I had a hankering for the brand of Polish kielbasa that my Aunt Stella served, so the weekend before Easter, a friend and I drove an hour and 3/4 out to Chickopee, MA - the home of Blue Seal kielbasa.
I researched a couple of places on the internet, and we first headed to Bernat's Deli and Meat Market.
WHAT A FIND!!!
A very small store that smelled exactly like the little butcher shop where my aunts shopped in their home town!
They had all kinds of homemade kielbasas! We bought regular kielbasa, Polish kielbasa, Easter kielbasa (less garlick-y and burp-y), horseradish kielbasa, baked liverwurst, potato-cheese pierogi, sauerkraut-mushroom pierogi, dill pickles (they had an entire 4-foot section of Polish pickles!!), assorted Polish chocolates and a hand-painted wooden egg.
My friend, Jan, couldn't wait to open the pickles so we each ate one in the parking lot while loading up our cooler.
Then we headed to a Big Y for a bunch of Blue Seal kielbasas and several loaves of Pittsfield Rye Bread (also my aunts' favorite).
Drove back home, colored some eggs, cooked up a Blue Seal, and had a feast, trying all of the homemade kielbasas.
Not much different among the homemade kielbasas, but they were all fantastic!
What a great day!
Lee
I researched a couple of places on the internet, and we first headed to Bernat's Deli and Meat Market.
WHAT A FIND!!!
A very small store that smelled exactly like the little butcher shop where my aunts shopped in their home town!
They had all kinds of homemade kielbasas! We bought regular kielbasa, Polish kielbasa, Easter kielbasa (less garlick-y and burp-y), horseradish kielbasa, baked liverwurst, potato-cheese pierogi, sauerkraut-mushroom pierogi, dill pickles (they had an entire 4-foot section of Polish pickles!!), assorted Polish chocolates and a hand-painted wooden egg.
My friend, Jan, couldn't wait to open the pickles so we each ate one in the parking lot while loading up our cooler.
Then we headed to a Big Y for a bunch of Blue Seal kielbasas and several loaves of Pittsfield Rye Bread (also my aunts' favorite).
Drove back home, colored some eggs, cooked up a Blue Seal, and had a feast, trying all of the homemade kielbasas.
Not much different among the homemade kielbasas, but they were all fantastic!
What a great day!
Lee
Attachments
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Bernat's painted eggs.JPG166.1 KB · Views: 210
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Bernat's meats and candies.JPG139.6 KB · Views: 208
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Bernat's pierogis.JPG88.7 KB · Views: 210
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Bernat's pickles.JPG163.6 KB · Views: 209
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Bernat's pickles and Jan in parking lot.JPG91.6 KB · Views: 210
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Bernat's - our booty.JPG138.1 KB · Views: 209
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Bernat's - our pre-Easter dinner.JPG114.9 KB · Views: 211