Driggs Meat Market

potato kishke (potato sausage) is amazing. It’s the best mashed potatoes with bacon you’ve ever had encased. That little chew adds a third flavor dimension. I haven’t tried all of the items yet, mostly due to shyness… my favorites are the double smoked ham and spicy sausage.

I just happened to be in the area for a business trip and found this place by accident. First bite of the double smoke sausage and I couldn’t stop eating. So flavorful and with that smoky meaty pork fragrance, it makes you feel like in heaven. The owners are super nice! Make sure you bring enough cash so you won’t miss anything you want to try! Believe it or not, I probably bought 8 pounds of sausages to bring back to Cali with me. It is just THAT GOOD!

I have lived on the same block as DMM for over 20 years, and they are no secret for me any longer. They know me by name and I order fresh (raw) and smoked (ready to eat) kielbasa, and their Polish ham regularly. I also take home their dirt cheap stuffed cabbage for a simple very hearty meal, the chicken soup, the beans and pork, and of course, the potato kishke. Josef and Danuta, the owners, are unfailingly cheerful, Robert and Ana and the butchers (one of them is Janus) are all very sweet people. They are a very popular place around here, and I have compared their smoked kielbasa to quite a few others in this Polish neighborhood, theirs is my favorite. Just enough spice and smokiness, crunch and softness, pork meat and pork fat.

I’ve really come to love having this place in my neighborhood. I avoided it for a while just because I felt out of place there being obviously not Polish and a little bewildered about what to order, but it’s so convenient I decided to give it another shot recently and have been going back often ever since. The older woman who seems to be one of the owners is really helpful and always answers all our random questions about what this or that is, though sometimes it can be a bit hard to translate. Now I usually ask for beef or pork and tell her what I’m planning to use it for and she seems to pick a good cut. I also love that if you ask for ground meat they’ll do it for you to order.
Also, the older man who often runs the cash register has been so sweet since he noticed my baby bump and gives me Polish caramels (one for me and one for the baby) when I go to pay. How nice is that?
They also have a good selection of Polish and Czech beers that my husband likes.
It’s really the kind of neighborhood experience you don’t get much these days.

This place is fantastic. Super nice polish couple that runs it and they have a great selection of authentic meats. Give them a try, but make sure to bring cash.

Really cool mom and pop joint that has great food and it’s dirt cheap

Potato kishke is to die for!!! It looks like a kielbasa that is encased in a bratwurst casing. Once you take a bite, an orchestra of flavors emerges when you taste the potato, a hint of pork, as well as some sauerkraut. It is a must buy if you ever set foot into this store.

This place has a great selection of meats and cheeses… All in all, a great deli experience.
Definitely try the ‘Fish in Greek Sauce’ It’s great for breakfast, lunch, dinner, really any time you would eat something.

Love this place. This is where you go for authentic Polish bacon, sausage, meats, cheeses, pickles, some prepared foods, miscellaneous kitchen goods and condiments and some basic bodega fare like cigarettes. Very nice people, though you might not think so if you’re unfamiliar with the Polish disposition.

If you’ve ever heard the term, «A kick in the kishke,» you know it’s probably painful regardless of if you know what the word kishke actually means. And if you’ve ever actually been kicked in the kishkes, I am sorry for you.
I hate to make these connections, but kishke means guts. And that’s basically what you stuff meat into when it comes to making a sausage. But I think it’s important to call food what it is, you know?
And I appreciate that the Polish call the thing what it is. A kishke is a sausage stuffed with meat and some sort of grain. In the case of the potato kishke on my list, it’s a combo of pork and potato.
I ventured in the snow to get this from Driggs Meat Market after reading about it in Time Out. This place is a little Polish deli/​butcher shop in Greenpoint. I immediately asked for the potato kishke and the owner was impressed and surprised. He seemed excited that this All-​American bearded man was buying one of his favorite Polish sausages. And he was pretty confident I would love it and be back soon.
Well, he was half right. I did love it. And I would definitely go back soon, but Greenpoint is not an area I find myself in too often. So it might be a while before I return.
I bought the huge link and brought it home. It was only $ 4.50 a pound and this was enough for at least three meals. It didn’t look like the most appetizing sausage. It was long and thick and looked almost like a sea creature. Or a tiny pair of stuffed ladies’ stockings. Don’t ask, just look at the picture.
But when I cut into, the presentation no longer mattered. This was a really unique and hearty sausage. The main flavor was potato — it almost tasted mashed. There was just a hint of pork which added texture and smokiness. The sausage had lots of pop and was incredibly juicy. I brought mustard to the table just in case (I love mustard with sausages) but this sausage needed nothing.
It was an interesting mild sausage with lots of hearty, warming flavors. It warmed the kishkes, which is a lot better than being kicked there, believe me.
–eatthisny

I read a blog today about a disappearing butcher shop on Jeremiah’s Vanishing NY (
). Luckily this spot is not in any danger of disappearing — if the G train is good for anything it is good for resisting gentrification. I used to live down the street from this Polish butcher shop, and remember it fondly so it deserves a nice review here on Unilocal.
They have all sorts of kielbasas, sausages, even fresh pickles in addition to all the standard butcher shop fare. I used to buy ham for ham and egg sandwiches on weekends and also fresh ground beef for making stews (spinach, kidney bean, shallots, ground beef and lots of fresh lime juice YUM) and baked ziti’s and bolognese (sp?) sauce (YUM). They’ve also got lots of polish candies and grocery items like those boxes of peach nectar (YUM), worth mentioning even though you can find these all around the neighborhood.
The service here is polite and straightforward. Sometimes there are shy polish girls working the butcher block. They’re actually kinda cute, or at least as cute as a girl can be wearing a butchers apron covered in blood. The proprietor is a gruff older polish man who I’ve actually never successfully had much of a conversation with. Inevitably he will ask you as you are paying… ‘Some bread! No?’ Even though grammatically it is in the form of a question, I usually feel like it is more of a command and oblige by buying a few rolls. They’re actually quite good.
I should also mention that the prices on everything here are very reasonable. I like to think this is due to the fact that this place has been here for many years and they’re looking out for the best interests of the community and not just themselves. All the more reason to shop here if you live on this end of Driggs by McGorlick Park.