Kalinowski Sausage & Deli

Small store with large selection. It’is hard to move in this store if there is more customers. My issue is with managing the store. Employees should have know they priority is to be serving customers. I’ve been there several times and waited more than 20 minutes to be served at the deli. There was several ppl waiting and only two ladies serving. Three others were wondering, doing decorations, labeling. This is what you do between customers. When customers are waiting their should be prompt to help, leave whatever they’re doing and HELP THE CUSTOMER. It is outrage when the line needs to get to 20 ppl waiting so any of those wondering ladies finally get a hint is time to join the serving team. Usually one. It is not smart. Would all them come it would be faster. There was at least one time I’ve address the issue, ask for more help. Response was not proffessional, they shrugging their shoulders, looking on one another and explain: I am sorting, I am checking prices, I am slicing the pies… Come on! There has been several times that nobody was at the registers! Like it’s not enough problem it is only two registers! Please, work on your ppl skills and customer service. *** My another issue is with one of their product. Herrings in sour cream! Come on! How can you destroyed traditional polish meal and you charge so much for it too. We all know that to make the herrings soft and less salty is to be soaking them either in water and milk (changing the liquid couple times)! It’s the trick Kalinowski is skipping. Lazy much? Their herrings are hard and FULL OF SUGAR! SUGAR?! Really? In the times we hear so much about it is promoting Cancer, Candida Albicans and all kinds of problems! Shame on you! American stores are full of the products loaded with sugar! Unbelieveble, traditional polish store is copy them destroying their dish! ***Your price on pierogi and herrings in jars are also rip off. Pierogi ingredients are still cheap! Do not blame on the gas prices. Also even though making pierofi is time consuming I do not believe you pay more than minium wage to whoever is making them, so shame on your greed! ***And stop with conservantes! Do not need them either, especially if there is so much in the ready food you could smell them, taste them and have a hell out of headache next day.

I have been a customer of Kalinowski for over 20 years. The best polish sausage around, the choices are many. They also have some good hams with multiple choices of different preparations. The lunch meat is always fresh. The bakery and fresh baked breads are all enticing and good. The prices are fair and lower than other delis.
The original owner retired. The new owner has been doing his best to keep this store original, he has had a few bumps but his food still gets my vote. It would be nice if he smiled at the customers once in a while. I have tried all the deli’s in the neighborhood and Kalinowski still has my business.

One of the worst Customer Service Experiences. I’m still appalled by the lack of professionalism. I work nearby and a coworker said the place was cheap and made great subs, so I decided to try it out. After waiting in the Deli for 10 minutes without anyone even acknowledging my presence, I elected to leave. I’ll never set foot in this establishment again nor will I participate in any group orders from this place. I refuse to spend a cent in a small business that would treat a customer like this. I ended up just driving up to the street and picking up some Burger King.

It’s nice go have this Polish deli nearby, and they have a large selection of sausages, cheeses, pastries, breads, etc. All of the staff spoke Polish, as did most of the customers — a good sign as far as I’m concerned. We picked up some krakowska parzona sausage on this day, along with some pastries. Prices seemed reasonable. They are open 7 days a week, and it’s really easy to pull into their ample parking lot particularly when headed southbound on Rand Road.

Excellent Deli! Great pierogi, blintzes, soups, and so much more… Everything has a rich, home-​made, authentic flavor. The bakery section is extensive and very impressive. They have one of the best pączki I have ever had. Mini crescent yeast-​dough rolls filled with fruit jelly are delicious and mouthwatering, especially when you are lucky enough to get them still warm, right from the oven. The staff is polite and accommodating. Definitely worth the trip!

Boy this place sure has gone down! They use to have a great butcher and great meat, but now they haven’t a clue. Couldn’t get an order right and didn’t bother to call me. I will NEVER go back there again!

Best deli around. Old fashioned, good service, wonderful pastries. This is the real deal. Not too patient with non-​Polish speakers, but hey, I just feel lucky to get the crumbs off of their ample table. A wonderful, huge sandwich with everything for less than $ 4? Whip me and beat me, then!

Amazing Pierogis! My favorite that I’ve tried compared to any other place in the area. Love the cheese and Ruskie flavors! I don’t speak polish but the staff speaks both English and polish so it’s never a problem. They have a nice selection of Polish sweets and ready-​made salads/​sides too. I don’t eat meat so can’t judge the deli on this, but overall this place is always a nice treat.

What? A vegetarian reviewing a deli? No way!
Yes way. This place is much more than a deli. In fact, I come here for the bakery. Between various breads and the rotating selection of sweets, there is always something delicious being brought out fresh from the oven. You can also buy soups, cheeses, pierogi, and about a million types of candy here. I have tried a few types and so far only disliked one type of marzipan/​marcepan. Well, I wouldn’t say I disliked it, because I still finished the box… more like I was not expecting it to have a peanut flavor.
In any case, this little shop is worth a visit if you are looking for Polish delicacies, and don’t worry if you don’t speak Polish. I don’t know a word of that language, but I have been able to find a staff member fluent in English to help me on my visits. In fact, on my last trip, the cashier spoke flawless English without a trace of an accent. Don’t let all the signs with foreign characters deter you.

While I can’t complain about the quality of the product I purchased, I certainly can say I have had a horrible experience with this business and will never order from them again. This is the story of the $ 100/​lb cheese.
I ordered some «oscypek» to be shipped to Texas (where I live), and the woman who took my order was very thoughtful– she said that because overnight shipping can cost around $ 80 (the cheese was a mere $ 17), she would have it sent 4-​day delivery, on the following Monday, so that it would be cheaper and arrive within the week. I thought this was a great plan. We received the cheese as expected, within 4 days– my partner had to sign for it at FedEx as I was hospitalized at the time. There was no shipping price on the box, no receipt for the shipping cost anywhere in the box.
The next time I checked my credit card, there were two charges from Kalinowski Deli: one for $ 17 (the cheese), one for $ 68 (…UH… WTF?). I thought the plan was to avoid paying an excessive amount for shipping… so I called the deli. I got the run around for over a week: call back when the manager is here, the manager said he’d have to talk to the woman who took the order, then a woman manager told me that her worker claimed I had agreed to the cost of overnight shipping, she told me there is no such thing as 4-​day shipping… Needless to say, the last phone call with Kalinowski ended in a very unprofessional yelling match.
Since I have been given no other choice, I’ve called my credit card and filed a dispute. I never agreed (nor would I ever agree) to allowing a $ 68+ charge to be made on my credit card for the shipment of a pound of cheese. Totally unprofessional.

I grew up in Chicago and my Dad worked across the street from the original location on Milwaukee Ave. In our home Polish sausage and other Polish food was very common and we purchased many items from Kalinowski’s. I know live in New Mexico and this Christmas I decided to purchase some Polish sausage, regular — smoked and kabanosy, and have it shipped to my home. What a wonderful treat for my family and my friends. It was truly enjoyable!!! As an adult who does not have common access to this wonderful food it was a great treat!!!
I hope my friends in New Mexico can see this review and hopefully order some Polish sausage and enjoy it as much as I did. If you are going to ship, remember the shipping is VERY, VERY expensive, but worth it once a year.

I can not begin to tell you how disappointed I was for Thanksgiving this year. I have been going to Kalinowski’s since it was in the city and was pleased that it had moved out here to my neighborhood. For some reason there has been a significant change for the worst in taste and quality of their products. This was even noticed by my visitors. I have been told that the Kalinowski family no longer owns the establishment. Unfortunately at this rate, I can see this going the way of Gladstone Bakery. I will be looking for another Polish Deli. Will probably end up going back into the city.

Awesome Deli in Mount Prospect, I especially like the wide variety of Milka chocolate :) :) :) very good selection of bread, salads, deli meat, sausages and desserts!

Fabulous Polish deli, bakery, butcher, drug store all in one.
Wonderfully selection of Polish delicacies! A bit pricey compared to Chicago proper Polish stores but well worth the visit.
Recommended!

Stopped by to try some pierogi. Lots of Polish foods crammed into one little store. I took home potato, cheese, and plum pierogi as well as some smoked kielbasa and a couple donuts that looked like paczki but were labelled something else. I am a pierogi snob as I have made my family’s recipe for years. These are probably the best purchased pierogi I have ever had. Good dough, filling very flavorful (although I wish the plum filling was slightly sweeter). The smoked kielbasa had a good flavor but heavy on the garlic and had some gristle in the sausage. The donuts were just OK. Looking forward to going back and trying some of the other items.

I’ve been going to this place for several years… they have a nice selection of foods. Excellent prepared foods, salads, etc. The kraut & mushroom pierogis are great. I LOVE the Lasanki… they have these little pastry like things – they look like little crescent rolls, but they’re filled with fruit fillings-​the raspberry ones are excellent! The only reason they didn’t get 5 stars from me is because the girls behind the counter as well as the cashiers are… shall we say… less than friendly!
Actually rude. I thought it was because I’m not polish, but I noticed that they’re just a bunch of sour-​pusses. To everyone. Lighten up! Learn the language! Be nicer to your customers!

I was in the area Saturday morning so I stopped in to try this place. I’ve passed it many times but never went in. It’s not huge for a Polish deli compared to Wally’s, but plenty big with reasonably priced items behind the glass case. Great selection of hams, plus the roast pork butt (karczek wedzony) I like.
Other than deli, they have a great bakery area with fancy loaves. A store like Dominick’s would call these «artisan breads» and charge double the amount for them. There’s also the Polish jelly-​filled donuts (paczki), which I opted not to buy since I’m still getting over my Christmas cookie excesses.
About the only comment I have is that they can use 1 more scale in the deli area. With a good-​sized volume of customers on a Saturday morning and 4 ladies assisting people, there’s only 2 scales, which means they have to wait as each item gets weighed and labeled. Other than that, I think I’ll be going here more often since it’s not far from my kids’ gym class.

This place is a gem! They have the BEST polish sausage and pierogi that we have ever tried. The prices are really reasonable for the great quality of the food there. Their Baby Back ribs are the most tender and meaty anywhere! We don’t go anywhere else!!!