stopped at ream's today
picked up 6 diff. sausage's to try out.
can't wait

Ream's Elburn Market has been nominated as a Great Neighborhood Resource. Please discuss the nomination in this thread. Discussion ends on March 7.

-for the GNRs

I have been meaning to write this nomination since the nomination period opened up, but just hadn't found the time. Thanks for picking up my slack Jim.

Ream's is best in class when it comes to a wide variety of encased meats. The brats, polish and hot links are probably my favorite items. However, I can't think of anything I've had that wasn't thoroughly enjoyed.

I wholeheartedly agree with and support this nomination. I love shopping here, and I try to tell everyone I know to also shop here.

Hi,

Ream's was one of my candidates for Great Neighborhood Resources, I am glad this was nominated. I am now free to do the other without reservations.

Randy from Ream's Elburn Market has been a Culinary Historian's speaker and at the first Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance meeting on sausages tucked into buns. Ronnie Suburban's first visit documented in the original post was prompted by the Alliance meeting.

I have sampled a lot of Ream's sausages from tastings at meetings, visits to friends and stuff people picked up. For a long time, I would pass his store on Sundays, only to look through the windows. Fortunately hours have been expanded to Sunday's, though I haven't been near since. I have yet to go into this store.

There are few markets left where all the sausages and smoked meats are made on the premises. This alone is a solid reason to support this valuable resource.

Regards,

the wimperoo wrote:I have been meaning to write this nomination since the nomination period opened up, but just hadn't found the time. Thanks for picking up my slack Jim.

No problem, easy nominee.

Ill bump this thread up since there is no fancy GNR nominee icon next to it to help alert folks it has been nominated(the lth management has been made aware of this issue).

I am also trying to organize an event @ Ream's for the 26th(on the events board), but so far have zero takers.

I support Ream's as a GNR!

I think this is a great nomination. Ream's turns out some of the best sausage in the area. I've been in love with the place since I posted my pictures back on page 1 of this thread.

Your Future Brats

Reams makes some of the best sausage and cured meats I have had the pleasure to enjoy, anywhere. Not just great, world class. I only wish it was a little more convenient...

I started this thread, so it's probably pretty obvious how I feel about the place. I think it's the gold standard for charcuterie and Randy Ream's passion for -- and love of -- his craft are obvious from the moment you meet him or walk into the shop. The selection of goods is astonishing and the quality is consistently high across the entire range of crafted products. I love their brats, andouille, boudin, kielbasa, hotdogs, bacon and so many more. I don't know of another butcher shop in Chicagoland where one can find house-made biltong but Ream's has it and they turn out a great version. The business plan at Ream's seems to be simply, "follow your passion and the rest will follow."

I've never bought any fresh meats at Ream's so I can't comment on that side of what they do but based on their charcuterie, the vibe of the place and the proprietor's dedication to his craft, I think Ream's is a natural GNR.

=R=

Went to Ream's today around mid-day.......busy, busy, busy......what a place....selected a whole lot of smoked type items.....a number of types of brats and dogs.....the staff was friendly and very informative...and since I was a first timer I was given a smoked bier sausage stick.....very tasty....am having a choice aged filet for dinner...can't wait...

I support the GNR designation.

No doubt about it, Ream's deserves a GNR. From an astounding array of tasty, quality made sausages, to the best ham salad I have ever eaten, this place has it. I am also a fan of the fresh meat section. Ive had great steaks, stuffed chicken entrees, stuffed pork chops and more. It was all delightful. Once again, a great choice for a GNR.

Enjoyable visit to Ream's yesterday. Stocked up on a few items

- a nice 4.1 Lb. flat of corned beef
- (12) Debreziners
- (9) Weisswurst
- (2) andoullie
- (4) Polish
- a chunk of tasso
- beef stew meat.

$59.....

jimswside wrote:Enjoyable visit to Ream's yesterday. Stocked up on a few items

- a nice 4.1 Lb. flat of corned beef
- (12) Debreziners
- (9) Weisswurst
- (2) andoullie
- (4) Polish
- a chunk of tasso
- beef stew meat.

$59.....

Looks great. But you forgot to list the Pez.

Seamus wrote:

jimswside wrote:Enjoyable visit to Ream's yesterday. Stocked up on a few items

- a nice 4.1 Lb. flat of corned beef
- (12) Debreziners
- (9) Weisswurst
- (2) andoullie
- (4) Polish
- a chunk of tasso
- beef stew meat.

$59.....

Looks great. But you forgot to list the Pez.

lol.. $1.69 I think,

shay swiped it from me.

GNR for the Elburn Market

Couldn't agree more!

I mentioned way upthread, that Randy supplies brats and sausage to most of the northeast Illinois Rotary clubs that do hot dog stands for their various fundraisers, such as the Sandwich club who have a permanent dog wagon on the Sandwich Fairgrounds, and my Hinsdale club for our annual fundraiser at the Hinsdale Art Fair in June.

One point is that Randy gives the Rotary clubs an excellent price, so that they maximize their proceeds which, of course, go to charities.

All this quite apart from the wonderful sausage.

Please do go for this nomination!

Mike

mmmmercy....!

Ream's weisswurst for breakfast(one with melted swiss, one without... both with kraut, raw onion ketchup & pickle)..

LTH,

Though I've made but one wonderfully memorable visit to the physical Ream's I've piggybacked on others runs a number of times. Consistently top-notch daydream worthy sausages.

Ream's Elburn Market, count me a fan!

Not to take anything away from Ream's because I'm a fan too, but has anyone tried the Wurst Kitchen in Aurora and Plano? They have been around since 1895, first as a full service meat market but now as a specialist in sausages and smoked meats. Just mentioning because I've known the family for years and have found some great things there for friends who look for a more old world taste.

http://www.wurstkitchen.com/

(Ream's) Elburn Market, Inc is now on Facebook. Click 'like' to receive updates. Thanks for voting us to the LTHForum.com list of best neighborhood resources!

Likestoeatout, once again a dead on recommendation for me. We went to Wurst today and picked up smoked polish, brats, kicker brats, lamb sausage, andouille, Portuguese chorizo, hot italian, and regular italian. the polish brats were wonderful as where the kicker brats. funny little place, but so far so good!

Turns out my sister live pretty close to Ream's and we're meeting up for Easter this weekend.
She volunteered to pick up some sausage but I don't want to put her out too much...

So what are the one or 2 things that are must trys from Ream's?
I'd really like to concentrate on sausage but if there's something else outstanding shout it out.

zoid wrote:So what are the one or 2 things that are must trys from Ream's?
I'd really like to concentrate on sausage but if there's something else outstanding shout it out.

1. Bier sticks---Get WAY more than you think you'll need. They are extremely addicting!
2. Their original raw "award winning brats". I haven't had a better brat than these. True brat taste without any funky additions. They also have many other varieties, ( which are very good ) but I tend to be a purist.

Thanks cito!

I think I'm gonna ask for polish, brats, and bier sticks.

That ought to be a good start

Am I ever glad for this thread! My in laws have lived in this corner of Kane County for the entire ten years I've known them, and we routinely take the Metra out to Elburn when we visit them. But we've never had occassion to visit Main St. Elburn and it's evident we've been missing out on a lot!

The next time we go out, we'll be stopping at Reams for sure! They've been hassling us to move out that way now that we're expecting our first kid, and I've been hesistant to leave Chicago, but honestly - knowing a great local butcher is out there might make me reconsider...

I had some business in Geneva on Saturday and learned that Elburn was only another 15 minutes west. Fortunately, I had thought to throw in a small cooler with some ice packs. The place was hopping at 1:30 on Saturday afternoon. I took my number, then wandered around trying to determine what to get. I ended up with some brats, Romanian sausage, peppered smoked salmon, rum/garlic salami, bacon, and an assortment of snack stix (bier, buffalo and summer sausage and cheese.) For my brother, I grabbed a ring bologna. The rum/garlic salami paired nicely with the Widmer's mild brick cheese recently picked up at the factory in Theresa, WI. Although I got a nice assortment, I wish I had brought a bigger cooler.

Made a restock trip to Reams Wednesday night.

- Fresh Champion brats - Very good brat.

- Weisswurst - my favorite brat anywhere

- Texas Hot link - my new favorite hot link sausage(sorry Moo & Oink & Peoria)

- Hungarian sausage - still gotta try this

- chili cheese dogs (I used to love Frank-n-stuffs as a kid). No chili inside these, but cheese and a quality, spicy beef dog. Really good imo.

- salami sticks - really good stuff, I gotta try more of their snack sticks.

I almost went to the Wurst Kitchen in Aurora(mentioned upthread(but decided to stick with a known product this time). Wurst Kitchen is definitely a place I am going to stop, thanks "likestoeatout".

Needed to restock the freezer with meats so I made a Ream's run this morning. Quite busy, but helpful and efficient service.

Picked up a wide variety of encased meats. In addition to the usual suspects of brats, polish, bacon, hot links and hot dogs, I also picked up some Texas chorizo (I really enjoy this chorizo, much more than the stuff I find at various supermarkets, much less greasy but great flavor), Hot Brats, Debrizener, smoked pork chops, some ground beef for burgers tonight, country style breakfast sausage links and linguisa. I've never had the Hot Brats or Linguisa before, very interested in trying them out.

For snacking, picked up some bier sticks, summer sausage sticks w/cheddar and some buffalo landjager sticks. Also, some smoked pepper jack cheese, which I'm eating right now. It's fantastic, great smokiness with a little bit of heat on the back end.

I love shopping at Ream's.

I needed me some "fat" so I took a special trip to Reams. I was looking for suet, which they had, and happily ground up for me (I'm making mincemeat). I also wanted fresh lard for all those holiday pies...which of course they had. As long as I was there I picked up some weisswurst. This is my favorite brat of all time. It's a light version of a brat. Very delicate tasting. Anyway, while I was browsing around a customer grabbed me by the arm and insisted I purchase this:

Ream's Jerky Dip






She said to get the small size, but she knew later on I would regret not buying the larger size. Wow, she was right. I'm addicted. Put it on your Christmas list!

Another winner from the display case at Ream's.






Pork 500's (Seasoned sausage, corn bread stuffing and American cheese)

Thanksgiving stuffing rolled up and ready to bake. These are really great snacks, if you see them I'd grab a couple to have when hunger hits. I got these last month along with my usual supply of housemade tasso, some brats, jerky and jerky dip. On the way to Ream's from the city you'll pass a tavern/eatery in Elburn that looks promising and brags about their "almost famous belly busting" burgers and Reuben's.


Elburn, IL

We stopped in for dinner here before heading back to the city after a quick shop at Ream's. They've been in the area for over 20 years and had a nice crowd coming in for dinner the Wednesday night we there. It's your typical small town Midwest tavern as far as feel. The bar was really nice and the place as a whole was clean, shiny and upkept really well. We sat at the bar and went with one of their famous belly busting Reuben's and the special that night which was a fried chicken dinner. Both pleased. The sandwich was massive, served open faced it could easily be split.


Definitely a belly buster

The chicken was very good to. Fried fresh to order it took about 20 minutes and came out piping hot. It wasn't quite Lasalle County area down there good but better than anything I've had in the city. The breast was actually my favorite part to it and that's rarely the case.


Blackberry Inn Fried Chicken Special

Blackberry Inn
1S731 Il Route 47
Elburn, IL 60119
(630) 365-2200

I always wondered about the Blackberry Inn...now I'll stop in. Thanks! I also discovered a Greek family style restaurant in Elburn called Papa G's. It's not far from Ream's, just farther south on Main St. (south of the railroad tracks). They have really great (as in I've ordered these things) stuffed cabbage, Swiss steak, seafood Alfredo, turkey dinner, homemade soups, and a bread basket that you won't believe. I'd recommend it!

Papa G's
250 South Main St
Elburn, IL. 60119
(630) 365-1010