Swiacki Meats

3623 Salmon Street
Philadelphia, PA 19134
215-634-0820
215-634-5456
Website

I was recently contacted by the much loved Swiacki meats about an article I had written a couple of years ago. They wanted me to try some new products, and invited me up for a visit. I was obviously flattered and got there as soon as schedules permitted.

This place is tucked away in Polish-centric Port Richmond and is, without doubt, a true Philadelphia treasure.

If you want any sort of Polish meat product, don't fear, you've come to the right place. Old school and friendly, it's the kind of place I hope is around for perpetuity.

One thing to note is the difference between fresh sausage and smoked sausage. The fresh should be boiled for about 10-15 minutes then grilled, while the smoked version can be kept whole or (preferably) sliced up the middle to create a flap and thrown on a (charcoal) grill.

The "hot and cheesy" are a new item, and they were my absolute favorites. I mean, spicy, smokey, cheesy sausage is impossible to beat.

This is Eddie, who contacted me with the invite. He said that some readers told them about my initial review, and it drove them there. That makes me about as happy as I can possibly get, truthfully. Eddie is an amazing guy, who took the time to show me where the magic happens, while slicing off tasting samples of meat right out of the smoker. The fact that it was around 10am was irrelevant, and my hangover was (almost) instantly cured.

Below are the smoking racks with freshly smoked kielbasa ropes just hanging around. It's a good thing Eddie was there because I would have been mighty embarrassed to be caught trying to smuggle these out to my car.

This is the meat grinder. It is from another time, that has long since past, and they have to get an old school machinist do the maintenance and repairs. This thing is literally irreplaceable and so majestic. Simply amazing.

What do you use to mix ungodly amounts of freshly ground meat? Answer: this thing. Just awesome. It means so much that the rich history of Swiacki's authenticity is present in everything that they do - from the equipment all the way through to the personal interaction.

Here is Eddie giving instructions as to how things should be reheated, including the insanely good pierogies (available with fillings from farmers cheese to cheesesteak) and the ready-to-bake frozen golumpkis.

They even have lunch meats like fresh smoked ham and freaking kielbasa loaf. Yes.

From left, smoked kielbasa, skinny spicy cheese, and regular spicy cheese.

I can't say enough about this place. It is truly Polish heaven. Many thanks to Eddie and the staff for an amazing visit and for the generous sampling of products. Please, go here and see for yourself.

Czerw's

3370 Tilton St.
Philadelphia, PA  19134
(215) 423-1707

Website

When approaching Czerw's (pronounced shev's), it looks like someone opened a Kielbasa shop in a North Philly garage. Well, that's pretty much the case, except it happened long ago, and they crank out (no pun intended) some of the best meats and pierogies I have ever tasted.


I was originally expecting a takeout kind of place, and although that may be the case, it sure didn't seem to be the day I meandered in. No big deal. I went with the cheesesteak pierogies, buffalo chicken pierogies, hot sausage sticks and traditional kielbasa.



The inside of this place is bare and utilitarian, with a healthy smattering of old-school Polock. I loved it. The guy working was friendly and recommended the piergoi's (cheesesteak and buffalo chicken) while I picked out the meats. He said those were the most popular 'rogies, so I figured they were worth a shot. They also happened to be filled with two of my favorite ingredients, so I was secretly happy to try such new-fangled stuffings, of an old Polish treat without feeling guilty for passing on the sauerkraut and potato, etc. (which I also love and will be back for).



Since we couldn't eat this things immediately, we retired to the Polish fortress of solitude, aka New Wave Cafe. Once here, we immediately ordered a round of Lech, some white borscht (so, so, good) and what else, kielbasa!



They deep fry their basy, which renders it crispy, dark and absolutely delicious. Served with a few fried onions, some Polish mustard and a couple slices of rye bread, and I was in heaven.


The pierogies, ALMOST made it a full 24 hours (I was eating mounds of Thanksgiving leftovers), and then they were fried up with some onions and spicy beef stick, in a healthy smattering of butter. All I can say is, wow. The dough was terrific, light, fluffy and a perfect vessel not gluey and heavy like can often happen with these delicate dumplings.


The buffalo chicken pockets, consisting of ground chicken and buffalo sauce were dipped in blue cheese dressing, and a bit of my own buffalo sauce. While the cheesesteak version, which contained steak meat, cheese and, a bit of onion, were served with a side of fried onions and ketchup. Delicious.