Paprikash under new ownership

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

While Bende may distribute Hungarian foods, isn't it also a producer of Hungarian sausage? The Vernon Hills is a company store where they also produce their sausages. I was there once, though the posted hours indicated it should be opened, it was closed. I advise phoning ahead at least to the Vernon Hills location.

Bende Inc
925 Corporate Woods Parkway
Vernon Hills, IL 60061
847-913-0304

They do produce their sausage at the Vernon Hills location. They distribute it to other Hungarian stores across the US (Otto's is one that comes to mind) and also local deli's. You can also find a selection of their products at places like Bobak's. The hours at their Vernon Hills location are a lot shorter than the hours at their strictly retail location in Glen Ellyn.


The Vernon Hills location seems to change their hours arbitrarily. The location in Glen Ellyn has only been open for a few months. It doesn't however carry strictly Hungarian only products. They had a variety of different European chocolates, cookies, teas and beers. They have a deli counter there with samples of the salami and bacon out for you to try. They have a nice selection of Tokaji wines which are some of my favorites. They also have quite the selection of preserves (we like the rose hip, quince and sour cherry), syrups for drinks, and preserved pickles and vegetables.

I also like the 'fresh' Paprika that they carry called Eros Pista. It's nice to add into stews and soups for a little kick. They also have a very tasty eggplant spread called Ajvar which is eggplant, red peppers and garlic, it comes in hot and mild and it's very good over bread or toast. They also have Lecso which a lot of people refer to as Hungarian Salsa. It's tomatos, with peppers and onions. It's nice to eat over noodles, farmers cheese and sour cream. It's also nice as a sandwich spread.

The one thing that they don't carry is the fresh Garlic Sausage. You can find that particular item at a deli in the city called Lalich. I would recommend calling in advance to make sure they have it. I haven't been in there since sometime in August when I bought a big batch and froze it. I know that they make it fresh usually twice a week. They do sell in large quantities when my brother in law visited from DC he took 1000 pieces home with him over ice.

Lalich Delicatessens
4208 W Lawrence Ave, Chicago, IL 60630
773-545-3642