D.S.D. Delicatessen & Imports, Inc.

The other day, I jammed a bunch of places into one post 'cause my taste memories were fading. While I have great recall within a few days of a meal, I am no James Beard, remembering every meal ever. It might have been then or never. The compilation post, however, did little justice to the great experience at Le Coq in Oak Park, and even less justice to D.S.D. deli on Lawrence.

As I work my way through my D.S.D. purchases, I am becoming convinced that these may be the best sausages in Chicago. Shockingly good. The texture of the salami impresses me the most. In the mouth it just does not seem like sausage. Somehow, in their sausage making process, they figured out how to fit the meat and fat together like a jig saw puzzle, so that the texture remains entirely solid and compact. Papaya King in New York calls its hot dogs filet mignon on a bun, but D.S.D.'s salami comes down right close to being real meat. If the garlic salami is silk, the dry sausage tube (I apologize I have no idea what these things are called in Serbian, I ordered by sight and taste-test) is Harris tweed, a rough amalgamation of chunks held together by an incredible amount of smoke. As Wiv would say, 2 hours later, you're burping it back. I'm very anxious to return to this place.

3818 W. Lawrence, Chicago.