Don't Get it Twisted: Chicago's Best Pretzel Creations
Auntie Anne's, as mediocre as you are, I thank you for instilling in me an incessant love for pretzels. Along with many others who probably don't care to admit it, my pretzel obsession is indebted to this food court conglomerate. Since my younger, naive days, I've relished soft pretzels, and restaurants have risen to that craving, serving up their own pretzels in all shapes and sizes (and yes, size does matter). Pretzels are especially on the mind as of late, since April 26 is National Pretzel Day. In honor of this holiday, a veritable doughy Christmas, I'm rounding up some of the best pretzels in town, plus some of the coolest pretzel-inspired creations. Also, not to get too illicit, but pretzels are a rare instance where soft is better than hard.
One of my favorite pretzels in Chicago can be found at Revolution Brewing Co. Beer and pretzels are as natural a combo as Batman and Robin, so it makes sense that a brewpub would sling pretzels. Like most everything else on the menu, these pretzels are huge. They're soft and pillowy, baked fresh in-house, flecked with crunchy salt crystals and served with Dusseldorf mustard and enough cheddar-ale dip to be a soup. The pretzels are listed as appetizers, but if you eat the whole wheel-sized thing, you'll ruin your appetite.
(Pretzel at Revolution Brewing Co.)
Bangers & Lace certainly has a way of comforting my guilty pleasures. From deviled eggs to pigs-in-blankets to any kind of encased meat I could ever want, this sausage-focused bar has me covered. Then there's the Bavarian-style pretzel. This thing looks and tastes like a grown-up Auntie Anne's pretzel, if Anne grew up to be a saucy drunkard. The pretzel is gooey and rich, absolutely glistening with butter. What really sets this thing over the top is the housemade chocolate stout mustard served alongside. It tastes like boozy chocolate syrup, and it's the kind of thing I dream about.
(Pretzel with chocolate stout mustard at Bangers & Lace)
I can't do a pretzel roundup without talking about Hannah's Bretzel. I love everything about this pretzel-y place, particularly their sandwiches served on bretzel bread (pretzel + bread = bretzel!). The pretzels themselves are solid, but when you split open a loaf of pretzel bread and stuff it with Serrano ham, Manchego cheese, shaved fennel, and fig chutney, angels sing.
(Serrano-Manchego bretzel sandwich at Hannah's Bretzel)
Now for the whimsical stuff. Bongo Room is a wonderland of breakfast decadence. All of their pancakes are rich and over the top, stacked in unruly portions. Knowing this, it's the place to go to if you're looking to recklessly indulge, or if you're en route to the electric chair. Their pancake flavors rotate often, but one of their recurring flavors is white chocolate-caramel-pretzel, a dessert-disguised-as-breakfast made by sprinkling thick pancakes with pretzels and dousing the whole thing with white chocolate and caramel.
(White chocolate-caramel-pretzel pancakes at Bongo Room)
The cutest pretzels in town are the warm pretzel bites at Old Town Social. These adorable morsels are nuggets of Bavarian pretzel dough sprinkled with salt and served with beer mustard and cheese sauces. Their dainty size makes it all too easy to scarf the whole bowl.
(Pretzel bites at Old Town Social. Photo: Old Town Social)
For a pretzel dessert, head to Nightwood. One of the new desserts from recently instated pastry chef Sarah Mispagel is a soft pretzel bread pudding. So basically it's the ultimate dessert and nothing else in the world matters. It's a medley of sweet, custard-y pretzels topped with a scoop of chocolate-covered pretzel ice cream. It's pretzel-tastic!
(Pretzel bread pudding at Nightwood. Photo: Emily Belden)
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