Why I Oughta...

That's a photo of Dorianell's Cake Shop - once located at 1114 W 51st Street, Chicago, IL 60609.  It was in the Back of the Yards neighborhood, just a few blocks west and one block north of Sherman Park on Racine and Garfield. My sister Vic sent that photo to me.  And it is the first time that I'ver ever seen it.   That's where my Mom grew up.  Upstairs.  And that's her dad's bakery on the first floor.  I've heard a lot about "the bakery", but I never knew it had a name.  Nor what it looked like. Turns out, it isn't *just* a bakery; it is a "cake shop". I can't totally explain it, but this photo makes me really happy.  It also gives me so many ideas and thoughts.    I've talked about what the sign and exterior would look like if I ever did a spot of my own.  I guess I've found the name for my pizza place .  (I'm not doing a pizza place.) The name of the place?  Dorianell's?  That's a combination of my Mom a...

On a recent visit to NYC, I decided to ask around for a good recommendation for a black and white cookie.  There are a bunch of lists of the *best* black and white cookie out there on the web, but I figured some local might know the answer to my question:  the best black and white cookie that IS WALKABLE from where I was staying. The answer turned out to be the same:  Russ and Daughters.  It was both walkable and it turns out, #1 on the lists. I walked over there and was immediately struck by the place.  Beautiful sign.  And an even better experience inside.  The store was split down the middle with their smoked fish on the left and the bakery items on the right.  They bagged up a few cookies and off I went. Have a look at one of the cookies below.  These were different than the black and whites that I had been buying at the little bodega across the street from my normal hotel.  These were almost glazed, not frosted.  And...

One of my annual Christmas-related traditions is getting to Kirschbaum's Bakery in Western Springs on the day (that they are open) before Christmas - usually Christmas Eve.  This year, I arrived first (!!!), but because I wanted to stay in the car as long as possible, I waited until someone else got out of their car to get in line.  It always is someone who arrives like fifth who wants to get out of their car and start the line.  Then we all have to get out, bundle up and wait for the 45 minutes or so to open. I ended up with #2.  Not too bad.  Last year, I was #6 .  I was in-and-out in less than ten minutes this year.

Most mornings, I catch the train out of the Fairview Station on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Metra line.  Bordering the south passenger platform, past the station is a Pepperidge Farm factory.  And it totally gives off a "Stranger Things" vibe to me.   Every morning when I walk past it - and even more on mornings when it is snowing a little bit - I get this very specific Hawkins National Laboratory feeling as I see the trucks moving to/from near the docks.   Now, making Goldfish crackers isn't going to open a hole to the upside down.  But it doesn't keep me from smiling about it each morning I head there. You might be wondering...why is there a Pepperidge Farm factory there in the first place?  Well...it is a place that provides a diverse employee base.  And has been there for 65 years .  It was selected due to our proximity to Chicago, but there also is this cute little story about how the founder just liked the ...

This year, the day fell on a Saturday.  I was #6 in line.  I snapped this photo on my way out after I picked up my baked goods for the holidays.  In and out with a pre-order.  That's the way to roll.  Still a lot of fun to be part of the circus there in Western Springs,

If you walk by the construction site of the new Beerheads Bar on the Northeast corner of First and York in the Elmhurst City Centre, you'll see a bit of progress on the building.   I last posted about the status of the project here on the blog in February .  You can go down the whole rabbit hole of posts related to the site here on the blog . But, in addition to seeing the exterior construction progress, if you look inside one of the new doorways, you'll also see this - the photo above. It is a relic from the past. And was a stonework 'welcome mat' for Burny Brothers.  I had never heard of Burny Brothers, but 'teh Googles' quickly educated me. From this Burny Brothers archive site : Burny Brothers Bakery was founded in 1910 in Chicago, Illinois by a working-class immigrant family, and grew to become a successful, uniquely American enterprise. The founding family sold its interest in 1963 to Beatrice Foods Co., which in turn sold the wholesale divisi...

First reported back in July , one of Chicago's top indie bakeries - Bleeding Heart Bakery - is opening up an outpost right in Downtown Elmhurst.  It has been more than two months of build-out but by the look of things, they're close to opening shop. The coffee machine, counters and bakery cases are all in.  And the light fixtures?  So clever.  They're big industrial wisks from a huge electric mixer.  We'll be there as soon as they open for some cupcakes. I bet the other cupcake shop in town is loving the delay.