Dinner Party Dreamland

The stunning array of sausages–raw, cured, smoked and beyond–is an obvious focal point at Gene's Sausage Shop.

But this new Lincoln Square market is more than a meat emporium. It's also home to an abundance of international goods ripe for dinner-party picking.

Start off a party with glasses of Lithuanian semisweet sparkling wine ($9 per bottle) with a splash of Herbapol Polish chokeberry syrup ($2 for 14 oz.). Raid the deli case for appetizers: pork hock headcheese ($3 per pound), creamy beets with horseradish ($3 per pound), sauerkraut pierogi ($4 per pound) or fresh mozzarella di bufala from Italy ($9 per pound) to serve with rounds of Siljans Swedish Crispbread ($5) or seed breads from local Kazik bakery.

House-smoked sausages, smoked rib belly ($4 per pound) or Polish sausages ($3 per pound) make for quick, meaty entrees. Serve them with Bavarian-style mustard from the floor-to-ceiling mustard shelf on the second floor, Austrian jarred sauerkraut and red cabbage, and homemade German potato salad ($3 per pound).

Seven kinds of Polish beer make for easy dinner pairings; for dessert, douse Palazzolo's gelato with jarred Greengage plums or cherries from Poland, and raise a glass of Austrian Freihof Williams pear brandy ($35). Prost! (Or na zdrowie, if you're feeling Polish.)

Gene's Sausage Shop & Delicatessen, 4750 N. Lincoln Ave.; 773-728-7243