A couple of years ago when the news broke that a Wegmans store would be opening in our area, anyone who knew anything about the grocery chain rejoiced.
And, while many folks were excited by the arrival of a store because of the reputation it has gained as the chain moved south over the past several years, Dave and I were overjoyed because we would finally be able to easily buy a handful of our favorite foods.
Years ago when we lived in Syracuse, Wegmans was one of our local haunts. It was a where we did our regular grocery shopping. Along with offering a wide selection of groceries and outstanding produce, their stores pushed the edge of the envelope by offering a variety of specialty shops around the perimeter of the groceries. In fact, the sewing and notions shop was so well stocked that I used to purchase my fabric and supplies there when I was still making my own clothes!
These days our trips to Wegmans are not as frequent and our usual reason for making the half-hour trip across town to pick up items that are not available in other local stores due to their regional nature. When you live in a place for a while, you acquire a taste for foods you can only get in that area. In the case of Central and Western New York, the foods we hunger for the most are two kinds of mustard; Nance’s and Webers, Hofmann’s hotdogs and an amazing type of Kaiser roll called a kimmelweck which is the base for a Buffalo favorite called a “Beef on Weck”.
Nance’s Sharp & Creamy Mustard, Weber’s Horseradish Mustard and Hofmann’s German hotdogs – Central New York delicacies – YUM!
I wasn’t able to get a photo of the kimmelweck roll I bought because by the time I thought about sharing these wonderful foods, my sandwich was half-eaten and the roll didn’t look so good. So, I borrowed this photo from the web:
I feel pretty lucky to be able to stock up on these staples without having to resort to making relatives cart them as carry-ons on planes or ordering in bulk on Amazon. If I’ve made your mouth water, I’ve included the recipe for how I made my Beef on Weck’s although I’m sure there are many variations. So, if you’re heading to Wegmans for whatever you think is worth the trip, you might want to give it a try!
