Let me add Heidi's Bakery into the mix. I find their pastry "pretzels," sprinkled with almond pieces absolutely delicious.

Heidi's Bakery
7633 N. Milwaukee Avenue
Niles
847-967-9393

They are located in Highwood IL. Truth be told I'm not a fan of their cupcakes. They sell open face pies (crostada's) all diff flavors apple, blueberry, rasberry, strawberry and peach at the farmers market in Highwood on Saturdays and will take orders same day for crostada's if you are in a pinch. Tell them Michelle recommend them! The brownies are good as well. I've had to cut myself off from ordering crostada's once a week.

LAD wrote:

"I LOVE BAKED GOODS. What about Swedish Bakery on North Clark. Great variety, perferct b-day cakes. And they have mini-eclairs and cannoli! "

I can't even think about the Swedish Bakery without craving Princess Torte, their custard and cream-filled yellow cake crowned with marzipan. It is ambrosial and comes in two additional flavors: mango and lemon. The mango filling actually has more of a passion-fruit tang, and has won raves from several of my friends as the best cake ever tasted. It comes in rolls, for a smaller gathering, and is sold by the slice. (You can't even count on pizza to be available in slices in this town!)

Their holiday cakes are a cut above the cheesy offerings at most bakeries, fun and colorful enough for the kids, and good enough for the adults. If you have a special occasion, they will work with you to design something beautiful. Two memorable birthday cakes were a mosaic-look cake for a designer friend, and a neo-classical fall-themed Princess Cake with cascading fruits and leaves for my daughter's 16th birthday. (The top layer is still in the freezer one year later--we just couldn't bear to cut into it. We have to take it out and look at it once in a while. And you thought fruitcakes were the only bakers' heirlooms).

Also, they have Swedish items such as limpa bread and coffee cakes that
Swedish friends said were authentic and satisfying when holiday homesickness set in. Don't forget to order ahead for holidays-- then you can go to the head of the line. They do phone orders.

For French pastries: F&O, Three Tarts, and Sweet Thang

Favorites: F&O: palmiers, cinnamon rolls, baguettes, tarts
Three Tarts: financiers
Sweet Thang: croissants and a really cool Jamaica-themed special-occasion cake, complete with a portrait of Bob Marley!

The Swedish Bakery
5348 N. Clark
Chicago
(773)561-8919
(parking lot on North side of building)

spa_girl wrote:When visiting my friends in Toronto last month, we discovered the best pastry shop we've ever been to. French inspired with some minor variation. The most astonishing was the round pastry filled with pastry cream and topped with fruit - the blueberry won. We would love to find a place that produces fabulous pastries of this quality. Can we start a thread of fabulous pastry shops?

Thanks for your help.

I am often in Toronto- please share the name of this French pastry shop-can't wait to try it.
Thanks.

I'm bumping this topic. I was recently in Portland and found a pastry shop that just blew all of ours away, in terms of quality and variety.

Most of my favorites have been mentioned here. We have quite a few pastry shops that have a few excellent items, but nothing with a huge variety of things that scream "YUMMM!!!". Most of the better ones have already been posted here. My $.02 on the best that we've got...

Vanille Patisserie - I really love their entremets. And their croissants are excellent as well.

Fox & Obel - Their quality is consistently excellent, but they really don't have all that many kinds of pastry. Their tres leches cake is excellent, and I love their bread pudding, as well as their chocolate version that they call chocolate brut. Best bran muffins and best cinnamon rolls ("swirls") I've ever had. But their fruit tarts and cream pies and such are just okay.

Swedish Bakery - I love their marzipan roll - one of the few cakes anywhere with both whipped cream and pastry cream, in different layers - and I love their marzariners, small almond paste based tarts.

Gourmet Frog - I'm glad Cathy mentioned them, because a lot of their stuff is excellent. They have a variety of cakes available by the slice. A few are great; most are good. Great cookies, and great soups. They're the carry-out adjunct of Froggy's restaurant.

Three Tarts - Another not-well-known place, which Ron mentioned. Their quality is uniformly excellent, but the variety of pastries is limited. Great eclairs. Great pear tart. They have a variety of small cookies (linzer, etc) that are excellent.

Bittersweet - I went there last week for the first time. Again, like so many places here, the variety of pastries is limited, but they have a few good things. Their scones are the best I've had anywhere. I was disappointed by the various macaroons.

Pasticceria Natalina - Which opened since this topic was active. Again, they have a few wonderful things, and some others that are just okay. It's a nice addition because their specialty, Sicilian pastries, is something you don't find elsewhere.

Sarah's - I've only been to the one in the Loop store of Marshall F... whatever they're calling it now. I was pretty disappointed.

Bottom line - I feel like we have quite a few places that have a couple of wonderful things, and even one or two that have as many as half a dozen - but no more. At Pix in Portland, I saw well over a dozen, and the ones I tried were just as great as they looked. I wish we had a place like that here!

Anyone who would like to update this topic with new places, or new opinions about places already mentioned, please feel free to chime in!

GAF wrote:Let me add Heidi's Bakery into the mix. I find their pastry "pretzels," sprinkled with almond pieces absolutely delicious. Heidi's Bakery - 7633 N. Milwaukee Avenue - Niles

I'm sad to report that Heidi's has been closed for some time, and Niles is seriously lacking in the bakery/pastry shop department, but if someone will put up the dough (ha!), I'd be glad to start one up.

Tag's Bakery in Evanston has these pastry pretzels, and they're quite tasty. If I'm not mistaken, Swedish Bakery has them too.

Tag's Bakery & Pastry Shop
tagscakes.com
2010 Central St
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 328-1200

Blast, I was beaten to the punch on mentioning Bittersweet!

I finally made it to Ambrosia Euro American Patisserie (in Barrington). There are no signs on the items in the display case, so you need to ask about them. I think that this is one of the best bakeries in the suburbs. I would go back to this bakery for a special occasion.

pear-raspberry frangipane tart:


bear claw:


truffle brownie:


creme brulee:


caramel pecan sticky bun:


cinnamon roll:


eclair:

ronnie_suburban wrote:3 outstanding places which I haven't seen mentioned here yet (all north)...

Rolf's Patisserie
4343 W Touhy Ave
Lincolnwood, IL 60712
Phone: (847) 675-6565

Three Tarts Bakery Cafe
301 Happ Rd
Northfield, IL 60093
Phone: (847) 446-5444

Sweet Memories Bakery
1852 First Street
Highland Park, IL 60035
Phone: (847) 432-1025

=R=

I have driven by Rolf's on my way home from the beach and I always told myself that I need to stop there. I finally stopped during the mid-afternoon last Sunday, a time when most bakeries are closed. The interior was pretty non-descript considering the look of the exterior. There was one couple sitting at a table by the window and no one behind the counter as I entered the store. There wasn't a whole lot left in the cases, but that's as it should be at that time of the day and week. There were quite a few cakes, an assortment of cookies, but very few bars and individual pastries, the thing that I was looking to buy.

A young woman finally emerged from the back and asked me if she could help me. I started to speak and she turned her back on me and walked away; awkward. She ended up bringing the order out to the seated couple. When she came back behind the counter I began to ask her some questions about the items in the case. Let’s just say that I wasn’t impressed with her customer service skills. There was no enthusiasm and it was as if I was she couldn’t wait for her day to end.

I chose eight mini pastries, and four regular: a raspberry mousse and a lemon mousse individual pastry, a raspberry-topped brownie and a raspberry cheesecake square (yes, there seems to be a raspberry theme here), an Opera Torte mini, a key lime tartlet, a chocolate mousse mini, a mixed fruit tartlet, a Tira Misu mini, an Apple Frangipane mini (which the counter girl identified as apple and almond; I countered, “oh, Apple Frangipane” and she said, “no, apple and almond), lemon square mini , and some sort of a cherry mini.

Everything was delicious. For as bad as the service was, the pastries made up for it. The bonus was that in the scheme of things, the prices weren’t bad. The individual pastries were about $3.75 each and the minis were $1.07 each. Individual pastries are priced anywhere from one to three dollars higher at several of the other European bakeries in Chicago.

I always got the same service issues with them. Most often they would just flat out ignore me if there was someone at the table — all bow to thee, betrothed — but otherwise they just act bored and indifferent.

I had the same reaction to Lutz. We were very dedicated. My wedding cake came from there. A while ago we visited and it was not the same. Quality had gone down, and the unique taste of the baked goods was missing. Very sad.

Ms. Ingie wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:3 outstanding places which I haven't seen mentioned here yet (all north)...

Rolf's Patisserie
4343 W Touhy Ave
Lincolnwood, IL 60712
Phone: (847) 675-6565

Three Tarts Bakery Cafe
301 Happ Rd
Northfield, IL 60093
Phone: (847) 446-5444

Sweet Memories Bakery
1852 First Street
Highland Park, IL 60035
Phone: (847) 432-1025

=R=

I have driven by Rolf's on my way home from the beach and I always told myself that I need to stop there. I finally stopped during the mid-afternoon last Sunday, a time when most bakeries are closed. The interior was pretty non-descript considering the look of the exterior. There was one couple sitting at a table by the window and no one behind the counter as I entered the store. There wasn't a whole lot left in the cases, but that's as it should be at that time of the day and week. There were quite a few cakes, an assortment of cookies, but very few bars and individual pastries, the thing that I was looking to buy.

A young woman finally emerged from the back and asked me if she could help me. I started to speak and she turned her back on me and walked away; awkward. She ended up bringing the order out to the seated couple. When she came back behind the counter I began to ask her some questions about the items in the case. Let’s just say that I wasn’t impressed with her customer service skills. There was no enthusiasm and it was as if I was she couldn’t wait for her day to end.

I chose eight mini pastries, and four regular: a raspberry mousse and a lemon mousse individual pastry, a raspberry-topped brownie and a raspberry cheesecake square (yes, there seems to be a raspberry theme here), an Opera Torte mini, a key lime tartlet, a chocolate mousse mini, a mixed fruit tartlet, a Tira Misu mini, an Apple Frangipane mini (which the counter girl identified as apple and almond; I countered, “oh, Apple Frangipane” and she said, “no, apple and almond), lemon square mini , and some sort of a cherry mini.

Everything was delicious. For as bad as the service was, the pastries made up for it. The bonus was that in the scheme of things, the prices weren’t bad. The individual pastries were about $3.75 each and the minis were $1.07 each. Individual pastries are priced anywhere from one to three dollars higher at several of the other European bakeries in Chicago.

Glad Rolf's worked out. It's probably worth mentioning that Sweet Memories is exactly that...a sweet memory. They've been closed for some. I haven't been to Rolf's or Three Tarts in the last 2 years, so it's good to know that at least Rolf's is still a quality place.

=R=

My current favorite bakery in the Lincolnwood area is Schlegel's. I mentioned them in a thread about plum pastry, but their goods are really good across the board.

Schlegl's Bakery
3915 Touhy Avenue
Lincolnwood, IL 60712
847-568-1750

I think our local patisserie in Hyde Park deserves a mention:
Bonjour Cafe Bakery
Category: Bakeries [Edit]
1550 E 55th St
(between Harper Ave & Lake Park Ave)
Chicago, IL 60615
(773) 241-5300

I haven't tasted widely because I stick to favorites. They do a very creditable croissant, which is saying a lot against the dreck that's almost everywhere. While I really dislike raisins in almost any form, their pain aux raisins has got me. Incredibly crackly/buttery dough, just the right proportion of raisins inside.
They also do a baguette and a batard, both of which are more refined than the rustic versions that now seem to predominate, but I like them a lot. The crust is thin, but still has a bit of crackle and requires a nice tug with the teeth, while the inside is fine-crumbed and silky.
Some of the cookies and little tarts seem to me insanely expensive and small as well, but I don't know enough about the business/production to credit my opinion there. The items I described above all seem perfectly in-line, price-wise.
They do a light cafe menu of soup/sandwich/salad, but I haven't tried any of that.
Madame the proprietress is like a French tourism board poster-model for the Parisian small business owner, and I've noticed that she only speaks French to the staff and they only speak French back to her. Not all perfectly, but French it is.

Our wedding cake last fall was also from Rolf's. I thought it was delicious but sympathize with what people are saying about service. We were ignored until we sought someone out to tell them we were there to taste wedding cakes (and the place was empty).

This also happened during their "issue" last fall. I understand board policy but this was all over the news so people can do their own googling.

Huh, sounds like many people are sick of their staff.

I have to say that, for me, with the majority of the pastry shops I have been to the items always seem to look better than they taste. That being said I have to throw in a mention here for Bennison's Bakery where not only are their pastries beautiful, they taste even better than they look. The napoleons, opera slices and the "bee sting" (honey and cream in a pastry slice) are all stand-outs in my opinion. But I am rarely disappointed with anything from here.


Bennisons Bakery
1000 Davis Street
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 328-9434
www.bennisonscakes.com

nsxtasy wrote:My $.02 on the best that we've got...

Vanille Patisserie - I really love their entremets. And their croissants are excellent as well.

Fox & Obel - Their quality is consistently excellent, but they really don't have all that many kinds of pastry. Their tres leches cake is excellent, and I love their bread pudding, as well as their chocolate version that they call chocolate brut. Best bran muffins and best cinnamon rolls ("swirls") I've ever had. But their fruit tarts and cream pies and such are just okay.

Swedish Bakery - I love their marzipan roll - one of the few cakes anywhere with both whipped cream and pastry cream, in different layers - and I love their marzariners, small almond paste based tarts.

Gourmet Frog - I'm glad Cathy mentioned them, because a lot of their stuff is excellent. They have a variety of cakes available by the slice. A few are great; most are good. Great cookies, and great soups. They're the carry-out adjunct of Froggy's restaurant.

Three Tarts - Another not-well-known place, which Ron mentioned. Their quality is uniformly excellent, but the variety of pastries is limited. Great eclairs. Great pear tart. They have a variety of small cookies (linzer, etc) that are excellent.

Those five - Vanille, Fox & Obel, Swedish Bakery, Gourmet Frog, and Three Tarts - are still among my favorites in the area. In the three years since I posted that, I've tried many other bakeries and pastry shops around town. I've found many to be inconsistent, with one or two items that are great, but others that are so-so. Two excellent ones I've found that are now also among my favorites:

Floriole is in Lincoln Park, a few blocks east of Vanille. Great French macaroons, croissants, etc. Great panna cotta, great pots de creme.

Gerhard's is in north suburban Lake Forest, just off the square. They too have great French style desserts, including mousse cakes, as well as baked items like macaroons, brioche, etc.

Just last week, I tried Ambrosia in Barrington, which was mentioned above. Some of the items were just okay, like the chocolate eclair, not terrible but not as good as the best in town (at Three Tarts and Gourmet Frog). The one thing they had that I really enjoyed was a chocolate-almond croissant. What's interesting is that I had never seen these before; lots of places sell chocolate croissants, and almond croissants, but I don't recall anywhere with croissants with both fillings in them.

Website links:
Vanille Patisserie
Fox & Obel
Swedish Bakery
Gourmet Frog
Three Tarts Bakery
Floriole
Gerhard's Elegant European Desserts

It's been a while since I've been in, but I always liked Bittersweet, 1114 W. Belmont. It's been open for nearly 20 years and owner Judy Contino was the pastry chef at Ambria. Pastry chef Celeste Zeccola was formerly pastry chef at Carlos.

stevez wrote:Also well deserving a mention for great old school european cakes and pastries (they make my favorite eclairs in the city) is Roeser's Bakery on North avenue. They also have home made ice cream.

Roeser's Bakery
3216 W. North Ave.
Chicago, IL
773-489-6900
Closed Mondays

Stopped there on the way home this afternoon. It was well worth a fifteen minute wait. Great pastry pretzels which were laces with a raspberry filling. And the pecan sugar cookies were excellent.

Roeser's is very much Old School, they celebrated their 100th birthday in 2011. I love how they have stayed the same and evolved in their original location (much how the Swedish Bakery has). Last time I was there (picking up a donation of cookies for a non-profit event I was involved with) the diversity of customers was amazing. The ladies behind the counter are first rate.

bjt

bjt wrote:Roeser's is very much Old School, they celebrated their 100th birthday in 2011. I love how they have stayed the same and evolved in their original location (much how the Swedish Bakery has). Last time I was there (picking up a donation of cookies for a non-profit event I was involved with) the diversity of customers was amazing. The ladies behind the counter are first rate.

bjt

I had MORE fun just standing there watching the counter people working with teh customers. Honestly, I was about to exchange my #54 with the family holding #62 just to stay there longer.

I so wanted to buy one of the large rolls or one of the cakes but just couldn't use it this week.

Toni's Patisserie and Cafe!

http://www.tonipatisserie.com/

65 East Washington Street, Chicago, IL 60602
(312) 726-2020

Just opened not too long ago... ammmmazing stuff. Toni had a shop in Hinsdale for a while as well I guess, but the loop location is new. Great lunches too.

K.D. wrote:Toni's Patisserie and Cafe!...

Toni had a shop in Hinsdale for a while as well I guess...

The Hinsdale shop is still there. I posted about it recently here.

=R=

Real Kitchen (Clark and Wilson Ave) in Uptown has a small but delicious pastry/desert section. the woman who does them used to work at el bulli and it shows.

Real Kitchen is at Montrose and Clark,
http://www.realkitchenchicago.com
We've enjoyed everything we've gotten from there.

Floriole. La Farine. Hendrickx Belgian Bakery. And pie is not pastry, but I'm still putting it here, Hoosier Mama Pie.

Real Kitchen (Clark and Wilson Ave) in Uptown has a small but delicious pastry/desert section. the woman who does them used to work at el bulli and it shows.

As reported by TOC, Andrea Correa (who was an intern at elBulli from June to December 2009), has left Real Kitchen.

http://timeoutchicago.com/restaurants-bars/15044671/100-best-things-we-ate-and-drank-in-2011-desserts-and-sweets

I went to Roesers today. Very old school old fashioned chicago bakery like I remember from my youth. they were everywhere now a dying breed. Their pecan custard coffee cake was delicious. They also had an apricot strip coffee cake that looked really good. the chocolate donut was wonderful. I bought some rye bread and also some kolochkys. I recommend a stop there if you are in the Humboldt park or Logan Sq. area or anywhere near by. they also have a free parking lot right next to their building.

Stopped in to a lovely new bakeshop called Aracely's today in LaGrange. Was about to head to evil corporate coffee giant for obligatory latte and ended up parking in front of Aracely's. Wandered in and not only did I find great coffee, but samples upon samples of their baked goods (note to self--do NOT go into a bakery with platters of free samples on an empty stomach at 10:00 a.m...). Favorite bite was the sour cherry turnover. Selected an orange cranberry muffin which was delicious and if that was all, it would've been enough. But no...the best part was that upon reviewing the menu board, there were a number of mexican options including tamales...Homemade, highly touted (by the very friendly staff) tamales. I told them to package up one of whatever they thought was best from amongst the choices (pork or chicken with green or red sauce and a poblano and cheese offering). They gave me a chicken with green sauce which I ate about 3 hours later, cold, and it was fantastic. Best tamale I think I've ever had. Moist masa, moist filling, more flavorful than spicy. Needed nothing. Not sauce, not seasoning--not even heating. I'm no tamale expert but i've eaten a ton of them so I'd love to hear what someone who knows their tamale shit thinks of them. But regardless, I'll be back to try all the other versions. And their sandwiches. Only open about a week from what I can tell from their FB page.

Aracely's Bakery
15 W Harris Ave
La Grange, IL 60525

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Oak Mill Bakery. http://oakmillbakery.com/
Are they lacking for fans? Everything we have had from there has been good.