Andy’s Deli & Mikolajczyk Sausage Shop
The biggest and most inviting of the north side’s Polish delis, Andy’s is a kind of Eastern European wonderland. The meat and sausage counter serves as the main draw for expats who crowd it for their turn to get persnickety with the counter hands. There’s also a bakery offering great, sour rye bread, those sugary custard or jelly-filled doughnuts called paczki, and fat squares of cake that appear to be at least 50% frosting. Walk past the shelves stocked with imported dry goods to the prepared foods counter in the back, where a generous hot lunch — one meat, one starch, one salad — is yours for about 10 bucks. The choices are vast and include the likes of duck and veal. On my recent visit I ended up with a roasted pork shank, a bed of bulgur in mushroom gravy, and a sauerkraut, apple, and carrot salad.