Dinkel’s Bakery
Visitors to Chicago who meander beyond the Loop or the Magnificent Mile know that the Windy City has a rich ethnic heritage. Much of that heritage is evident in its foodstuffs. The historic German neighborhood along Lincoln, which angles northwest from downtown, still offers some of the best eating outside Munich or Berlin. Take Dinkel’s Bakery, 3329 North Lincoln Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, for example. Founded by Joseph K. Dinkel, an immigrant from southern Bavaria in 1922, it’s been offering Stollen, Strudel, Bundt cake and Linzer cookies ever since. In 1932, his son, Norman J. Dinkel, joined the bakery. Norman Jr., the third generation, added internet sales to the mix. His children, Sandgren and Eric, have now joined the family business, so this Road Trips Foodie won’t have to worry about getting her annual fix of Christmas Stollen: the original recipe (which dates back to the first year of the bakery) includes cashews, almonds, pineapple, rum- and brandy-soaked golden raisins in its yeast-raised dough glazed with melted butter and dusted with powdered sugar. Yum! But, the rest of the year, trips to Chicago always mean a stop at Dinkel’s for walnut-apple Strudel. Or the maple cake. Or a hot, salted German pretzel. Or….
