Lil' Buddy's Blog: Finding a Good Donut in Chicago - It's Pretty Tough!

THE CHICAGO IL REAL ESTATE MARKET, AND OTHER THINGS CHICAGO, FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF A LITTLE WHITE DOG!

Hello, you AR Dogs!  How are things going where you are?

I'm headed out of town this weekend - off to Minnesota, via Iowa, to check in on all my four-pawed and two-pawed friends - I'll be there to lend a paw as they recover from the devastating floods of the last week or so.

I'll keep in touch from the road, though - expect another usually-insightful Lil' Buddy's Blog next Friday morning.  Same time, same url!

Italian Beef.  Chicago-Style Red Hots.  Deep Dish Pizza.  Eli's Cheesecake.  (grrrr . . . tasty!)  That's the kind of chow you think of when you think of Chicago - yes?

But . . . DONUTS (note the correct Chicago spelling, you dogs!)  Naaah!

Yeah, there are still a few independent shops around here, selling fresh-baked donuts - Wheeling Donuts in the Northern Suburbs of Chicago, Dat Donuts and Old Fashioned Donuts on Chicago's South Side.

But those glorious donut palaces of old around here - Amy Joy Donuts in Niles IL, Yum Yum Donuts plastered right next to Wrigley Field, even the classic grease joints at the Wilson and Sheridan Avenue L stations - all history!

We dogs can still find Dunkin Donuts all over the Chicago area.  But these donuts are all made, by machine, and without much character. What about Krispy Kreme, the southern donut king, offering free samples right off the line?  Many of their shops have closed around the city - as business has declined. 

Most of the old independents have closed due to escalating baking costs, and shrinking profit margins.  Ken Jarosch, President of the Chicago Area Retail Bakers Association, says many of the old-line donut houses haven't been able to keep up. 

Burritt Bulloch, the owner of Old Fashioned Donuts, on the Southwest Side of Chicago by Midway Airport, mentions it costs about $42 for the same shortening he paid less than $18 a year ago.  He also is livid about the "fuel surcharge" that is added to every ingredients delivery he receives.

"We make 85 percent of our doughnuts by hand," says the 70-year-old Bulloch, who has been making doughnuts since 1963 and opened his shop in 1972. "It's a lot of work."  His best seller?  "Around here, the most popular is glazed," he says.

You're probably wondering - what's Buddy's favorite variety?

Stuff the jelly filled!  Bag the long johns!  Chocolate - makes me break out!  Glazed - too much sugar for my sensitive pallet!

Just find me a donut that takes like BACON - and nobody gets bitten!

Check out my post today @ BlogChicagoHomes.com.  I've linked to Leah Zeldes blog post in Wednesday's Chicago Sun-Times.

YOUR ACE REPORTER ON FOUR PAWS,

BUDDY HOLLY MOSS & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO