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 .
Guide: Our food critic s picks for Christkindlmarket in Chicago chicagotribune.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from chicagotribune.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
CHRISTOPHER BORRELLI
Chicago Tribune
CHICAGO â Close your eyes and you can see the legacy of Raimund F. âRayâ Lotter, native son of Wurzburg, Germany, longtime adopted Santa of sorts to Chicago. You can see the strands of white lights strung throughout the Daley Center. You can see the market stalls. You can smell the potato pancakes and feel the bracing cold of December in Chicago.
Twenty-five years ago, Lotter organized the first Christkindlmarket in Chicago. He died Sunday at 83. Look inside your cabinets â if youâre from the Chicago area, thereâs a chance you own one, two, maybe 25 of those boot-shaped mugs that held hot mulled wine, a Christkindlmarket staple. Thank Ray Lotter. Each year, because of what he began in Chicago, the sweet steam from those mugs now floats along Dearborn Street each holiday season. Because of him, come winter, the Loop smells of grilled sausage.