Bakery

The founders of Guillotine Bakery, which has been drawing lines down the street in West Town, may be French, but judging by their favorite dishes, they're settling into Chicago just fine. 

In an age of maximalist pastries that mash together global traditions, opening a relatively traditional French bakery like Guillotine is somewhat radical. 

Ferrara and Scafuri bakeries have been serving treats in Little Italy for more than a century, including the special zeppole sold for St. Joseph's Day on March 19. 

February 17 is the big day where Chicagoans will forget the cold by indulging in sweet and fried treats of all sorts. We've got a list of places you can find them. 

The buttery oval kringle, filled with fruit, nuts, and sometimes cheese, is an icon of Racine, Wisconsin, whose bakeries even supply grocery stores around the country with the pastries at the holidays.

The old-school bakery and soda fountain Spinning J is celebrating its tenth anniversary with a podcast going behind the scenes of the struggles independent restaurants face.

Daeji Dough Company features such over-the-top offerings as a seaweed croissant filled with the Korean rice cake tteokbokki. 

Za'atar croissants with labneh, sticky toffee date cake, and "sandweeshes" on flatbread are some of the inventive offerings at Seedo's Levantine Bakery. 

Justin Lerias folds Filipino flavors into laminated dough and drinks at Del Sur Bakery & Cafe, which opens next to the Damen Brown Line on March 29.

Pączki, king cake, Swedish semlor: you can find innumerable varieties all across Chicago and the suburbs for your Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras celebrations. 

Three new artisan cafés and bakeries have opened in the same zip code around McKinley Park in the past couple months, feeding a hunger on the near Southwest Side.

Del Sur Bakery, which has recently been in residence at Side Practice Coffee, will offer creations such as longanisa croissants and calamansi hojicha buns in its own brick and mortar space next to the Damen Brown Line stop. 

For Pan Artesanal in Logan Square, the time leading up to Día de los Muertos is one of the busiest season of the year, as they sell some 2,500 pieces of pan de muerto in numerous varieties.