Guide: Our food critic shares insider tips on all the best food and drink at Christkindlmarket in Chicago

The most difficult decision you make this holiday season may be what to get with your glühwein — that is if you’re one of the million or so visitors expected at the Christkindlmarket in Chicago.

You may know from years of experience that currywurst pairs perfectly with the warm spiced wine in each year’s collectible mug, and where to find all your favorite foods at the open-air Christmas market at Daley Plaza, clearly built by elves.

Still, the choices can be overwhelming even for an expert fortified by sausage. So what’s the most popular item at what I think is the best booth at Christkindlmarket?

[ Christkindlmarket mugs 2023: New reindeer and beer stein designs available in Chicago, Wrigleyville and Aurora ]

“Hot cocoa,” said Shawn Podgurski, co-owner of DönerMen. They do the Christkindlmarket every year, and you can always find them at DMen Tap in the Avondale neighborhood.

You wouldn’t expect a booth known for its namesake doner, and my favorite currywurst, to have hot cocoa as their bestseller. So what’s so special about the hot cocoa?

“The secret ingredient is love,” said Podgurski, in all seriousness, and not seemingly borrowed from a Lifetime channel Christmas movie. “We’re always sticklers for quality, but we gotta represent the hometown.”

Most of the vendors are from Germany. But his not-so-secret ingredients may be the many optional toppings: whipped cream, marshmallows, sprinkles plus mint and chocolate syrups as well as candy canes.

My go-to at the booth though is the currywurst.

“I’m really proud of that currywurst,” Podgurski said. “That’s my recipe for the sauce.”

He and his partners went to Germany a few times to taste the dish and get it right.

“You get this curry sauce that some people could say is curry ketchup,” he said. “And when you put that on the bratwurst, the sweetness and the saltiness and that little curry in the back end, just make a unique flavor that sounds wacky, but it’s pretty awesome.”

In Chicago, any ketchup is controversial around sausages.

“I’m a big no-ketchup-on-hot-dogs guy,” Podgurski said. “But I’m a big proponent of currywurst, so the duality of man, I guess.”

He also takes pride in their doner, a cousin to our Chicago-style gyros, but theirs is chicken marinated in yogurt and a house spice blend.

At the DönerMen booth, they can make many dishes vegan too.

“We make our own seitan,” Podgurski said. “We have a doner seitan and a bratwurst seitan.”

That’s remarkable anywhere but especially when presented beautifully in a paper boat at a freezing market.

As a market insider, what are some of his must-haves every year?

“The goulash is my favorite. And I love the rollmops, the pickled herring that’s like rolled up with the onion and the pickles,” Podgurski said. He also likes the dark beer.

He also shared his tips on when to visit the market.

“Mondays and Tuesdays,” Podgurski said. “Bring the family, bring a significant other. And if it’s someone’s first time, you’re gonna knock their socks off.”

So guten appetit and let’s eat.

Food and drink vendors listed in numerical order with my critic’s picks at each booth:

1. Timber Haus

Get glühwein, the iconic German hot spiced wine, or beer and all the collectible mugs from the open-air booth to the right of the entrance to the big indoor heated house. It’s the only place in the market where you can reserve a Stammtisch or “regulars” table, prices vary by package. You can also get your glühwein from similar menus at outdoor booths 17 and 29 (both Original Nürnberger Glühwein) and 55, the Heated Timber Tent, with indoor seating.

2. Stuffed Gourmet Pretzels

Nothing says a German market in Chicago like a pizza stuffed pretzel. The hearty soft pretzel and warm filling rivals some stuffed pizzas around town. It’s my colleague Darcel Rockett’s pick out of six flavors, which range from plain traditional Bavarian to cheesecake.

3. DönerMen

Get my must-eat currywurst, with a big beautiful bratwurst, or a vegan housemade druidwurst. Either way, it’s gilded with sauce and spice, on a bed of crisp golden fries. And remember their fan-favorite hot cocoa loaded with all the toppings, my colleague Marianne Mather’s pick. If your holiday wish is their whole menu, go to their hometown base at DMen Tap in Avondale.

4. Rollmops

If you’re a German cuisine lover or a Christkindlmarket connoisseur, you already know about rollmops. Get the pickled herring fillet, rolled in a tiny tasting cup with finely sliced pickles and onions. It’s so surprisingly stunning, and one of DönerMen co-owner Shawn Podgurski’s picks, plus possibly the best deal at the market at $5.

5. Pierogi House

Get an order of pierogi, our new Food & Dining editor Kayla Samoy’s pick. I always default to the dumplings stuffed with potatoes and cheese, here with double toppings of bacon and sour cream. They’re pretty and carefully prepared, but pricey for six pieces at $17.

7. German Grill

The centuries-old holiday markets of Nuremberg inspired our market’s late founder Ray Lotter, a German immigrant who never lost his roots, according to his obituary by my colleague Christopher Borrelli. Raise a traditional Nürnberger-style bratwurst, or two, since the sandwich includes a pair of the distinctive small and slim pork sausages, with sauerkraut of course. You can also find the brats on similar menus at booth 13 (also German Grill) plus 18 and 28 (both Traditional German Food).

8. Helmut’s Original Austrian Strudel

Get a slab of hot strudel filled with your choice of four flavors including apple, but the most popular is cherry, the stand’s employees told me. The fruit was bright and generous, but the dough on my slice was a bit underbaked on opening day. At $10, it made me miss Dinkel’s.

11. La Boulangerie & Co.

The French bakery with three locations in the city may be best known for its buttery croissants. Get the ham and cheese if it’s not sold out, but skip the $4 macarons, precious gems I nearly dropped in the hustle and bustle. Employees said their rolled croissants, inspired by the Suprêmes at Lafayette bakery in New York City, were still coming to the market.

14. German Pretzels

You could get a giant pretzel, but better yet stick to the smaller regular-size one, and we can pass on the cup of nacho cheese sauce for an extra $2.

15. Chiya Chai

Get the lovely ginger cardamom chai with whipped cream from the beloved local booth with two shops, the original in Logan Square and an outpost in the Loop, plus possibly a spicy kale and potato pie, big enough to share. The line will probably be long but moves quickly.

16. Baked Cheese Haus

Follow your nose to the deliciously stinky cheese that’s my other must-eat at the market. I wonder every year if the booth is deliberately hidden on the far southeast corner. Order a traditional raclette sandwich then watch as they mesmerizingly melt and spread to a waiting toasted baguette. It’s priced high at $16, but add a whole Wisconsin-size bratwurst for shockingly only $2 more.

20. Sweet Swabian

Get the irresistibly fragrant candied nuts, made on-site throughout the day.

23. Bob’s Belgian Hot Chocolate

The hot chocolate with softly whipped cream and a gingerbread cookie side is my colleague Shanzeh Ahmad’s pick. Get your drink in a takeout cup, or a collectible mug, if you must, at $16.

30. Schnitzel House

The namesake schnitzel sandwich is fine. But the potato pancakes frying on the griddle in front of your ever-widening eyes is the real draw, and that’s before they’re finished with sour cream or applesauce. Plus the goulash is one of DönerMen co-owner Shawn Podgurski’s other perennial picks.

35. St. Roger Abbey

The nuns are back with samples of their signature organic butter cookies. My faith was tested when they handed me a prepackaged box but restored with a bite into the golden petaled rounds. They’re not too sweet at all, and can also be found on a pilgrimage to their patisserie in Wilmette.

A few other booths offer packaged treats: 21 (Chocolate Covered Treats & German Steins and Souvenirs), 36 (United Chocolate Works), 41 (Chicago Teahouse), 43 (Bienes Honighaus), 45 (Himalayan Chai) and 54 (Sweet Castle).

Here are my answers to a few frequently asked questions I’ve received over the years about the market.

What are the Christkindlmarket dates? The market traditionally opens on the Friday before Thanksgiving, this year Nov. 17, and it will close Dec. 24, Christmas Eve.

What’s the history of the mugs? In Chicago, they go back to the first market at Pioneer Court next to Tribune Tower in 1996. The first mug was more of a tumbler, no handles, and the design was used for three years. The coveted boot kicked off the 10th anniversary in 2005 and has reappeared several times since. See all the designs and their history in the annual mug history story by my colleague Kori Rumore.

And remember there are two other related Christkindlmarkets this year, in Wrigleyville and Aurora, each with its own collectible mug.

You can buy this year’s mugs filled with gluhwëin, hot cocoa, beer and other drinks at many booths throughout the market at varying prices. Food ranges from $5 for traditional German herring rollmops, to $18 for a bratwurst and raclette cheese sandwich.

There’s also a new weekend fast entry pass for $25, so you can skip the line to enter the market and includes a mug. Children 5 years and younger can also enter for free with a fast pass holder, but the pass does not mean you can skip any vendor lines once you get in.

Is Christkindlmarket expensive? Well, it’s free to enter. The 2023 Chicago mug is $8. The kids’ mug, with a reindeer design, is also $8. And the first-ever beer stein is $20. I’m not a collector so I would pass on all the mugs for more food and drink but you might believe they’re priceless.

Do note that many vendors only accept cash. There are ATMs around the market but they may cost you a $4 fee. Beware of pickpockets, and if you see something, say something. There are security staffers posted at every entry point.

So is it worth it? It’s absolutely worth it. There’s nowhere else in the world where you can walk through a Christmas market under a Picasso.

Christkindlmarket Chicago

50 W. Washington St.

312-494-2175

christkindlmarket.com/daleyplaza

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Open: Sunday to Thursday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Christmas Eve (Dec. 24, closing day) 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Prices: $5 (salted pickled herring at Rollmops, booth 4), $12 each (currywurst and hot cocoa in 2023 Chicago mug at DönerMen, booth 3), $16 (raclette sandwich at Baked Cheese Haus, booth 16), $17 (potato and cheese pierogi with bacon and sour cream at Pierogi House, booth 5)

Noise: Conversation-friendly outdoors, conversation-challenged indoors

Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible with Americans with Disabilities Act compliant restroom near booth 49

lchu@chicagotribune.com

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