East Village Meat Market

As long as I’ve lived in this neighborhood, I’ve been too intimidated to go in, as I know so little about meat. With the storm coming, I wanted to cook a pork bracciola, to have the oven all day. I told them my dilemma and asked for help. I wanted a shoulder. The younger butcher asked me how I’d like it cut… across or down. Other patrons became involved, as I was fretting. The older butcher came from the back and showed me it had to be cut down and pounded it to show me it would be good for rolling. They actually pounded all of them for me. The braciola came out cut-​it-​with-​a-​spoon tender and delicious. Now I know if I have qualms or questions about meat, I can go to them, and they’ll sort me out.

Man this place makes me so happy. Came in on a windy day and some piping hot pierogies sounded like a good idea. This time, they were filled with mushrooms and sauerkraut. Still lovely as ever, dotted with tasty bits of caramelized onion. I was also sure to take home a couple kielbasa, which were deeeeelicious! Snappy casing gets nice and crispy on the pan. On the leaner side as another reviewer noted, but the flavor and natural casing totally make up for that.
All the workers were joking around and having fun with each other, totally jovial neighborhood vibes in here. I definitely don’t remember to stop by often enough. Will be back soon for bacon.

This place is awesome. Everything there is so fresh and delicious. There aren’t that many old fashioned meat markets left in NYC anymore unfortunately. If you want to buy quality meat products, check out this place.

This Butcher shop deserves 5 Stars. My family has been coming here for at least 50 years. Even though some of us now live out of state, we have their kielbasa shipped hundreds of miles. Everything here is of the highest quality, but my favorites are the Krakowska cold cuts, the rice Kishka, and the double smoked Kabanos.

Neat store with some hot cooked foods (and a whole little station for blintzes!) in addition to refrigerated prepared items and all the meats. The prepared food looked good, but I didn’t purchase any this time around. Smaller selection of smoked sausages than you’d find at some of the Greenpoint meat markets but the kabanos was good, though the other sausage I got I thought the casing was a bit too thick and tough.

I wish I could give them four and a half stars, but had to go with five, as what made me mildly uncomfortable was not worth a full star deduction.
Here it is: I felt like they looked at me strangely. Granted, I haven’t been here in a few years, so they might have thought I’m a noob, yet I know what I want, which would be wierd coming from a noob. So five stars it is.
Eastern Europeans are odd that way. I can say that, as I am of Eastern European origin. In fact, I have so many Eastern European blood in me — Polish, Ukranian, Russian, etc. — I can pretty much get away with cultural references on about 75% of Eastern European ethnic shops.
Everyone in this shop is very attractive. If you read me, you likely know that I notice stuff like this. And while I care infinitely more about deliciousness, having deliciousness served by attractive people is really nice. So there’s that.
Their kitchen (as there’s a lot of stuff they make themselves) is not afraid of garlic. Which makes them my ally in life. Garlic is the second most important food to me, save bacon, which is The Champion.
Speaking of which, they have it here. And it’s glorious. Not necessarily the kind you find in your grocery, but you can find THAT in your grocery. Try this one, and you may never go back.
Their rolled bacon was a hit in my household.
Their hams are a balance of perfection in cure and variety. I go for their country ham, because it’s nice and moist and fatty. I like fatty.
Which brings us to the kielbasa. In my opinion, they opted for the less fatty type. Nothing wrong with that — they crank up the flavor with a stellar seasoning mix. Personally, I usually opt for more fat, as it’s far more efficient at clogging one’s arteries, which is my ultimate goal. It will take quite a bit more of their kielbasa to achieve that goal. Which in normal-​people language means you’ll love it.
Be careful with the kabanosy — you may poke out your eye. I’m used to ordering two doubles, but theirs is about twice the length. You need a plus-​size fridge to store those if you, like I, do not like to break sausages. I managed to store mine in a semi-​loop, but took a LOT of maneuver. The kabanosy themselves are delicious.
If you’re used to Hillshire Farms polish kielbasa, I strongly suggest you taste a piece of these ones before proceding with your usual recipies. This is REAL kielbasa.
Their Mortadella is different from «traditional» mortadella and, frankly, is an improvement. If you know your Slavic cold cuts, this is more like a Lyubitelskaya with the fat deposits more concentrated, rather than spread out. The meat balance is stellar with zero subproduct aftertaste (which always turned me off in Mortadella).
They have a wide selection of pierogies, but I call those «vareniki» and make mine from scratch, so can’t comment on their taste; having said that, they looked legit and when I get lazy but crave them, would have no issues giving theirs a whirl.
A very solid option for Eastern European fare in the City, particularly when you live 2 steps away from the M15 — it stops at their doorstep.
Go!!!

This is a nifty find in the EV! The interior is a very Old Europe-​style meat market, and prices are very, very reasonable. The sausages are excellent across the board, and the pre-​made food is a good bet for a quick lunch.

Delicious cold cuts!!! Made in house, the head cheese (rectangular one) is super rich and fatty with a hit of garlicy saltiness. Ask for it sliced extra extra thin so the fat melts in the heat of your mouth. The krakowska, described to me as a kielbasa ham, was good and meaty but a little pedestrian. The people are so nice and friendly and always ready and willing to explain what something is. Broaden your horizons!
Before leaving, I always like to ask if there is something else they would recommend me to try. I was given a sample of the Veal Loaf. It was round with fatty sides and a meaty center. I was hit by intense garlicky flavor (YUM!) and a little bit of funk (the is this going bad kind of taste). I took these cold cuts to a picnic and it turns out, bees LOVE veal loaf. So, if you are eating it outdoors, beware, the veal loaf brings all the bees to the yard.

Even walking in here on a full stomach from Veselka your nose says find something to eat.
Today they were sampling perogies of all types, stuffed cabbage, blood pudding and so much more. The prices are listed on the board behind the counter. I watched as they cut a prime rib to order. I could just envision that massive piece of meat being cooked and shared between the couple that ordered it… Fantasy land of beef. The beef, the beef.
I so much wanted to take some bacon home, but other city events kept that from happening. There is no way you can just stand outside of this place and just look and not go in. The wonderful smells of the smoky meats call you. They waft thru the door and even if you are full from your meal, a zombie, a vegetarian, or just anti-​bacon or any product of the meat kind… you will be called inside. I don’t know how the dogs pass by without thinking their owner is just torturous by not getting them a snack.
It’s meat perfume to the nose.

The place is truly great. Not many like it left in NYC. Great selection of meats and various cuts as well as prepared foods. Their homemade kielbasa is out of this world (garlic and smoke). Just don’t expect the staff to be super smiley or friendly. It is all about the business. They don’t look like the types that would want to strike up a conversation with you but know their product really well. Last time at the store also bought a poppy seed roll. So so good.

Amazing Ukrainian meats everything from dried kelbasas (kind like non mystery meat beef jerky) to Shunka (ham) to pirogies. I think they do a lot of the producing in house so everything is really fresh. You can ask to try anything and the staff is very friendly. Truly a gem of the Ukrainian east village stores.

For years I thought this was a Polish market, but I recently discovered that its owners are Ukrainian. I shouldn’t be surprised. Nearby there is Veselka and the National Ukrainian home, as well as a Ukrainian museum in the neighborhood. This area had a large Eastern European population.
This is primarily a meat market, but it is also so much more. On its shelves you can find many Eastern European foods, from sweets to mustard to the makings for borscht (and borscht too!). The pierogis here are outstanding. You can also get stuffed cabbage and sauerkraut.
And, yes, let’s not forget the meats. The kielbasa here is outstanding. Also, you can ask them to shrink wrap it for you. Kielbasa tastes great, but it can really stink up your refrigerator (and the smell will give you weird looks on the subway), so the shrink wrapping is very nice. They have various kinds of ham. The Black Forrest ham is especially nice.
The prices here are decent, but it is possible to overspend, because the products here are that great.

The place is a treasure.
I just butterfly and grill the kielbasa, no spices necessary, it’s not like that bland stuff in the supermarkets.
The Easter hams are a popping with flavor.
I don’t know how they do it…

Great selection of Eastern European meats and grocery items. They also have a «stand» inside offering prepared foods to go, all the Ukrainian classics (not sure if it’s just on weekend days but that’s when I go). Prices are good. This place is an institution in the East Village — please support it.

As friendly, or. ya know… not, as you’d expect, but as with any classic butcher shop, the product compensates for it. Came here on a Wednesday because they allegedly carry Lithuanian bread on Wednesdays and Fridays, which they did, in a bag from a supplier. (They also allegedly «make just about everything in house, and it may be best known for its prized selections of hams. Three different types are cured in salt for around four days, and smoked for upwards of seven hours.» «If hams are not your business, the market also makes some of the finest sausages and kielbasa in the city. Butchered and stuffed in house with meat sourced exclusively from a small farm in Pennsylvania, the kielbasa are simultaneously smoked and baked using hickory wood in the back of the store, where employees drink coffee and read Polish newspapers. Regular patrons recommend you eat your links with the house made mustard, so strong it’s hard not to clear your nasal passages after every bite. That mustard is the best in the city, by the way, by leaps and bounds.»

The LAST of its Kind in Manhattan!!!
{BTW– I was
WEANED on this hearty fare!!!}
This is a true Ukranian Butcher shop run & owned by Ukrainians & other Eastern Europeans, where they still know & preserve the
DYING ART OF MAKING HOMEMADE SMOKED GARLICLY UKRANIAN /​POLISH /​CZECH /​SLOVAK SAUSAGE … or
KIELBASA
& not a «WHOLEFOODS/​ARTISIAN» clone!
…next Kielbasa /​Kelbasa/​Kelbasi stop is Steve’s on Nassau St., in Greenpoint, Brooklyn (which is Polish, has more sausage variety, but less other stuff)… beyond that, the only Kielbasa that could be found in California has either been imported from Brooklyn via other intermediates…
or you have to settle with the gross & disgusting Hillshire crap, or its variants filled with Nitrates in your local crappy supermarket.
Decades ago, before the GREAT RECESSION, before million dollar apts., before $ 30k/​mo rents for a humble storefront, when I in my twenties & lived on 20^th street & 1^st. Ave. in
RENT CONTROLLED 1 Bedroom APT. for only $ 360/​mo !!!
I frequently walked over to either this Butcher, or its brethren… or even the many Ukranian or Polish Restaurants that used to litter then East Village on 1^st or 2^nd avenues. There were also tons of cheap BYOB Indian places on 9^th & a bargain basement Cheese Shop which had a huge 10lb. wheel of French Brie, for only ten dollars.
Anyway, fast forward to the «Blade Runner» Dystopic Nightmare of NYC present, and you can still find the Olé Eastern European comfort food of the past made & preserved in this
HISTORIC CULINARY SANCTUARY!!! Thank the lord!
I had travelled anywhere from 3,000 to 6,000 miles to get this kind of food in the past (since it definitely do NOT exist in Hawaii, & it is not made in CA either).
While the Kielbasa is a knock out, they do have a good select of other Eastern European goodies to satisfy your craving for
HEAD CHEESE,
BLOOD SAUSAGE,
PIEROGIES,
POPPYSEED CAKE,
UKRANIAN BREADS,
POLISH MUSTARD,
OTHER MEATS/​SALAMI,
ETC.
~~~~~~~
REMEMBER IF THE
KIELBASA IS NOT HANGING FRESH
LIKE A CHINESE DUCK IN CHINATOWN…
THEN YOU ARE NOT GETTING THE REAL DEAL!!!
This past 2014 Thanksgiving, I travelled 3,000 miles to get the real deal from here & also the real deal Andre’s Hungarian Pastries (ohhh the yummy Dobos Cake) from up north near 85^th & 2^nd Ave… to bring to my poor invalid mom via Taxi to Sheepshead Bay Brooklyn.
That was to be her last great Eastern European/​Slovak style meal before she went into a Coma, only to suffer first in Coney Island Hospital, then in NYU Medical Center, & then undergo a pathetic version of Nursing Home neglect & «Rehab» in Brooklyn… where she is very likely to spend her last days eating pureed crap, & not
YUMMY KIELBASA from the WONDEROUS
EAST VILLAGE MEAT MARKET !!!
THANKS FOR MAKING MY MOM HAPPY !!!
BLESS YOU!!!

I just got a porterhouse steak for the first time from this meat shop and it was absolutely delicious.
I salute the butchers there cause they delivered the goods and are friendly .
I’ll see you guys soon.
I recommend the porterhouse if your looking for quality.

Love the veal sausages, so light and fluffy. Love the garlic sausages, I can’t stop eating them! Slab bacon is great too for those who like thick cut bacon.
Great ambience with all the loyal Ukrainian clients and of course Ukrainian staff. Just wish hours were longer. But good to know old school east village still exists.

Friendly staff, even let me park my bike in the store near the front because I forgot my lock…
The sliced ham here is awesome. They have Polish food available for sale too, like Pierogies (were okay, nothing to write home about).

Friendly staff and authentic Polish and Ukrainian essential products including the sausages. Will definitely come again.