CepelinaiBabytė's recipes, your city's lunch break.
"rankomis lipdyti"
hand-pinched, always
Today's Board
"mūsų sunkvežimis"
our beloved truck
Lietuva
"šakotis"
spit cake, golden
per person
Pre-dawn dough to golden-hour glow — every hour tells a story.
Under a single hanging bulb in the commissary kitchen, Rūta begins. The potatoes were grated last night — now she mixes, seasons, and begins pinching. Each dumpling takes exactly three pinches. She has made 40,000 of them.
The pork filling — ground shoulder, caramelized onion, black pepper — was prepared yesterday. The sour cream is full-fat, from the Lithuanian dairy two towns over.
The truck rolls out while the city is still yawning. Steam rises from the warming pots. The caraway smell fills the cab. Radio plays old Lithuanian folk songs — the same ones Rūta's grandmother sang while cooking.
Today's stop: West Loop lunch spot, then a corporate campus in Schaumburg for the 2pm slot. The chalkboard is freshly chalked, the folk patterns freshly touched up.
Hands reach through the window. Paper boats pass back. The line stretches around the corner — office workers, construction crews, and always at least one person who smells the caraway from a block away and follows it like a signal flare.
"I grew up in Kaunas," a woman says, tears in her eyes, clutching her paper boat. This is the moment the truck was made for.
String lights glow. People sit on curbs eating from paper boats. A festival somewhere — maybe a farmers' market, maybe a corporate event, maybe a wedding rehearsal dinner. The truck glows amber.
This is when you book us. Full Baltic Feast packages include cepelinai, cold beet soup, šakotis cake, and Lithuanian craft beer. For 20 to 500 guests.
Grandmother's cards, stained with love and bacon grease.
Potato Dumplings
Hand-pinched potato dumplings stuffed with seasoned pork shoulder and caramelized onion. Boiled until just tender, then smothered in sour cream and crispy lardons. Each one takes three pinches. We make 200 a day.
Cold Beet Soup
Bright magenta cold soup made from pickled beets, kefir, fresh cucumber, and hard-boiled egg. Served with a side of hot boiled potatoes. It looks like a painting and tastes like a Lithuanian summer.
Karaite Pastries
Crescent-shaped pastries from Trakai, stuffed with spiced lamb and onion. The dough is hand-crimped into 21 folds — a tradition that dates to the 14th century. Golden, flaky, impossible to eat just one.
Spit Cake
The crown jewel of Lithuanian baking. A tree-shaped cake made by dripping batter onto a rotating spit over an open flame. Crispy, eggy, and impossible to make in a conventional oven. We bring a full spit to events.
Festivals · Corporate Lunches · Weddings · Private Parties
Expats, organizers, and first-timers who followed the caraway.
"I smelled the caraway from the other end of the parking lot. I followed it like a signal flare. I cried a little. I'm from Kaunas."
Aistė Paulauskienė
Kaunas, Lithuania → Chicago, IL
"We booked Cepelinai for our company's Friday lunch surprise. 200 people. Zero leftovers. Every person asked for the truck's Instagram before they left."
Kevin Okafor
Office Manager, Meridian Partners
"I've booked them for three festivals now. They always sell out by 2pm. Organizers love them because they bring their own everything — truck, staff, string lights. Zero headache."
Dana Kowalski
Festival Director, Chicago Artisan Market
40,000+
Dumplings pinched
rankų darbo
6
Years on the road
metų
200+
Events catered
renginių
4.97★
Average rating
žvaigždutės