Looking for a great pastry shop

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.

The most fabulous bakery I know of in Chicago is BomBon, in Pilsen. I had a slice of a tres leches cake from them last night which could not have been better.

The couple who own BomBon used to work at Frontera/Topolobampo. The husband studied at the CIA and the wife studied in Paris.


[info from Metromix:]
BomBon Bakery
1508 W. 18th St.
Chicago
312-733-7788

Hours: 7 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday

I would highly recommend the European pastries at Lutz, especially the dense cheese coffee cake with golden raisins.

Lutz
2458 W. Montrose
773-478-7785

Lutz on Montrose is a longstanding favorite. Their individual pastries are heavenly(everthing from the marzipan-laden to the fruit-and-custard-heavy), and their cakes are sinful and made with old world care (Black Forest, hint, hint!). My friends often beg me to bring "that fabulous assorted pastry tray you brought to xx's" to their parties.

Enjoy!

Lutz Continental Cafe and Pastry
2458 W. Montrose
773-478-7785

Hooray ! I get to be the first one to mention:

Vanille Pastisserie
2229 N. Clybourne
773-868-4574
www.vanillepatisserie.com

a pastry shop where everything looks good and tastes good, too. Very good tarts, cakes. Chocolates. Haven't tried the baguettes yet. One of the nicest things I've ever eaten was a .... construction? .... a cylinder of white cake, raspberry mousse, fresh raspberries, and white chocolate mousse. Wrapped in a white chocolate ganache? [I'm way out my depth, AT LEAST spelling-wise, and maybe pastry terms as well.] Anyway, deliciousness on a fork.

[full disclosure: place is owned by sister and brother-in-law of a co-worker. But I wouldn't rave about it to all y'all if I didn't mean it].

Also :

Cafe' Selmarie
4729 N. Lincoln Ave.
773-989-5595

and no disrespect at all to Lutz's. My wedding cake was a Black Forest cake from there. They were very rude about not delivering it, however.

Does Vanille make their own baguettes now? Last time I was there (some time ago) they had stopped selling the La Brea baguettes they sold when they opened.

As for Cafe Selmarie, I want to like it, but I've been quite underwhelmed by their pastries.

Fox and Obel pastries are quite good, though I would rate their croissant a notch below Vanille.

Tea and Sympathy Bakery is really good but it's not like the bakeries listed on this page. I think the pastry chef is from Taiwan and he bakes pastries that have a lighter taste than most european bakeries.

http://www.teaandsympathybakery.com/

Hi,

For years, every celebratory cake and pastry tray came from Lutz's. My Dad used to work nearby and would collect a cake on his way home. Later, I would drive in from Highland Park to buy their cakes. Our family was very, very dedicated to Lutz's.

The last cake I brought home from Lutz's sealed our opinion of its' having gone down hill. The whipped cream frosting was no longer real whipping cream but some artificial sugary-oily thing. My Dad was the most sensitive and also our biggest Lutz fan.

We now buy our celebratory cakes from Bombon, which not only look fabulous but the taste matches the looks.

&&&

Last February, I brought my Moms to Lutz's for a Valentine's Day luncheon. I am not interested in going to into the lunch, because that is not the focus of this discussion. Having said that I will make one aside: Lutz's had 'live' entertainment. It was a middle-aged man playing a bass guitar to karaoke music without any singer. Toward the end of the lunch, a ten year old boy came up to the stage to sing 'The Girl from Ipanema.' This is hardly a well known song in a contemporary 10-year-olds repetoire. I then realized from the pleased smile on the bass guitarist this was his son. This was not a spontaneous event but rather planned entertainment. It took tremendous self control to not go into convulsions of laughter. It was just too peculiar.

I'm a big bakery fan, and I've been compiling a list, like the ice cream list, that one day I shall release. Of course, Michael M on Chowhound has done some good summaries already. It's worth the hopeless search function there to find them. Useless stuff said, here's a couple more places that are really good:

Bittersweet - If nothing else, the owners bristly personalities seem to effect people's opinion of this place, but on the other hand, nearly their entire repetoire is about as good as it gets, a style of pastry that straddles American baking with European. Their ice cream is also very underrated.

Artopolis - Fine French pastries from a Greek cafe? Yes!

Vienna Pastry - This lonely bakery on a pretty residential stretch of West Addison makes some really great stuff, especially the strudels.

For a bakery with more of a French twist (and, yes, lots of fruit tarts) try Bonjour Cafe Bakery, 1550 East 55th Street (Hyde Park Coop shopping center). Wonderful gateaux, too, as well as baguettes and other breads.

On the Northwest side there is a commercial bakery with what I
would call individual boutiques deserts along with standard
bakery fare. Greek operation so they have baklava (sic)
and spinach cheese pies. Wife likes their boutiques deserts
(around $2 @) better than Fannie May. Couple blocks East
on Bryn Mawr from the Kennedy Bryn Mawr exit. Retail outlet
on Southeast end of building.

Chicago Sweet Connection Bakery
Bryn Mawr & Northwest Highway
(773) 283-4430 (800) 869-6190

My favorite pastry/cake shop is Montblanc in Arlington Heights. It's a Japanese style bakery that makes the most amazing fresh cream cakes and cookies. My favorite is the strawberry cream cakes. Fresh strawberries, fresh cream, light cake... hmmm....

In general, asian cakes are lighter and not as sweet and rich as their European counterparts. It may be the way we were brought up in that rich foods were rare. This may not hold true for the newer generations, though.

I have childhood memories of my mom peeling off the cheese on a pizza and Big Mac... =)

Just so the Southwest Side and near west burbs are represented, your best bets for Euro bakery are: Weber's on Archer Avenue just east of Harlem Avenue and Pticzek's on Narragansett just south of 55th Street, both in the Garfield Ridge neighborhood. In Berwyn, the Turano Bakery outlet shop on Roosevelt Road between East Avenue and Ridgeland has good Italian treats and breads, and Vesecky's on Cermak Road between Oak Park and East Avenue is Czech heaven. All good, all authentic.

I can't attest to their cakes, but Sweet Thang on North Ave (just east of Damen) makes some of the best croissants I've found here!

Janet C. wrote:I can't attest to their cakes, but Sweet Thang on North Ave (just east of Damen) makes some of the best croissants I've found here!

I can attest to their excellent palmiers:

Sweet Thang
1921 W. North Ave.
773-772-4166

I would just like to second a few already mentioned. I think Fox & Obel, Vanile Patisserie and Bittersweet are three of the best, though in truth I have not been to Bittersweet in about a year. V.P. and F&O - so far they have never disappointed me, and sometimes amaze me. Sweet Thang has some very nice things, though I believe V.P.'s croissant to be a notch above theirs. Vienna Pastry has some fine pastry a few notches down from these as well, IMO.

When Red Hen first opened, the few sweets they made were good, but I only recall them having a few, basic cookie or cookie-bar type treats. But that's been a while for me.

I have heard good things about Bonjour Bakery as well, though never been. And finally, the pastry shop/cafe attached to the Penninsula Hotel, Pierrot Gourmet, and Albert's Cafe on...Elm, I think, have some nice things.

Others have raved about Ambrosia Bakery in Barrington as well as some place in Lake Forest as being superb french-style bakeries or maybe pastry shops, but I've never been to either. These sound promising, but pretty removed from the central metro area.

Selmarie I have tried and tried to like because it's so cute, but I don't. No dairy item (cream, butter) tastes of dairy. And Bom Bon - this is practically heretical, but though I like them, I really don't think they are in the same league as VP, F&O, Bittersweet at all. Last year I ate something of theirs once a week for 5 weeks while taking a class in the area, and it was all fine, just not superior, IMHO.

Was the discussion of Is Chicago a Seafood Town here or on another forum? I can't remember, but I do recall thinking that we're not really a Pastry/Bakery town (or an ice cream town) either, in the same way that NYC and San Francisco are for pastry or NYC and Boston are for ice cream. Probably better for my waistline, anyway.

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 LOVE BAKED GOODS. What about Swedish Bakery on North Clark. Great variety, perferct b-day cakes. And they have mini-eclairs and cannoli! Lutz and I go way back they have great cookies and a reputation for being very unfriendly

Cathy2 wrote:The last cake I brought home from Lutz's sealed our opinion of its' having gone down hill. The whipped cream frosting was no longer real whipping cream but some artificial sugary-oily thing. My Dad was the most sensitive and also our biggest Lutz fan.

I tried Lutz's last year with my family - I have heard many great things about it from my grandparents but I was not impressed, probably due to the mentioned decrease of quality.

However I did enjoy the nice coffee set that they brought out (french press I think). It came out on a metal platter of some sort with creme and sugar. I thought that was nice. :p

About Montblanc - yes, I completely agree that the pastries are veeeery light there. I also favor the strawberry creme cakes yum!! I hope the daughter continues maintaining the business - she is attending school down here also at UIUC this fall as a freshman so hopefully I can befriend her to get some discounted desserts? Anyway, the owner of Montblanc, Koji, can create wonderful cakes for special occasions like weddings and such. My family has special ordered from him before and all of the creations were great.

Not precisely a pastry shop, but I have quite pleased with any of the pastries from Argo Tea on Armitage whenever I have ordered any of them - might be worth an inquiery as to where they get them (especially the cookies)

Shannon

spa-girl wrote

The most astonishing was the round pastry filled with pastry cream and topped with fruit - the blueberry won.

Am I reading this correctly, and what is being described is a traditional fruit tart? Just checking.

As to good bakeries, here is my west suburban catalog, which is outside the sphere of the other suggesions, but may be of use to some.

Hahn's - Geneva. Good tarts and cakes, and all around pastry. Not too fond of their bread which is a little too sweet and soft for me.

Tea & Sympathy - Naperville. Great chinese pastries, done in a somewhat French style. The sweet breads, eggy rich, such as the Pineapple bread, are very tasty fusion items. Then they also have a full line of European pastries, including lots of cheesecake-ish things that I have never tried.

Upper Crust - Lisle. The best coffee cakes I have ever had. These are regular strip coffee cakes, but they make all sorts of varieties and they are all totally sinful. I have not yet gotten beyond these, but they have other cookies and pastries that look darned good.

I'm so glad others weren't crazy about Lutz. I've held my tongue on it for a while since everyone else on all other boards seems to like it so much. What has bothered me is that what's plugged there are their whipped cream cakes, which were bland, with not seemingly much dairy presence at all in the "cream."

However, I did just remember Julius Meinl. When they first opened, I visited about 5 times, and was really impressed - they had the best eclairs I'd tried in the city (no, I'm sure I've not had them all), as well as some other very impressive pastries, all very well done. I was especially won over because they were served at an appropriate temperature - not so frigid that the icing was hard, the shell sodden, etc.

They've had a change of pastry chefs, I seem to recall, but have not been there since.

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=

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

I love Lutz's garden, one of the nicest old school places in the city. I agree that the desserts are not first class by today's standards, but the whole time warp/escape to Switzerland aspect of that garden transcends that.

dicksond wrote:spa-girl wrote

The most astonishing was the round pastry filled with pastry cream and topped with fruit - the blueberry won.

Am I reading this correctly, and what is being described is a traditional fruit tart? Just checking.

Actually it isn't. I know my description makes it sound that way, but it was unique. The pastry was was flaky & buttery pastry crust not a tart crust - and it was shaped like a pastry, not a tart. The creme filling was a bit creamier than a normal tart, and the topping wasn't covered in fruit but more or less graced by it. The perfect amount for flavor and luxury but not just blueberries. Next time I'm in Toronto I'll take photos.

----------------

Thanks everyone for the tips so far!

Speaking of favorite pastries...

Does anyone know of anyplace (outside of Paris) to get cannels? (spelling?)

Martha Stewart's Living Feb 2000 had a recipe for them. They're labor-intensive, but tasty when done right.

Thanx.

Michael M. wrote:I'm so glad others weren't crazy about Lutz. I've held my tongue on it for a while since everyone else on all other boards seems to like it so much. What has bothered me is that what's plugged there are their whipped cream cakes, which were bland, with not seemingly much dairy presence at all in the "cream."

Lutz has changed hands in the past year or so, a fact that the new owners are trying to keep quiet. But that's when the started opening for breakfast and launched a Web site, which implies that the Lutz family still owns the place, when in fact they sold out years (decades?) ago.

I had heard that the new owners were three partners. They were supposedly not going to make changes, but this is apparently not true. (I was told that one of the owners was Greek -- why is it that so many of the Greek-owned coffee shops around town have pastries that look better than they taste?)

Has anyone had the marzipan under the new regime? Or the marzipan torte?

HI,

To add a bit more to the North Shore pastry information:

Where I would not go: Deerfield's Bakery. They look very stylish but they taste like cake mix.

Two places to try:

IL Mulino Bakery
530 Sheridan Road
Highwood, IL 60040
847-266-0811

I have only gone there once recently: I purchased a one pound round peasant loaf of bread, a rice ball filled with meat and cheese (don't remember the name), freshly made still-hot calzone: ricotta-spinach and a ham plus a large canolli filled after I ordered -- all for about $9. They have Italian pastries and cakes like Cannolli's. Jonah sometime ago commented on his Il Mulino experience.

Gourmet Frog Distinctive Desserts
316 Green Bay Road
Highwood, IL 60040
847-433-7038

I have had their cakes at various parties. You may purchase pastries and eat in their shop.

If I am in Chicago, then I buy cakes from Bombon.

&&&

LAZ wrote:Lutz has changed hands in the past year or so, a fact that the new owners are trying to keep quiet.

I realize why they do this from a business sense. It would be more clever if they keep the same standards, then the new owner could maintain and build up the business further. Instead as a consumer, you believe you are walking into your tried-and-true, only to find substantitive differences, which cause you to walk away and never return. In essence, the new owners are cannabalizing their investment. I just don't get it.

The previous owners did not carry the name Lutz. However, it was the maiden name of the wife. She and her husband took over the restaurant from her parents. Scuttlebutt at my barber's a year or so was that they were tired (ages in late 60s or more) and wanted to sell but were asking too much money. Evidently asking and offering prices got together.

i just used Sunflour Bakery at 3751 N. Southport for my daughter's wedding and it was great. Not the wedding cake, but pastries and desserts for Sunday brunch-great danish, scones, etc.