"On any morning, Au Levain is full of coffee-sipping couples, people grabbing pre-work pastries, or parents on crumb control duty as their toddler devours a pain au chocolat. It’s busy for good reason: this North Center bakery makes excellent pastries. The flaky plain croissants have the ideal sweet-to-buttery ratio, while their chorizo or lemon and blueberry danishes are equal displays of lamination prowess. And thanks to their sourdough english muffins, you'll be thinking about the sausage egg and cheese even when it's dinnertime." - sam faye, adrian kane, john ringor, veda kilaru