Wurst Behavior in Irving Park pays homage to Polish tradition with housemade kielbasa
A Family Legacy
Until he was 18, Artur “Art” Wnorowski would visit his family’s farm in Poland, where for three months he would help his grandfather harvest grains, beans and potatoes, butcher pigs and smoke kielbasa in the basement smoker.
The smoker was connected to the clay kitchen on the main floor, filling the entire house with the aroma of kielbasa.
“Being there in the summertime for the harvest season and making sausage was a part of everyday living, smoking ham, surviving,” Wnorowski said. “That was fun. I didn’t think much about it while we were doing it. It was just Grandpa making sausages.”
A New Venture
That tradition is on display at Wurst Behavior, 4009 N. Elston Ave. in Irving Park, which Wnorowski and his wife and partner Gosia Pieniazek opened last fall. The couple also own Pierogi Kitchen in Wicker Park, where the housemade kielbasa was almost as popular as the eponymous homemade dumplings.
That got Wnorowski thinking they could start exploring different kinds of sausages, like brats and hot dogs, which star in dishes such as the Nashville Hot Chicken (fried chicken sausage, pickles, coleslaw and aioli) and Pierogi Dog (potato and cheese pierogi, kraut, onion and sour cream).
At the heart of it all is the kielbasa, the foundation for all of the encased meats. The Irving Park restaurant pays homage to not just the partners’ Polish culture but also the Old World butcher shop traditions that Chicago was known for in the 1950s (photos of different shops adorn the restaurant walls), and offerings like the Chicago Dog are nods to their second home.
The Kielbasa
To perfect the kielbasa, Wnorowski called in the pros: his family. The keeper of the family recipe is his aunt, who texted it to his mom, who texted it to him, he recalled as he showed this reporter a photo of a yellow piece of paper with the recipe written in Polish (sorry, the exact measurements are a secret).
Making the kielbasa starts with pork shoulder that’s ground in-house, the fat and meat ground separately before being mixed together for emulsification, according to Wnorowski, who said it’s all about the ratios, ensuring the proper amount of salt, pepper and garlic to add to the 16½ pounds of ground pork shoulder.
The meat is cured overnight for “extra kick and flavor” before it’s stuffed into natural casings. The kielbasa is smoked for an hour and a half over pecan wood, which Wnorowski prefers because it imparts a sweet and nutty flavor to the sausage, then poached and cooled. The sausage is grilled and served on a toasted bun with caramelized onions, hazy IPA mustard and sport peppers.
A Polish-American Fusion
Pieniazek said the food the restaurant serves is Polish American, not 100% Polish food but inspired by the fare the couple grew up with, incorporating diverse culinary traditions from their love of cooking and dining out.
Both immigrated to the United States for school, Pieniazek for high school and Wnorowski for college. Wnorowski graduated with a degree in finance from the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign. They met in 2006 at a Polish hip hop festival and got married in 2008.
That’s when they pivoted to the hospitality industry as the recession upended their careers. Their love of food inspired them to open their first restaurant, Lokal, in 2009. Ella’s BBQ, Earl’s BBQ and Mas Tacos followed. In January 2024, Wnorowski and Pieniazek returned to their Polish roots, opening Pierogi Kitchen.
It’s important for them to preserve their culture because “we might be the last generation that could do it,” Wnorowski said. “We came from Poland in our youth. We grew up there, but we also grew up here as well.”
Conclusion
Wurst Behavior is located at 4009 N Elston Ave in Chicago’s Irving Park neighborhood.
FAQs
* What is Wurst Behavior?
Wurst Behavior is a restaurant in Irving Park that pays homage to Polish tradition with housemade kielbasa.
* What is kielbasa?
Kielbasa is a type of Polish sausage, typically made from pork shoulder, and smoked or cured.
* What kind of kielbasa does Wurst Behavior serve?
Wurst Behavior serves a housemade kielbasa made with pork shoulder, salt, pepper, and garlic, smoked over pecan wood.
* How do I get to Wurst Behavior?
Wurst Behavior is located at 4009 N Elston Ave in Chicago’s Irving Park neighborhood.
