Claremont Insider: Off the Beaten Path

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Off the Beaten Path

Meg over at M-M-M-My Pomona was away on a visit to northeast Ohio and was posting from afar. She had a very interesting bit on smoked meats and sausages and the Slavs of that part of Ohio.

That reminded us of a place we found a few months back off Pearblossom Highway (Hwy. 138) near Palmdale.

Valley Hungarian Sausage and Meat Company is located at 8809 Pearblossom Hwy. in Littlerock, CA. It's one of those places like the jerky and fruit stands that you're likely to pass by. But you don't see many Hungarian food places, especially in Littlerock, and it being lunchtime, we stopped in for a look.

Valley Hungarian is in a small building about the size of a rural general store. They do, as the name suggests, make their own sausages and smoked meats, and they have a large glass refrigerated deli case displaying their wares.

Valley Hungarian also stocks some products of Hungary, including jars of sour cherries in rum, sauerkraut, pickles, paprika, and many other things. They also make some pretty good sandwiches using their meats. If you've been out wandering the desert, as the Insider staff is known to do, this is a decent place to stop in for a bite to eat.

We found a mini-review of Valley Hungarian on Chowhound:

For sandwiches and the like, take a trip to Littlerock and head to the Valley Hungarian Sausage & Meat place on Pearblossom. Great pastrami, and I always pick up some fresh homemade andouille while I am there to make my great big pot of jambalaya. All sorts of meats, sausages, cheeses, spices (great paprika to be had here!) and other miscellany are up for grabs. If you're the two-wheeling type, it's the perfect stop after a long day in the canyons and on the dam.
They have an online list of their meats and list which ones are homemade. We're sorry we missed the paprika bacon.

If you find yourself having to go to Palmdale or Lancaster, try foregoing the 210 and go the back way. Hwy. 138 has been widened to Littlerock and is supposed to be much safer now. It actually seemed faster to us than going up to the 14 along the front of the mountains.


Valley Hungarian Sausage and Meat Co.
"Sausage Lover's Paradise"
8809 Pearblossom Highway
Littlerock, CA 93543
(661) 944-3351