Muncan Meat Market

When a Romanian coworker of mine told me he was going to bring traditional Romanian sausages to our friend’s barbeque, I was pretty excited. When he told me the butcher who sold these sausages was located in Astoria, I was ecstatic. I almost begged him to take me. Well, the day of the barbeque came, and as promised, my Romanian comrade guided me to Muncan’s easy-to-miss storefront on Broadway. Upon entering this exotic meat bonanza, I was bewildered. It was a pure plethora of unfamiliar meats. I wanted everything even though I had no idea of what anything was.

There were at least a dozen varieties of bacon in the glass cases. Smoked ribs, cured meats, and sausages dangled from the jungle gym above the counter. With Romanian dialects dancing in the air and hand-to-hand transactions taking place, you could tell this was the real deal. It was a crackhouse for meat addicts. My friend brutishly asked for our fix. Mici. Pronounced “meech” and ringing in at $4.99/lb., it definitely wasn’t the most appetizing thing in the shop. I wondered why my guide would choose what appeared to be scrawny logs of ground pork, with all these mouth-watering meats surrounding us. These mici didn’t even have casings. I was disappointed that we were leaving the shop with only one item. He promised not to worry. Traditionally served as street food and enjoyed with a beer, these sausages would go perfectly at the barbeque.

After a round of the essential burgers and dogs prepared by our host, my Romanian friend commandeered the grill and slapped the innocent mici onto the hot grates. After what seemed like an eternity and with a grease fire starting to erupt, the mici were ready to ready to be devoured.

The once frail meat logs plumped up into perfectly shaped nuggets of grilled-marked goodness. Surprising to me was that even though this sausage had no casing to speak of, the grill seared a perfect chewy exterior encasing the juicy center. A quick dip through mustard sealed the deal. The first bite was an overwhelming sense of jubilation. Not packed with spices, and not mild, its garlicky robustness fell somewhere in between an Italian sausage and a breakfast link, but nothing like either of them. Damn fine sausage. Now I can’t wait to go back to try some other Romanian meats.

Muncan Food Corp
43-09 Broadway (btwn 43rd & 44th st.)
Astoria, NY 11103
(718) 417-5095