I’ve lived here for most of my life. I thought I knew every nook and cranny of this place. Today though, I walked into the Edelweiss Sausage and Delicatessen for the first time. I turned and asked my wife, how it was that we had missed this little slice of nirvana. Humorously, not 90 seconds later, a guy walks in and sasks his wife how it was they had missed this magical slice of heaven.

I’ll tell you how we missed it. The building is as boring as can be and it sits on a side street, on the east side of the Ross Island Bridge at 3119 SE 12th (at Powell). This non-descript, Soviet-designed building, houses the best delicatessen, this side of Chicago.

The center of the store contains three or four aisles of European imported food… though one entire aisle is devoted to European cookies and candy. On the south wall of the store, there’s a cold case full of cheese. On the north wall, you’ll find German beers and wines. The magic — and I mean magic — is on the back wall. There you will find dozens and dozens of house-smoked salamis, meats and wursts. Don’t know what you want? Ask for a sample. Piled high are things like house-made wieners, countless varieties of salami, smoked beef, smoked pork chops, ribs, bacon. They’ve got bologna, liverwurst, ham, and pastrami. They also have bowls of potato salad and pasta salad.

You can also get lunch here. Today I ordered up a bier sausage on a bun, and I downed it with a German BitBurger bier. On the table were several condiments. I chose horseradish and a rustic mustard.

The woman at the counter said that they were busiest on Saturdays but that’s also the day they put more meat out. They’re closed on Sundays.

This place rocks. You must check it out.