One vibrant ethnic community in Cleveland has that was not really present in Chicago is Slovenian! You can even get a Cleveland Slovenian pride T-shirt! However, where Slovenians apparently make their presence known in Cleveland in sausage-making. There are several places in Cleveland to get traditional Slovenian sausage, as well as at an annual Slovenian sausage fest.
The most famous Slovenian sausage is called Klobasa and is similar to the more familiar Kielbasa. Klobasa is a smoked sausage made primarily made of pork, garlic and sometimes a bit of bacon. Some varieties of klobasa may even contain cheese. We sampled some Slovenian sausage for the first time at J & J Czuchraj Meats in the venerable West Side Market (1979 W 25th St, Cleveland, OH 44113). This stand in particular has gotten a lot of accolades and outside notice for its smoked sausages, and we were impressed by the quality when we stopped by.
However, J & J Czuchraj Meats is not the only game in town, another fine purveyor of local Slovenian sausage is Raddell’s (klobasa pictured above) on the far east side of Cleveland (478 E 152nd St., Cleveland, OH 44110) in North Collinwood. You can even purchase the smoked sausages to ship right to your door! Another benefit of Raddell’s is that they serve amazing Potica/Povitica, Eastern European nut bread. Azman’s (6501 Saint Claire Ave. Cleveland Ohio 44103) is another purveyor of Klobasa, and they walked away with the 2015 title at the Slovenian sausage festival. Where is your favorite Slovenian sausage made in Cleveland?
Eating The World 