I started to write this then changed my mind about posting until I read Joe's comments just now:
Of course, without any large-scale immigration since before WWI and, even with that which has been in more recent times, there are very few areas where there was at least something of a local concentration and so there's no such thing as a real German neighbourhood anymore. Without a base of knowledgeable regulars, most of them have closed over the last 20-30 years.
I have lived most of my life in the Chicago area. My Grandparents both immigrated from Germany to Chicago in the 1920's along with quite a number of others. My Grandfather immigrated to fulfull his sense of adventure. My Grandmother to appease a very sad affair of the heart. Deep down, both were also fleeing the social and economic chaos of post WWI Germany.
My Grandparents choice of places to live was very much dictated by where their friends lived and German community locus: Lincoln Avenue from Lawrence to roughly Addison. My Grandfather located his business in three buildings on Lincoln Ave between Montrose and Irving Park. My Grandparents and their friends were always situated a short bus or car ride to their comfort zone; not an unusual pattern of behavior for immigrants.
Thirty years ago, Davis Theater exclusively played German movies. I know as I suffered through many as my parents brought all of us for exposure. I guess if we spoke German at home this would reinforce our education, but we didn't. So it was a torturously boring two hours. German was spoken in my Dad's family until WWII, when they switched exclusively to English. Consequently, my Father speaks German with an ambiguous accent, not quite German - not American - something difficult to place. His young siblings speak no German at all because of this shift.
Like all immigrants, my Grandparents wanted their children to live better than themselves. IN my family's case, this meant to the suburbs. It is no mistake there is a Kuhn's Delicatessen in Deerfield. Or Koenemann's Sausage Company, a German deli and sausage producer, situated around Route 12 and 120 on the border of Lake and McHenry counties.
The last 10-15 years have been hard on the German community locus. My Grandparent's generation has died. Their children are typical first generation Americans: usually try to shed their ethnicity to be more American than any American they know. They have assimulated to where German food is interesting but there are so many other options out there. Escalating property values and related taxes are putting those clinging to tradition into retirement with a nice cash cushion. I may have the name wrong but not the circumstances: one german restaurant (I think it was Zum Deutsche Eck) closed 18 months ago and the building converted to condos. I don't blame them to succombing to economic pressures. You're tired, you want to retire, your children are not interested in the business, nobody will pay you what the business is worth and someone will pay you more than that for the property itself.
You visit Mader's in Milwaukee where there are sunflower seeds in the salad and 'lite' versions of German classics. My Oma would not recognize this food.
I do have a little hope when I visited Edelweiss last Summer. I felt like I was in a time warp, my Grandparents were still alive. We went on a Saturday evening when they had a German band not playing oopah Bavarian stuff but rather music to dine and dance by. The men wore suits and the ladies were fresh from the hair salon. All looking their best with the expectations of a fine evening. The food wasn't dumbed down or least not as deliberately as witnessed at Mader's. And the place was full and patronized.
Fortunately, I have friends and family in Germany who are only an airplane ticket away.
Regards,
Cathy2
Edelweiss Restaurant
7650 West Irving Park Road
Harwood Heights, IL 60706
708-452-6040
Koenemann's Sausage Company
27090 Volo Village Road
Mchenry, IL 60050
815-385-6260
Kuhn's Delicatessen
160 South Waukegan Road
Deerfield, IL 60015
847-272-4197