Bende, Inc. Vernon Hills, IL • Glen Ellyn, IL
925 Corporate Woods Pkwy.
Vernon Hills, IL 60061
847.913.0306
http://www.bende.com

444 Roosevelt Rd.
Glen Ellyn, IL 60137
630.469.6525

Four Faces of Bende - Great Hungarian and Eastern European Grocery Store

In Short
Bende products can be found throughout the US in all kinds of European shops. Familiar to most shoppers will be their famous Teli and Csabai salamis and Karaj Smoked Boneless Pork Loin, though they actually make quite a bit more you might recognize.

Their main store, from where most products are shipped nationwide, is more of a factory outlet. It is set back into an industrial park and can be tricky to find. However, their new Glen Ellyn shop has a classy, trendy appeal. In both stores, a wide selection of Hungarian wines and liquors can be found.

In Detail
Bende has three faces, or four, depending how you count. They sell a range of products in their stores, online, and through many European grocery stores (Polish, Greek, Croatian and others).

* Bende Sausages (and other products they produce)
First and foremost in our home, we buy their Teli and Csabai szalami, which are more or less like regular salami. It is not as good as the difficult to find Pick salami, but it fills the gap. In second place is their karaj smoked pork loin. Their other products include jellies and preserves, pickled salad (my wife loves these), branded pasta and noodles. However, it is their sausage which can be found nationwide and is known to most people who have entered European stores like Bobak's.

* Bende's Grocery Stores
Vernon Hills and Glen Ellyn, both in Illinois.

We have been to both. The Vernon Hills location has a few more wine selection but otherwise carries the same products. It is an outlet store, adjacent to their production facility. Located in a corporate and industrial park, it is easy to pass while looking for the building.

The much nicer of the two stores is their Glen Ellyn, IL facility, built in an old furniture store. Clean, with a look as sophisticated as its exotic Eastern European offerings. Bende's own products are there, available prepackaged and in portions with an on-site deli. The staff is largely Hungarian, adding to the strength of the store's authenticity.

As far as alcohol is concerned, find Tokaji, palinka, and Egri Bikaver.

Although it is not a standard grocery store, like Jewel or Dominick's, it caters to locals looking to pick up a few staples. The best of this is milk, with a gallon being as inexpensive as regular grocers.

New additions include Austrian pastries (including dobos torta), Trapista sajt (Trappist cheese), turo (farmer's cheese), and a growing range of candy. They have, of course, Milka, Sport, and szelet, but there is also a great selection of marzipan and other chocolates. So far, no Turo Rudi or Szamba, but we can hope.

* Bende's website
Their homepage is their weakest link, but, luckily, it is good enough. As listed below, they offer most of what their stores sell, except for alcohol and the items, like milk, which are difficult to ship. The site's weakness is that is lacks the ease of online purchasing as found on sites like Amazon.com.

The splash page is designed with Flash, and slows the customer's experience. Finding products and ordering them is not hindered. It just takes longer with fewer of the bells and whistles of a major e-commerce site.

I fully recommend Bende.

From their website:

"Throughout Europe, Hungarian Salami is the best known and considered by many to be the most savory of all. Hungarian Brand Salami is made right here in the USA, where we try to continue that tradition of Old World Flavor while combining it with the very highest standards of quality. Have we succeeded? People who have tried it, say yes, they like it better than the "original". We invite you to be the judge."

See Hungarian restaurant directory and also Hungarian Grocery Directory for Illinois and Chicago area restaurants and grocery stores.

That Hungarian's in My Kitchen : 125 Hungarian/American Recipes
Linda F. Radke, Sylvia Mednick Weiss (Introduction), Mary E. Hawkins (Editor)
Paperback - 179 pages 4th edition (July 1997)

Hungarian Cookbook: Old World Recipes for New World Cooks
Yolanda Nagy Fintor
Hardcover: 190 pages

Easy 45 Hungarian Recipes
by Csilla Keszeli
Paperback: 112 pages