When in Kraków, Crush Kiełbasa Made by Late-Night Food Truck Legends

“When in Rome, do as the Romans do. When in Kraków, crush kiełbasa fired up by late-night food truck legends.” 

Most people don’t know but that’s the second part of the quote. Well, during my one-month-plus in Kraków, I lived and breathed this to a T. 

Part of it was that I had no choice but to find a late-night haunt that wasn’t McDonald’s or a kebab (or the Hard Rock Cafe), as I was often slow to get out the door at night after one of my Blonia Park runs. Part of it was that I just crave mothaflippin’ kiełbasa. 

Whatever my reasons for finding this royal blue food truck located on the outskirts of the Old Town and Kazimierz, it was a highlight of my several-month Poland tenure.   

I mean, why wouldn’t you go on a kiełbasa binge in arguably the kiełbasa mecca of the world? 

Here’s why this 30-year-old-plus kiełbasa institution needs to be on your eating radar when you go to Kraków. 

Blue, You’re My Boy!

Website, Address, & Details:

• Location: Grzegórzecka 4, 33-332 Kraków

• Price: $ - a kiełbasa bułka (kiełbasa with a roll) will run you just under 20 złoty. My go-to order for a filling meal was two kiełbasa Bułka, which came out to roughly 35 złoty. 

As big a kebab fan as I am, I was honestly a bit burnt out from them due to going heavy on duże frytki kebabs in Warsaw (before arriving in Kraków). So, when relocating to Kraków for the entire month of July, I knew that I needed to switch things up and add some variety (and spice) to my late-night eating routine (and often, the only meal of the day). 

Having somehow clogged the drain at my AirBnb, which resulted in a stench so foul that Wilbur the pig would have fainted, I had a somewhat serendipitous meeting with the owner. 

Between him snaking the drain and its subsequent gurgles (a few of which were actually coming from my stomach), he mentioned several of his favorite eating spots in the city, one of them being a late-night kiełbasa food truck located just across from the Hala Targowa tram stop on the outskirts of Kazimierz (Kraków’s Jewish Quarter) - Kiełbaski z Niebieskiej Nyski (aka ‘Sausages from the blue Nysa’).

Having taken far larger gambles in my life, like the time in college when I ate day-old sushi wedged between two cushions on my Wal-Mart couch, I made my way over post-Blonia Park run and queued. 

Pale Ale Travel Tip: If you’re not in the mood for late-night kiełbasa, I recommend checking out ‘!ncredible Pizza’, a bustling Neapolitan pizza restaurant and bar located in The Loft Hotel. It’s less than a 5-minute walk from Sausages from the blue Nysa and is open into the early hours.

A Kiełbasa Kingdom For Karnivorous Kraków Khans

While Sausages from the blue Nysa is an incredibly popular haunt for Cracovians craving a warming, filling bite after a long night of heavy drinking (to absorb the booze, naturally), I surprisingly went having consumed zero amounts of highly flammable liquid each time.

But it’s not one of those spots that you only frequent when boozed up after one too many Zywiec wheat piwos (beers) and realize how disappointing it is the first time you decide to make your way over one night. No, it’s delicious at all stages of sobriety (or lack thereof). 

It’s cash-only and only opens at 8 PM, so come prepared and ready for a line. However, this iconic blue food truck has been operating for more than 30 years (since 1991-ish), so it’s a well-oiled machine, with a line that shouldn’t take any longer than 10 to 15 minutes. 

One stoic kiełbasa technician mans the grill, kicking up the occasional kiełbasa fireball as the fat drips below, while the other takes orders, handles the till, and relays with the speed and precision of an auctioneer - both in white lab coats and ball caps. 

Even if the line was longer, it would be worth the wait. 

Pale Ale Travel Tip: Avoid getting your Polish sausage fix in the center of the Old Town when you have legendary kiełbasa institutions like this that exist. 

This is an authentic Kraków experience like you read about. Mustard, ketchup, roll (bułka) or no roll, fin. You're here for kiełbasa and kiełbasa only. Too many options would defeat the entire ethos (and purpose) behind this (mobile) kiełbasa kingdom - to efficiently and faithfully serve Kraków’s late-night constituents.    

“Dine-in” consists of a paper plate with squirts of ketchup and mustard, which makes you sit on reflect what Picasso’s palette would have looked like if he was in a heavy kiełbasa phase of his life, eaten at a standing table with other patrons off to the side, while “takeaway” is what you see below, a white styrofoam box with the goods and packets of “the red and yellow.”

There’s a char and smoke to these sausages that is noticeable in each bite. However, with 30-plus years of experience, that doesn’t mean they end up shriveled and looking like what that one father at your Little League games used to do to hotdogs when he was guilted into manning the volunteer concession stand. 

The kiełbasa themselves aren’t overly thick either, with a flavorful fat cap proficiently ground into the sausage meat, making for manageable yet “explosive” bites. From my understanding, they actually make the sausages themselves so these are one-of-a-kind links. 

The grill and char of the casing lock in all flavor and moisture, rendering an audible snap as you dig your incisors in. 

Some choose to eat the kiełbasa first and then the roll. Others rip off little chunks of bread and pair it with the sausage and condiments. Others (this guy) just toss the kiełbasa between the roll and slather on as much ketchup and mustard as possible. There’s no wrong way to eat a sausage…or Reese’s. 

It’s Not Just About the Sausages

While I love Kraków’s Old Town and Jewish Quarter, I also love the rest of the city. Know that everything that takes place in those two locations are merely small facets of a wider picture/representation of life in Kraków.  

If you want to step outside of the highly curated and overcrowded hustle and bustle of the go-to tourist joints in the city and experience Kraków as local Cracovians do, there aren’t many better places than Sausages from the blue Nysa.

Is the kiełbasa at Sausages from the blue Nysa going to be one of the best things you’ve ever eaten in your life? Probably not (or maybe it is). But is the collective effervescence shared with fellow Cravovians and kiełbasa enthusiasts at a living, breathing relic of simpler times going to be something you remember for years to come? 

Absolutely.  

If you have any questions about traveling to or eating in Kraków, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at [email protected]. 

Eat well everyone,

Big Body