Sweet memories

Ink has been spilled en masse to chronicle Chicago’s decade (or so)-long culinary renaissance. But there are some words that just aren’t heard in those reports—words like bread, croissant and Danish. Historically, pastry lagged behind savories. And for a while, it looked as if it would never catch up.

But in looking back at the past decade, it’s clear that a pastry movement has actually been mounting this whole time. It was a smaller movement, often drowned out by a much louder cupcake movement, and many of the defining moments went unnoticed. Here, we point some of those moments out—even the ones that have yet to happen.

2000 New millennium, ancient pastries. Some of the most well-known bakeries are Lutz, Dinkel’s and Bennison’s—joints that have been around for decades.

2002 A banner year, as two major pastry developments take place: Sweet Mandy B’s kicks off the whimsical cupcake thing; meanwhile, Julius Meinl starts putting out properly made European pastries.

2005 Mindy Segal opens HotChocolate in Bucktown; a small take-away case in front isn’t a bakery per se, but the bar is raised on cookies and brownies nonetheless.

2006 Swirlz Cupcakes opens.

2007 Molly’s Cupcakes opens.

2007 Pasticceria Natalina opens, finally taking Chicago’s Italian pastry scene beyond cannoli.

2008 Bread maker Rida Shahin starts selling his impeccable breads to restaurants; the following year, he opens La Farine bakery.

2008 L2O opens with the city’s strongest bread and pastry program. Properly made macarons are finally available in Chicago (for a minimum of $110).

2009 Phoebe’s Cupcakes opens.

2009 Nathaniel Meads opens Fritz Pastry, despite conventional wisdom that bakeries without cupcakes are like bars without beers.

2009 The Cupcake Counter opens.

2009 Unassuming coffee shop Beans & Bagels hires Jean-Yves Martin. Almost immediately, its bagels take a back seat to Martin’s still-warm Danish.

2010 Floriole opens in Lincoln Park and serves what is probably the best ham-and-cheese croissant (and brownie) in the country.

2010 Flirty Cupcakes—cupcakes via truck—gets going.

2010 Cupcake interference! Cookie Bar makes a case for cookies as the next cupcakes.

July 2010 La Boulangerie, a French-style bread bakery, plans to open in Logan Square.

2011 Enoch Simpson, former doughnut maker at Nightwood, plans to open an artisanal doughnut shop—perhaps putting an end to cupcakes once and for all.

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