On a Wednesday night, in the otherwise deserted Westboro Plaza, a lopsided number of cars is clustered around Gizmo Pictures. This is the first gathering of almost all of the people who have contributed to the production of “Porubskys – Transcendent Deli.”

At the end of the bar where patrons rested their feet, a young Matthew Porubsky would take a seat during those countless Saturdays spent at the family grocery and restaurant, CW Porubsky’s Deli and Tavern.

Charlie Porubsky is a true Topeka legend. An area native, proud American, he was the taste of Topeka.

Lydia and Charlie Porubsky sat to take congratulations from friends and customers who came to celebrate their 50th anniversary of operating Porubsky’s Deli and Tavern in North Topeka.

For half a century, one of America’s most satisfying lunches has been made on a four-burner stove in Topeka. It’s a different kind of fast food.

As with many things, there is a right way and a wrong way to eat a spicy hot Porubsky pickle.

And the first-timers were easy to tell from the veterans as a film crew recorded the reactions of people on S. Kansas Avenue taste- testing the pickle slices Friday.

Patrons of C.W. Porubsky’s Deli and Tavern are invited to swap stories Friday evening about the fabled Little Russia eatery.

As part of an effort to produce a documentary about Porubsky’s and its neighborhood, the Center for Kansas Studies at Washburn University is sponsoring a story swap from 5 to 7 p.m. at the business at 508 N.E. Sardou.

TOPEKA – The Kansas Humanities Council recently awarded $58,209 in Humanities and Heritage grants to ten organizations, including one to the Porubsky’s Film Foundation.