Wally's World
By Anonymous in Food on Aug 9, 2005 3:40AM
So Chicagoist is shopping for food in a store where everyone is speaking Polish, the aisle signs are in English, and one section is devoted to Hispanic foods. We can only be in Wally’s Market although come to think of it, we could be in any store in Chicago, including Home Depot!
After an unsuccessful trip to a couple of Polish delis and bakeries (yes, we’re sure they spoke English, but we felt we may have been missing out on some of the details and stories), we enlisted the help of a friend of ours from Poland (go figure!), Aneta, to help learn about Polish foods, where to shop, and what everything was. She recommended Wally’s Market, started by Polish immigrant Walter Mulica in 1993 to bring Polish food to his community here in Chicago.
Stepping into Wally’s Market, it looks like any small supermarket. The hum of Polish and the bustle of people on this Saturday afternoon leads us to believe this is not only a shopping experience, but a social one as well. When we asked Aneta if she liked hearing all the Polish language, she said that she hears it all the time at home and in her neighborhood (okay, that was our dumbass question number one). When we asked why the aisle signs were in English when the market was overwhelmingly Polish, she said “because we’re in America.” (Dumbass question part deux). So after that, we kept our mouths shut and just listened to the interesting commentary about the different foods.
There are lines and lines of jarred items...cucumbers in a special brine, $3.49 for a 58 oz. jar, and lots of beets and cabbage. Aneta tells us that the mainstay of any Polish meal is potatoes, with meat added in when available, mostly pork judging by the amount of pork chops, pig’s feet, and ham in the meat section, although there was veal, lamb, and chicken. In the cold cases were all kinds of herring, including our favorite, creamed. Seriously, this is great stuff if you’ve never tried it...we normally have it around the holidays. The deli counter was extensive, with huge sausages hanging behind the counter and in the display cases...Wally actually makes many of the sausages he sells through his Belmont Sausage Company (www.belmontsausage.com), using old-world recipes.
We go through each aisle, with Aneta telling us about each product or the gossip from Poland. We found Oscypek (Sheep’s Cheese) in the dairy aisle...it’s a very salty, smoked cheese for $3.49 for about 8 ounces, similar to feta but with a smokey flavor and not as crumbly. Near the bakery is an assortment of Goplana candy, named after a lake in northern Poland where the confectionary factory is located. Tymbark juice comes in a laminated box, a liter for $1.59, and became a huge convenience food back in the late 90s because of its then-innovative resealable cap. We even found Malma Pasta, which is created by a company called Danuta, named after Lech Walesa’s wife who had encouraged the privatization of the company in the first place. Their spokesperson? Sophia Loren. The wheels on this bus DO go round and round!
Connected to Wally’s Market is a small group of shops aimed at the Polish-speaking customer...a hair salon, bookstore, shoe shop (they have excellent shoes there, including some handmade in Poland, we hesitate to mention it because we know someone reading this is going to buy the exact style and size we need and we’ll be screwed), an insurance office, jewelry store with lots of really cool pieces, including a large selection of both green and gold amber and silver jewelry. It really is a one-stop shop. Thank goodness there are three of them!
Wally’s Market
6601 W. Irving Park Rd (may also be listed as 6615 for some reason)
Chicago, IL 60634
773.427.1616
Monday-Saturday 8am to 10pm
Sunday 9am to 9pm
www.wallysmarket.com for other locations