LINCOLN SQUARE — Lincoln Square's German roots will be on full display this weekend during the neighborhood's annual version of Oktoberfest.
Beer and sausage will be served, folks will don their finest dirndls and lederhosen, and shouts of "zigge zagge zigge zagge hoi hoi hoi" will echo for blocks.
Those looking to experience a slice of German culture away from the festival's raucous tents would do well to mosey up the street to Cafe Selmarie, 4729 N. Lincoln Ave., and order a piece of black forest cake.
Pastry trends may come and go, but the black forest torte, a classic German dessert, has been a mainstay on Selmarie's menu since the cafe opened its doors 33 years ago this month.
"I made it the way I remembered having it in Germany," said co-owner Birgit Kobayashi, who immigrated to Chicago with her parents in 1963.
Black forest cake is a classic German dessert. [All photos DNAinfo/Patty Wetli]
Though Kobayashi's family boast ties to two of the best-known (and still-standing) German pastry shops on the North Side — her aunt lived in a building owned by a baker from Dinkel's and her parents managed a rooming house owned by a pastry chef at Lutz — it wasn't until she moved to her husband's native Japan as a young wife in the 1970s that Kobayashi began baking in earnest herself.
"I went to Japan with a copy of Fannie Farmer and I started to bake in Japan, which wasn't easy in 1972," she recalled.
"I had to scavenge flour and nuts, there were no big supermarkets," she said.
Yet she persisted and as she worked her way through the cookbook, Kobayashi gained the foundation for what would become Selmarie a decade later.
"That was kind of my lab," she said.
Fast forward to the early 1980s and the Kobayashis were back in Chicago, living on Giddings Street in Lincoln Square.
Birgit was staying home with the couple's three small children when she was introduced by a mutual friend to a fellow baker and Giddings neighbor, Jeanne Uzdawinis, who ran a catering business.
"We just hit it off," Kobayashi said of her long-time business partner. "One thing led to another and it was, 'You want to do something together? Sure!'"
The two spent the summer of 1983 honing their recipes and began supplying wholesale accounts.
"It was perfect timing. All these coffee shops were coming up and they all needed pastries," said Kobayashi.
After scouting for a location to house their burgeoning business, Kobayashi and Uzdawinis settled on a spot close to home, at Lincoln and Giddings.
Customers familiar with Selmarie's current footprint might be surprised to learn that a jewelry shop once operated where the cafe's pastry and coffee counter now stand. Selmarie started out in an 800-square-foot space in the rear of the building, behind the jeweler, before eventually expanding.
All these years later, Kobayashi still appreciates the support she and Uzdawinis received as budding entrepreneurs, be it from their landlord to mortgage loan officers.
"Everybody wanted to see us succeed," she said.
Over the years, Kobayashi and Uzdawinis have kept pace with evolving tastes and the neighborhood's shifting demographics, adding colored sugar to cookies, introducing cinnamon rolls and bowing to the pressure to carry cupcakes. ("For the longest time, we didn't want to do them," Kobayashi said, for fear of competing with their own cakes.)
Today, Selmarie is known as much for its dining menu, and arguably one of the best outdoor seating areas in the neighborhood, as its baked goods.
What hasn't changed: Kobayashi and Uzdawinis are still a constant presence at Selmarie, though Kobayashi middle child, Connie, is on board as a general manager.
And black forest cake is still on the menu, ranking as one of the most popular items.
"It has to stay. We've had this since we opened the cafe," Kobayashi said.
Recipe for Success
Though variations of black forest cake abound, Kobayashi sticks to the traditional recipe.
She starts with two layers of chocolate and one layer of vanilla sponge cake, brushed with cherry juice and drizzled with kirsch, a fruit brandy made from cherries. German law actually mandates the inclusion of kirsch if a cake is to be labeled "black forest," and Kobayashi is happy to comply.
"I like to be able to taste it in every bite," she said.
Next, each cake layer is covered in a thin layer of chocolate buttercream and topped with a more substantial filling of whipped cream, which is studded with cherries.
The whole torte is smothered in whipped cream and then coated in almonds before maraschino cherries are added as the finishing touch.
"It looks so rich and filling but it's so light," Kobayashi said.
German-American Fest is scheduled Friday through Sunday at Lincoln and Leland avenues, and includes food and drinks, music, dancing and carnival games. The event runs 5-11 p.m. Friday, noon to 11 p.m. Saturday, and noon to 10 p.m. Sunday.
The Von Steuben Parade kicks off at 2 p.m. Saturday. The route begins at Irving Park Road and Lincoln Avenue, and progresses north on Lincoln to Eastwood, where it turns west and then runs north on Western Avenue to Lawrence. Expect closures and "no parking" zones along the route.
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