LIL' BUDDY'S BLOG - Where Can a Dog Find a Good Donut in Chicago?
THE CHICAGO IL REAL ESTATE MARKET, AND OTHER THINGS CHICAGO, FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF A LITTLE WHITE DOG! 
Woof, you dogs! Going on vacation next week - gassing up my little Buddy Mobile (nearly 50 MPG), and leaving Chicago to visit some close friends and Licensed Real Estate Dogs in Minnesota and Iowa. However, I will be doggie on the spot with my usual weekly blog next week - a Dog on the Road!
When you think of Chicago, what foods come to mind? Deep-Dish Pizza, of course! Chicago-Style Hot Dogs - definitely! Ribs, Italian Beef Sandwiches, Great Steaks - hmmmm! Meaty Bones - woof, woof! My lil' mouth is watering already.
Typically, however, you don't associate the City of Chicago with DOUGHNUTS. Or, as we spell the word here, "DONUTS!"
Sure there are a few great donut shops here - Wheeling Donuts in the Northern Suburbs of Chicago, Dat Donuts and Old Fashioned Donuts on Chicago's South Side.
But many of the Grand Old Donut Shops around here are gone - including Amy Joy, a Niles IL and Northwest Side of Chicago Favorite for many years. And who can forget the legendary Yum Yum Donuts, in the shadow of Wrigley Field? Or Wilson Donuts, as well as the un-named Sheridan El Donut Shop - both creepy looking places, but with great taste. All of these Chicago Donut Palaces - long gone!
Of course, we dogs can still find the ole' standby - Dunkin Donuts - all over the place around here. But these donuts are all made uniformly, by machine, and without much character. And Krispy Kreme, the southern donut sensation offering free samples right off the donut line? Many of their shops are closing here, for declining business. (Remember when Krispy Kreme's were all the rage as little as a couple of years, and several inches on your waistline, ago?)
Many independent donut shops have closed in recent years due to escalating operating costs, according to Ken Jarosch, President of the Chicago Area Retail Bakers Association. There is increased competition from the national chains, and low profit margins all around. Burritt Bulloch, the owner of Old Fashioned Donuts, on the Southwest Side of Chicago by Midway Airport, today pays about $42 for the identical shortening he paid less than $18 a year ago. He also bemoans the "fuel surcharge" that comes with every delivery of ingredients 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.
My personal favorite? Forget the glazed! Lose the chocolate! Stuff the custard-filled!
I'll eat any donut that tastes like MEAT!
See Leah Zeldes Blog Post in yesterday's Chicago Sun-Times for more.
YOUR ACE REPORTER ON FOUR PAWS,
BUDDY HOLLY MOSS & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO
