Category Archive: dry goods

March 9th, 2010
post by tamalechica | | Closed

Post Office Service, the bad and the good

Complaining about lousy Post Office Service is nothing novel, and now I join the ranks of the masses in doing so.

My favorite Post Office location is not in my zipcode, but is a short walking distance from where I live. It’s the little station over on Montrose near Damen. Normally I have always liked that station, and I still do.

For many years, most of the time I’ve always had excellent service. There were a few years where all three windows were handled by clearly some of the best postal workers around: conscientious, helpful, friendly, sharp. Yes, sharp.

Many of the others have left, and for a short while we were back to two really good people. For awhile they brought on this incredibly dark and nasty, rude and creepy woman who must have been a real joy for everyone to work with. After about 1-2 months she moved out, and then they brought another lady in. She was very good, but before any of us customers got too comfortable with having 3 great postal workers again, they moved her out and brought the slow one in.

My first encounter with ‘tso’ was when I needed to mail a package and she told me it would be almost $8 to ship. I told her to ship it First Class because it was light enough to do so. She gave me this dull, empty look and said, ‘What makes you think you can ship it like that?!!!” Fortunately, before she could refuse my request, the guy in the next station had to stop what he was doing, come over and show her how to use the system so it would bring up all the shipping options, not just what she keyed in. For an experienced postal worker, not knowing how to do this seemed rather alarming. And the item shipped for under $3.00

Yesterday I brought in a package to be mailed, and somehow I forgot to put the zipcode on the label. Unfortunately she was the window that I ended up at. She stared at the package and shoved it back to me and flat out said, “I can’t do anything with this, there’s no zipcode, bring it back when you have one.” since I was at the Post Office, duh, I asked her if she could look it up. “NO, YOU HAVE TO DO THAT. I DON’T HAVE A WAY TO DO THAT.” Okay, maybe it’s just me, but doesn’t it seem a little ridiculous that the Post Office refuses to look up a zipcode for an address for a customer? And then they wonder why their revenues have taken a drop, ay yai yai.

Fortunately she had to go in the back for something, and one of the two conscientious employees there had an open window, so I asked him if there’s a way to get a zipcode. He looked it up for me and wrote it on the package, and I ended up finishing the transactions with him. Nothing makes you appreciate a helpful, conscientious, good worker even more than dealing with someone who clearly does not want to do anything that is touching the bare minimum of her job.

As maddening as it is from the consumer side, during the busy times at this station, I’m sure the other two regulars are less than thrilled to have to carry someone who really doesn’t seem to even want to be there. In this job market, this type of attitude and the ability for someone to be gainfully employed with this type of attitude seems like it should be a relic of a different day. If this were a private enterprise, I’d say give raises to the other two.

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civil, concientious, dry goods, employees, montrose, poor, service, USPS
November 17th, 2009
post by tamalechica | | Closed

Gene’s Sausage Shop and Delicatessen

The long awaited Gene’s Sausage Shop has opened, and it has been worth the wait. Quite frankly, never having been to their long standing store on west Belmont Avenue, and having tried to squeeze in the old Meyer’s Delicatessen which was partly in the same location, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I can tell you this – from the time I walked into the store until the time I left, everything I saw and every employee that I spoke to left me with the feeling that had I had expectations, they would have been exceeded in every way. The selection of food will surprise and delight you if this is your first visit, although based on my experience, I am sure this store staffed with warm and friendly employees will continue to surprise and delight their soon to be regular customers.

One of the first things you’ll see when you walk through the door is the predominantly displayed homage to Meyer’s Delicatessen, which was home to Lincoln Square in this area for many, many years. For anyone who is not familiar with this institution, the owner’s decision to keep this signage is nothing short of smart business, as it pays respect to a long standing institution and says in it’s own inimitable way, “We want to be good neighbors and we’re here to stay.” As anyone knows, signage in of itself is not enough, but by the time I left Gene’s, I not only knew I’d be back but I was impressed with the store, both from the consumer side and as a business development professional.

One of the reasons I feature many small businesses on The Tamale Chica Chronicles is because I just happen to love small businesses, which under the SBA definition is a business with 500 or less people. Small businesses have the ability to be for responsive, and more flexible to change, and are the cornerstone of neighborhood economies. I was so pleased with my visit that I decided to shuffle my schedule around to post this story about them, which should also make a few friends very pleased since the “When is Gene’s opening?” question has been a common one.

When you first walk through the doors, the atmospherics feel light and airy, and you’re also hit by a medley of delicious smells. Besides the Meyer’s sign, it’s hard not to notice this beautiful skylight. It’s huge, and despite it being an overcast fall day, plenty of daylight came through it. In the second photo, you can see the lovely detailing of the ceiling, as well. Much of the beauty of this older building has been both restored and the design detail has created a warm, upbeat and fun shopping environment.

Before I browsed and bought on the first floor, I proceeded upstairs. To your left and directly at the top landing, there are a selection of wines and liquors. To your right you will find dry goods.

The dry goods on the second floor is where I was “stuck” for awhile, pouring over the selection of jams, preserves and honey. One of the things that I love about ethnic stores of both European and Latin American varieties is that they usually sell foodstuffs that are not laden with additives, preservatives and other “junk.” Gene’s was no exception, and their inventory clearly shows a commitement to unprocessed food items. The store also has some organic food items which are integrated by product type. Gene’s also has an excellent selection of cooking oils and interesting mustards. I purchased a yellow smoky mustard with onions.

While I’m usually not a huge fan of boxed cookies, I succumbed and purchased these Artisan Biscuits which are made in England. I’ve had these before via mail order and they are top notch quality, with no preservatives and are made from whole wheat.

Finally back on the main floor, my first thoughts were how so many of the food items would make interesting gifts for the holidays.

Okay, so maybe you aren’t thinking of putting pickles in someones Christmas stocking, but seeing all these got me excited since I love a good pickle with a home made sandwich.

The store has much wider butter selection than you see here, including one with extraordinarily high butterfat made in England.

Besides fresh produce, the Gene’s also has a fresh meat department, deli food and freshly made desserts. The meats looked great, and I will have to look into their selection further. And yes, you can also purchase artisan sausages there. One of their employees told me that the Belmont location has facilities for smoking all their home made sausages.
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The most difficult part of visiting the deli section is deciding what you want! Fortunately for me, Miss Cindy T gave me a few tamales up on the latkes and the stuffed cabbage, so I ordered enough for today’s lunch and dinner, plus two Swedish meatballs with dill. Having had the first two for lunch, I can say that I concur, the deli food is excellent.
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As a consumer who has food issues with preservatives and artificial ingredients, I’ve avoided deli food unless it was from Whole Foods or a smaller ethnic store where the ingredients tend to be made from scratch rather than from pre-made, mass produced sauces or the like. It’s been enough time since I’ve had their deli food to say that I have had no odd side effects that I get when there are food additives. I am craving more, however, so I will definitely be back to this department.
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If you don’t have applesauce or sour cream at home, don’t forget to buy some at the store. I’m not sure if they have either since I’m still suffering from my cold so I was more than spacey and missed a few items that I even took photos of. If you don’t see it, don’t be afraid to ask. Everyone there is very helpful and friendly.

At the front of the store, next to the deli section are the pastries. Personally I got all jazzed just thinking that I can get some good paczki’s when they are out, so I was very pleased to see the nice assortment of elegant pastries. Apparently I was more than pleased, because through my cold suffering brain and eyes, I didn’t see the pies and didn’t realize they had cakes there, too. Okay, I did see the tiramisu but I was transfixed by the coconut cheese cake.
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In case you are wondering why there’s no cover, the man at the pastry area was nice enough to open it up for me so I wouldn’t get a glare from the lighting. Everyone at Gene’s was very nice, but I have to give special props to Mr. Pastry – his enthusiasm for the company and the food was genuine and a great sales point towards wanting to come back to try other items. There was a larger than life cannoli in the case. I was pondering it, since normally I don’t like cannoli. He commented that the cannoli was good, and that he normally doesn’t like cannoli but they use ricotta in theirs.
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I’ve done a little sample of both these pastries, and I do have to concur, Mr. Pastry was not overstating how good their cannoli is. I’ve lived in Chicago all my life, and I have to say that this was the first store bought cannoli that I actually liked!
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Now for that other little goodie that I purchased. I forgot the name of this, but it is a cheesecake type of dessert, with lemon and coconut. It’s light, sweet, and if you like coconut and lemon, this is your dessert! Both of these were recommendations by Mr. Pastry. I love food stores who hire people who love good food and don’t just look at their employment as a job, and he, along with other employees, certainly embodied the passion of foodies.

As I was leaving, I was chatting with the check out gal and she commented how Gene’s is a neighborhood place and their selection provides fresh food in a manner where people can shop there every day, just like they would do in Europe. Indeed! I know that I will be back, only next time I won’t be carrying bags from Walgreens with me. And for those of you who love beer and love outdoor gardens, by Spring they hope to have their rooftop outdoor beer garden open.
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Gene’s Sausage Shop is more than a store about sausages. This is a grocery store offering fresh, prepared and dry goods for the foodie, food for those who love to cook, those who love to just eat, and anyone looking for a great food shopping experience. For those of us that live in Lincoln Square, Gene’s is a much needed addition to the neighborhood, its intriguing and uncommon food offerings can give your meal planning a bit of a lift and a nice pick-up.
Gene’s Sausage Shop & Delicatessen, Inc.
4750 N. Lincoln Avenue
773 / SAUSAGE
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bakery, deli food, dry goods, fresh foods, Gene's Sausage Shop, Grocery store, lincoln square, meat market, specialty foods

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