Al’s Quality Market is an old school Eastern European butcher and sausage maker in downtown Barberton, Ohio. If you are looking for ethnic sausage made the old fashioned way, you need to check out Al’s. Their motto is worn proudly on their t-shirts: “It’s all about the sausage.”
And, if thinking about that sausage makes you hungry, stop at Al’s Corner Restaurant, located right around the corner from the market. The restaurant only serves lunch, from 11AM to 2PM on weekdays. Hot and mild Hungarian sausage, stuffed cabbage, chicken paprikash, pierogies, cabbage and dumplings…I couldn’t decide, so I got it all with their sampler platter.
*Lisa Abraham at the Akron Beacon Journal did a great writeup on Al’s last year. Check it out: Old World Flavors [ohio.com]
Al’s Quality Market
151 2nd Street Northwest
Barberton, OH 44203
Phone:330-753-7216
Hours:
Tuesday to Friday: 9 – 5:30
Saturday: 8 to 4
My top five list of favorite things they sell are, in no particular order:
- Smoked sausage: This is the star attraction at Al’s; they make and smoke their own sausages. Hungarian, Slovene, Slovak, Polish, Spanish Chorizo, and chicken sausages.
- Fresh sausage: They also make fresh Hungarian, Italian sweet, and Country sausage. I take it back – maybe this is the star attraction.
- Full service butcher: Want a whole strip loin roast, cut to order, and packaged for freezing? Sure, Al’s can do that.
- Other Eastern European ingredients: Egg noodles in a variety of sizes, refrigerated sauerkraut, and their own smoked paprika are the highlights in their collection of authentic ingredients for Eastern European cooking.
- Smoked dog treats: As I was leaving, I noticed a bin by the door – If you want to bring something home for Fido, they have smoked beef bones and pig skin dog treats.
Here’s the map:
Related posts:
My list of Ethnic and Gourmet stores in the Akron, OH area.
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Mike — I went to Al’s for the first time the week before Christmas. Bought a wonderful pork rib roast. A couple days in a dry brine, and roasted on butternut squash and onion chunks…the best pork I have ever made.
Walking into Al’s was like a step back in time. The aroma of all that sausage — wow! The creaky old wooden floors. The sight of the huge meat grinder churning out amazing looking pork for sausage.
Besides the roast I bought several of the sausages. All outstanding.
Thanks for posting this — it’s a reminder I need to go back!
How’s the cookbook going?
@John K:
I was just there (again) a few days ago, looking for pork trotters for Pozole. Of course, I had to pick up ten pounds of smoked sausages while I was there…
The cookbook is coming along, but slower than I would like. Life has been getting in the way, unfortunately…
Anyone know their hours?
No, I don’t. I’ll check the next time I stop by.