baltimore county - Mason Dixon Arrive Magazine

ackroads
By Vicki Franz
SPECIAL GROCERIES
Before living in the rolling suburbs of Baltimore County,
I lived in Federal Hill and did much of my shopping
the old fashioned way – at specialty food stores, Cross
Street Market and weekend farmers’ markets. I thought
it would be fun to spend a Saturday morning touring
some of the downtown ethnic grocers. So I plotted a
trip, grabbed a girlfriend and we headed downtown from
Hunt Valley at 9am.
Trinacria bakes fresh breads, including a chewy black
olive loaf and herbed focaccia. Opposite: Scungilli Salad
from DiPasquales was fresh and delicious!
TRINACRIA FOODS
Our first stop was to my favorite
Italian grocery, Trinacria, located a few
blocks north of the Lexington Market
on Paca Street at Route 40. As you
come through the door, look behind
it and take a number. This will give
you a place in line for deli items, but in
the meantime, begin your shopping. It
doesn’t look like much, but once you
slow down, inhale and absorb what is
in front of you, you’ll find an amazing
selection of imported pastas, sauces,
canned goods and specialty items. My
advice is to watch what others are buying
… and if you don’t see something
you want, ask.
We grabbed several bags of unique
pasta, a few jars of Trinacria’s homemade
sauces, and shells for cannoli
and made our way to the counter.
Find a place to create a vertical line
of items, drop your things and continue
shopping. Next stop is the fresh
breads. Franco, the in-store baker,
makes amazing olive bread, herbed
foccacia, breads with prosciutto or
cheese baked into them, plain breads.
Oh my, we should have had breakfast.
Next, head to the back of the
store, grab a bag of frozen tortellini,
breaded eggplant parmesan and fresh
Sicilian cannoli filling made from
fresh ricotta from the cold cases.
Wine? Vince Fava, owner, makes
the picks and Vince’s Selections are
touted at very low prices. So, yes, add
a few bottles of good, cheap wine
to the counter and then turn your
attention to the deli to select antipasto.
Smoky imported provolone;
Fontinella, a Roman cheese that is
softer and creamier than Asiago;
salami; prosciutto; capicolla, a spicy
ham; and an herbed olive blend will
go great with the breads.
There are hundreds of items in
the store, but remember that you have
to carry it all to your car. Used to
be, you’d have to pay with cash or a
check. Fortunately, they now accept
credit cards. 406 Paca St.,
410-685-7285, trinacriafoods.com.
KRAKUS DELI
We chose to visit Krakus, the
Polish general store in Fell’s Point,
next to Ze Mean Bean on Fleet
Street. The website had promised we
would be greeted by “the most beautiful
Polish girls in Baltimore.” Instead,
we were warmly greeted by Tom Flis,
son of owner, Walter Flis. While the
store was empty when we arrived, it
quickly filled with customers from
the Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine
and Slovakia. We met Voytek
Listwan, who emigrated to Baltimore
from Poland in 1983, shortly after
being freed from prison for being part
of Lech Walesa’s Solidarity movement.
He was very enthusiastic about
the unique things available in the
shop, including the fresh pastries,
rolls, cookies and cakes that are
brought in weekly from New Jersey.
Tom was very patient as he
described each of the four smoked
kielbasa hanging behind the counter,
working from largest to smallest.
All store kielbasa is made right in
the shop, including the smoked variety
that is ready to eat; they are all
natural with no preservatives. The
largest links are wiejka, a popular
country sausage that’s also good on
the grill. This is the most traditional
and comes from the same cut as ham.
Swojska is from the same cut as pork
tenderloin, a little leaner and smaller.
Kabanosy is much thinner and drier
and popular for snacking. Known as
“hunting” sausage, Mysliwska is the
driest, which condenses the flavor and
reduces the fat. We thought it would
be like a beef jerky, but when sliced, it
was soft and delicious.
The slicing deli offered many
wonderful things, including smoked
pork tenderloin and stuffed bacon,
which when sliced thinly reveals a
center of ground pork, garlic and
66 Mason-Dixon ARRIVE | APRIL 2011 Mason-Dixon ARRIVE | APRIL 2011 67