Profile

The Eastern European flavor of the East Village may be a sentimental remnant of days gone by, but Julian Baczynsky's meat market remains steadfast and true to Old World tastes. The delicatessen's single wall of shelves is stocked with Ukrainian and Polish essentials like cherry jam, kasha, and borscht mix. A small refrigerator holds a few cheeses, packaged pirogi, and some herring, but the main attraction here is the well-stocked meat counter, loaded with lamb, veal, pork, and beef, carved and dressed by the shop's full-service butcher. Pungent garlands of garlic, beer, and kabanosy sausages hang by the door and lure a steady stream of Slavophiles. In the deli meat selection, country ham is a firmly textured, fuchsia slice of heaven. If there's a better slice of ham in New York, it's hard to imagine where. Homemade blueberry blintzes and poppy seed rolls more than hold their own against the meaty specialties. Like all good potato pancakes, EVMM&D's hearty version leaves continent-shaped grease marks on the deli paper. New arrivals to the neighborhood may have only limited need for jellied pig feet, but it's somehow reassuring just to know they're close by. — Ethan Wolff