Squid Ink Special: Army Brand Chopped Pork Pattie Loaf

We happened into Karpaty Meat Shop, a Russian market on Santa Monica Boulevard, and found it to be a rather charming and inexpensive place to do some interesting shopping. They have organic fruits and vegetables, and as the name implies, a good selection of raw meat. On the other end of the deli are various cured and smoked sausages, with other refrigerators and freezers filled with things like sour cabbage, veal dumplings and cherry pierogi. The walls are stacked high with boxed fruit juices, bottles of sparkling water, jars of pickled products and various canned goods. But one thing stood out above the rest: Army Brand Chopped Pork Pattie Loaf, made in Poland.

N. Galuten

Get your own can of pork for just $4.99

It turns out we're not the only ones fascinated by this item (which for some reason has an Amazon page), as the good people on our sister blog at Seattle Weekly happened to write a detailed and comprehensive piece on the stuff back in 2008. Is part of the allure, perhaps, to have the feeling that you're eating dinner in a trench during some terrible Polish war? We're not sure, but at the very least, we're happy it found a home in such a pleasant little market.

Karpaty Meat Market: 7515 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, (323) 874-6620.

Noah Galuten can be followed on Twitter via @ManBitesWorld.