Liverwurst und Braunschweiger, Bitte

When I mentioned liverwurst recently, a reader named Victoria commented: "I'm interested in finding good liverwurst in town, if you feel like sharing your source." I am happy to reveal that I am buying my liverwurst at Phoenicia supermarket on Westheimer lately. It carries lots of varieties, but I am pretty happy with Koenemann's.

Rich, creamy Westphalian liverwurst is Koenemann's premium liver sausage -- it's made with pork and veal liver. Another version, Koenemann's Country Made liverwurst, is the chunky style; it's made with pork liver, pork meat and bacon pieces. The braunschweiger is made with pork liver and pork meat, and it's lightly smoked.

Koenemann's Sausage Company started out as a butcher shop in Chicago opened by Willi Koenemann, a native of Westphalia, Germany, in 1933. Willi and his wife and business manager Elsbeth later moved the business to Volo, a little town in Northeast Illinois where Willi liked to buy his hogs.

It was Elsbeth's idea to begin importing German sausages to add to their retail line. The company is now run by Willi's son, William. Koenemann's butchers and sausage-makers are sent to Germany to receive their training. The company sells some 60 varieties of German sausage and cured meats including such novelties as potato sausage and onion sausage. They also do a booming mail order business.

My dad ate braunschweiger with thick slices of onion on mustard-covered rye on Saturdays when I was a kid. So I learned to love this stuff at a tender age. Anybody else have a good liverwurst to recommend?