Country Market Pork Store & More
228 E. Michigan AvenueI never pass up a place claiming to do “Chicago-Style” food. I’m usually disappointed but it’s something I’m always going to try.
I had been seeing Facebook posts from a place in downtown Paw Paw doing Italian beefs and Chicago pizza. I was confused because it looked like the place was a butcher shop but the lure of an Italian beef was too much.
I was in Paw Paw last week for work and had a little bit of time. I had forgotten about this shop I wanted to check out until I drove by. The pig on the side of the building and the neon Vienna Beef sign in the window reminded me I needed to get lunch.
Country Market Pork Store & More is on Michigan Avenue in downtown Paw Paw near Niles Street. The small, one story yellow storefront is part of a larger wooden building that looks out of place amongst the century old brick buildings surrounding it. This space was last used by Captured Memories, a photography services store that closed a couple of years ago.
The name implies the shop is a butcher shop, and it is. There is a case of fresh pork right as you walk in the door.
But the place is really set up more like a counter service restaurant. There’s a large wrap around counter that has both the meat counter and an order area that encloses the small kitchen.
The menu at Country Market Pork Store & More isn’t very big. It’s pizza and a couple sandwiches. You can order a whole pizza but they also do pizza-by-the-slice which is on display in a warming tower on the counter.
My plan was to try the Italian beef sandwich and a slice of the deep dish pizza. Unfortunately, the deep dish pizza was a spinach ricotta pizza which really isn’t something I like. I ordered a slice of the thin crust pizza instead. The bill for lunch was right around $14.
There is a little seating area in the restaurant and even that has Chicago vibes. There are a couple of tables but there is also bar seating area facing the windows. This is a super common set up in Chicago sandwich shops. You can choose to use the metal bar stools
It took just a few minutes for the sandwich to be put together. I was handed a paper bag with the beef and told to grab a can of pop out of the cooler behind me. I also had a foil wrapped paper plate with a slice of pizza.
I ate the pizza first because I could do that quickly and easily before heading back to Kalamazoo. I love Chicago thin crust pizza. Most Chicagoans will tell you what the world sees as “Chicago Deep Dish” is a sometimes food, not something every Chicago loves. Chicagoans do love their tavern cracker thin crust pizzas. These pizzas are usually cut in to squares but that wouldn’t work well for a slice place. The thin, crispy crusted pizza is cut into a large triangle. It has a deep golden brown crust on the cheese and some super crispy pepperonis on top. This slice was really good but I bet it would be even better fresh out of the oven.
As snobby as I am about Chicago pizza, I kick that snobbiness up a notch for Italian beef. I hate it when places claim to have “Italian beef” then serve it on a hot dog bun with shredded chuck roast. The Chicago Italian beef is a work of art and there have to be certain elements to make it a true Chicago beef sandwich.
This sandwich from Country Market Pork Store & More hits a lot of those elements. The bun is a nice crusty French roll that soaks up the gravy from the thinly sliced beef. My guess here is that this is a kit from Vienna Beef since they’re also selling the hot dogs but in some ways, that’s a good thing. (I’ve been told since writing this the beef is made in house daily from an old family recipe. If that’s the case, they’re spot on.) You know you’re getting an actual beef and not some knock off. I asked for hot peppers on my sandwich and was a little surprised to see the sport peppers you usually see on a Chicago dog and not the typical giardiniera. It was still tasty, just not what I’m used to.
I enjoyed my lunch more than I was expecting to. I’m always super hesitant when places outside of Chicago claim to do Chicago food. It’s like buying a Detroit Coney in Nebraska…it’s close enough but it’s really not the same. Country Market Pork Store & More does a really good job of nailing the Chicagoness. I really wish they would have had a deep dish slice that was a little more traditional, but I was happy with what I got and I’ll have to go back and order a deep dish pizza sometime in the near future.
SW Michigan Dining 
They have Giardiniera on their sandwiches now, and the staple of Chicago Turano rolls! It is superior to any Italian Beef’s in the Paw Paw area BY FAR, I’ll even say I was impressed more with this one than the Portillo’s in Mishawaka.