product I really enjoyed, other than the price, but I have that objection to all meat these days.

My favorite hams are the naturally cured ones for a long period of time from Virginia, especially the biscuit-sized pieces, which aren’t available in the stores near me, but I order by mail a couple times a year.

The hams are processed at Frick’s factory in Washington, MO at 360 M. E. Frick Drive. The factory is pictured below.

Frick Meat Factory, Washington, MO

Fricks Ham Review

Category: Deli, Food Business, Ham & Bacon, Sandwiches Tags: #Fricks, Deli, Ham, sandwiches

Vienna Beef Corned Beef and Pastrami

November 12, 2014 BurgerDogBoy

If you’re even an occasional reader of this site, you know two things for sure – I have a diminishing interest in purchasing most ‘deli meats’ because of real or perceived notion they aren’t ‘real.’ By that I am generally referring to two things – ‘roasts’ that are formed from meat and other ingredients into a shape that is easy for uniform slicing and appearance, and also the growing trend to enhance weight and flavor with injections of brine solutions, which I personally feel just ruins the texture of real meat muscle.

The second thing you would be aware of as a regular visitor here is that I am fond of the products made by Chicago’s premier hot dog manufacturer, Vienna Beef. They make great hot dogs, sausages, and a compliment of condiments. So I thought I would try out their deli corned beef and pastrami.

In the deli counter, the roasts appeared to be whole muscle briskets. The price currently exceeds $14 per pound. Examining the ingredients, there does not appear to be any fillers or brine, and it looks like a whole roast, when sliced, as the slices are not uniform in appearance, as far as both shape and fat content. I inquired of Vienna about the composition and ingredients of these two deli products, but they did not reply.

I’m gonna guess, and hope, that they are whole muscle cuts. My only reservation is the price, but all meats are stupid priced these days. If you’re making an overstuffed sandwich, with 8 ounces of meat, it breaks down like this: a pound each of pastrami and corned beef, roughly $31. One half pound of cheese, $6.00. Rye bread. $3. Sauerkraut $0.00, as I make it myself. So $40 / 4 sandwiches? $10 a pop. Wow.

Course go to any large city deli, and the same serving will cost between $17 – $27. Wow even more. BTW? You see the ‘iridescent’ quality in the top slice of meat below? Over the past 20 years, I must have asked dozens of people what causes that, and never received a satisfactory answer. Do you know?

Look for Vienna Beef products in your favorite grocery deli counter; we have some great corned beef whole brisket or slices from Omaha, and pastrami from the Bay Area’s favorite meat company, Saag, in our little store; for something a little different, try Montreal Smoked Meat. Appreciate your reading and business.

Pastrami (top) and Corned Beef Slices

Corned Beef & Pastrami Combo Reuben

Vienna Beef Corned Beef and Pastrami

Category: Deli, Food Business, Hot off the Grill, Sandwiches Tags: @ViennaBeef, Corned beef, Deli, Pastrami, sandwiches

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Tag: Deli

Alef Sausage and Deli Review

The Original Nottoli & Son Review Chicago