Please help me find new places to buy Polish food in the Chicago area

looking for the best Polish food on the south side

Bobaks 5275 S. Archer is the only one I know on the Southside,

Most the good Polish restaurants are on the Northside

lol. thanks sledz.. i knew i drove by one down that way not too long ago... couldn't remember where the darn place was. awesome..

They do have some great food!

Theres probably some other ones but I dont get down to the Southside that much

a buddy of mine lives further south and he works somewhere down there too; he told me there is Bobaks by his work.. i'll find out and post up if it's a different one. i've never been inside one.. i normally shop in jackowo or near by.

I was there a few years ago, they have a website..... bobaks.com


thats not too far from me..Pulaski/Milwaukee or Central/ Belmont area

yeah man. wallys, used to at andy;s (endy's) pasieka, avondale, czerwone jaluszko...

I was just at Czerwone Jalbusko last Sunday for brunch :)
Theres this place called Angelica`s 3744 N. Milwaukee its awesome.
Wallys is good so is Rich`s on Harlem and Lawrence

where is the pierogi factory? i forget every time and have to look for it. is that alexandra"s?

sometimes i go up to stanislawki's too. a little more expensive.

will have to try angelica's next time i'm around.

Yeah Alexandras pierogi factory thats all they sell there
on Central about a block North of Belmont..good stuff

The Jolly Inn on Irving has a great buffet also

thanks for both.. i don't think i've been to the jolly inn... i like the name, for sure. :D

Mabenka on Cicero, south of Midway is a great place to eat. It's not a buffett, unlike Bobaks. It's Polish owned, and the food is great. On Archer, there are few restaraunts, most notably the Polish Highlanders club.

I'm eating some kraut & mushroom now from there...Very good. But the meat are better so far.

try the fruit ones. yum.

Those are my favs so far... I`m going to try the Spinach and cheese later


I seen that the sell Blueberry

they also have strawberry, plum and others.

bobaks on archer

There is a Bobak's in Orland Park on 159th. Have not been there, only drove past.

159th and what?

159th a


159th and wolf Road. It's no longer a Bobak's. It's a Frank's, which is a brother of the Bobak's on Archer. I'm not sure who owns the other two former Bobak's in Naperville and Burr Ridge resectively. There was a falling out in the family, and the locations were split up, and I believe two were sold to someone outside of the family. In my opinion, the food at the Orland Park location is not as good as the Midway location. I'm sure there are people who will say the opposite, or they can't tell a difference. I have not been to the other locations since the change in ownership.

On Archer, just east of Bobak's, is Gilmart. It's very good, but doesn't have near the selection that the Bobak's has.

cool, thanks region

man i need to visit the chi town

i know a polish guy from 'diego who makes the drive for the food and the beer. lol

haha who?

I'm in diego too. I need to make that drive someday.

i don't think he is on this forum.

it was quite a decent place rite across from the U of Chicago business school building

I've hit Joe and Frank's a couple of times over the past month. Everything is good. They're located on Harlem and Archer, in Oak Lawn. The service is outstanding.

Bobak's on Archer has remodeled. The old large buffett is gone. They still offer hot food, but not as many choices and with very limited seating. The store doesn't seem as busy anymore. I think Gilmart has picked up a lot of their customers.

Thread attached on merging:
Please help me find new places to buy Polish food in Chicago

I'm going up to Chicago this weekend and plan to stock up on some of the Polish food that I can't get locally, primarily pierogi, different kinds of kiełbasa and lunchmeats, and Polish beer (plus whatever else strikes my fancy when I come across it).

I used to be able to find everything I needed at the various Bobak's stores, but all but the Bobak's on Archer Ave. are gone. I have heard that the quality and selection of products at the one left are not what they once were, and the last I knew, the Frank & Angie's on 159th St. & Wolf Rd. (which was owned by the Bobaks on the other side of a family feud) was closed as well.

So, now I'm at a bit of a loss as to where I should plan to do my shopping, and as I've been lurking on these forums for awhile now, I thought I might be able to get the info I need here as there seem to be several members (and guests) from around Chicago. Any answers to any of these questions will be greatly appreciated:

First does anyone know whether the on 159th St. & Wolf Rd. has reopened?

It seems that the Bobak's in Burr Ridge and Naperville are now Farmers Fresh Market and Garden Fresh Market, respectively. Can anyone tell me if either of these still sell a decent selection of Polish items? I have gotten conflicting reports on both of these.

How is Wally's Market for selection and quality? Which location has the widest selection?

I read that Binny's Beverage Depot has a very good selection of Polish beers. Anyone know which location has the best? Are there other stores that have a better selection?

Are there better grocery/meat stores than those mentioned above for buying Polish food? Surely I'm missing some. Which is the best of all?

I plan to be in the southwest suburbs a bit, as well as a trek up to Alexandra's on North Central, but will go anywhere in Chicagoland if needed to find the best places to shop.

Again, any information or opinions would be greatly appreciated!

I don't know about the old Bobak sores in Orland Park and Burr Ridge. I had been to both, and I didn't care for either's homemade food.

Here are a few suggestions:

Joe and Frank's on Archer and Harlem is very good. They will grind tatar if you ask for it, something many places won't do.

Bobak's on Archer has great smoked bacon. I also made a great impulse buy there last weekend. They sold a packaged grilling sausage with sun-dried tomatoes in it. I was pleasantly surprised. Aside from the bacon, and the sausage, I generally avoid Bobak's. I could very well be far too critical. I haven't had bad food there, I just believe I've found better. Taste of course is subjective.

Gilmart on Archer remains very popular. For whatever reason, I can't warm up to the place.

There are two little places on Archer I like too.
Wzadza's Deli is just off Archer, West of Gilmart, East of Bobak's on the Northside of Archer. They have good gallertas, and tasty soups too. Their homemade sledz is good too. Their meat is mostly from Andy's.

Dunajec Is on Archer, just West of Gilmart. It's very good, and all the meat is prepared there. I really like the szynka cyganska (Gypsy Ham) and the sausages are top notch.

I will also highly recommend one place on the far Northwest Side. Boniek's Deli on Foster and Harlem is outstanding. Really good kielbasa, kizka, and on Saturdays a homemade tatar that is outstading. It's worth the trip.

I'm not that familiar with the area around Milwaukee and Belmont. I'm a bit intimidated by the parking hassles, and it's really crowded on weekends.

I hope this helps you out.