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An Irving Park Sausage Slinger Dips Into Encased Family Memories

The Wurst Behavior deploys Polish and German recipes Old World flavor with a modern twist

A sausage sandwich with fries.
Wurst Behavior has a snappy attitude.
Dave Pavlina/Wurst Behavior

House-smoked kielbasa has been a hit on the menu at Pierogi Kitchen since Gosia Pieniazek and Artur Wnorowski transformed their Wicker Park spot Firewood BBQ into a Polish restaurant in January. Now the dish is getting a starring role at Wurst Behavior, 4009 N. Elston Avenue, which the husband-and-wife team opened in late 2024.

Wnorowski’s grandfather taught him how to make kielbasa on their family’s farm in Poland, but he’s experimenting with the dish that typically uses fresh sausage simply seasoned with pepper, garlic, and salt: “I noticed when I started curing the meat it gave it a little bit of a different texture and feel and it just tasted better,” Wnorowski says.

Wnorowski makes a wide variety of cased meats from scratch each day including brats, spicy chicken sausage, and hot dogs. While he was born in Poland, Wnorowski has spent half his life in Chicago and pays tribute to the city’s varied cuisines with dishes like a Chicago dog, an Italian sausage piled with sweet peppers and giardiniera, and a dog spiced with kimchi and sriracha mayo.

After trying many options, Wnorowski decided to eschew traditional sausage buns in favor of a hoagie roll. “It’s crispy on the outside and really soft on the inside,” he says. The restaurant works with Fulton Market Chicago to source Midwestern hormone- and antibiotic-free meat and plans to add a small deli counter in the spring or summer so customers can pick up sausages and spice mixes to grill at home. Wnorowski is also experimenting with making his own vegan brats.

Wurst Behavior’s Chicago Dog.
Dave Pavilina/Wurst Behavior

The drink menu is very locally focused, with six draft brews from Hopewell Brewing Company, Casa Humilde Cerveceria, and Maplewood Brewery & Distillery. Maplewood’s Son of Juice hazy IPA is also used in the restaurant’s mustard. They also soak their brats in Hacker-Pschorr Weissbier with a tap reserved for the beer.

Cocktails are mixed with spirits from Letherbee, CH Distillery, and Thornton Distilling, whose pecan bourbon is used to make a sweet Old Fashioned that compliments the pecan-smoked kielbasa and andouille sausage. They eventually plan to smoke olives for garnishes and make fat-washed bourbon, and have already used brine from their pickles soaked in a martini blend with gin, grapefruit juice, and Italicus.

Homemade sausages are the Wurst Behavior’s secret weapon.
Dave Pavlina/Wurst Behavior

The pickles themselves, a fusion between bread & butter and dill, are served atop cheeseburgers, fried chicken sandwiches, and 12-hour smoked pulled pork from Wnorowski and Pieniazek’s barbecue spots Ella’s and Earl’s. The menu also draws in dishes from Pierogi Kitchen, with pierogies offered as an appetizer and stuffed in a hot dog along with sour cream and sauerkraut. A brunch menu is in the works, which will likely feature Andouille breakfast sausage, brat benedicts with sourdough as a base, classic mimosas, and loaded bloody marys with dry rub rim and smoked olive and pickle garnish.

“It’s a combination of fast casual and full service,” Wnorowski says. “If you feel like grabbing a quick sandwich, you can order at the counter and get it. If you feel like sitting down and enjoying a meal we’ll serve you.” The pair will play vinyl records and host karaoke on Fridays, keeping it casual by allowing performers to either take the spotlight in the bar area or use a wireless mic to perform right at their table.

Capacity will double in the summer with the opening of “The Wurst Patio You’ve Ever Seen,” a beer garden that will feature wooden benches and space for about 50 to 70. The owners hope to eventually build out a second bar that can serve beer and signature cocktails and use the area to host live music.

The 50-seat Irving Park space was previously home to Mas Tacos, making it the second restaurant owned by Wnorowski and Pieniazek that the couple has pivoted to serving Polish food. Even as Chicago’s Polish Broadway diminishes, with restaurants like Podhlanka closing at the intersection of Division, Ashland, and Milwaukee, the couple has found a niche. While giants like Vienna Beef expand their market share nationally, Chicagoans still love their old-world sausages, especially if they feature family recipes.

Cocktails and beer are also available.
Dave Pavlina/Wurst Behavior

Since opening, Wnorowski says he’s been getting lots of feedback from customers comparing his products to their own German and Polish family recipes. “I get people speaking Polish to me saying ‘You need a little bit more salt in that kielbasa,’” he says. “Every household makes the dishes a little bit differently, but overall the feedback has been great.”

Wurst Behavior, 4009 N. Elston Avenue, open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.

Pierogi Kitchen

1856 W. North Avenue, Chicago, IL 60622 Visit Website
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