ALF Bakery

"The true star at this underground bakery in Chelsea Market is the laminated baguette, a solid baton of bread encased in a flaky, buttery shell. But the basic croissant is pretty good too, with its glossy, painted bands of dough and jaunty, classic crescent shape. It’s on the chewier end of the spectrum, and also sweeter than average, and while it might not necessarily stand out at a baked goods beauty pageant, it would be a very welcome guest at any breakfast table." - willa moore, bryan kim, sonal shah, will hartman

"Run by an alum of cult favorite Arcade Bakery, Alf has a loyal following of its own thanks to its much-hyped laminated baguettes (imagine the love child of a croissant and a loaf of bread). But this tiny bakery in the basement of Chelsea Market has more to offer, like a mushroom danish, and sandwiches at lunchtime. While you’re there, you should also grab a lemon sugar brioche and half a sourdough miche to quarter and freeze at home." - willa moore, carina finn koeppicus, kenny yang

"The Laminated Baguette The laminated baguette at ALF Bakery in Chelsea is a reminder that anything is possible. Technically, it’s croissant dough wrapped around a baguette. Spiritually, it’s butter wrapped around butter. The baguette beneath tastes slightly underbaked, but the flaky croissant dough shell makes up for it. This is not a necessary invention—but then again, nothing on this list really is. We’d buy it for a dinner party at least once. " - willa moore

"Serving pain au chocolat, savory danishes, croissants, babka, and breads of all sorts, ALF Bakery opened this spring in the basement of the Chelsea Market. It occupies a pair of stalls, with a glassed-in bakery on one side, showing bakers at work, with a sales counter on the other, behind which pastries are displayed in a glass case while loaves of bread file along the wall. Amadou Ly runs the bakery; he worked at Tribeca’s Arcade Bakery for five years, and before that was a pastry chef and chocolatier at several prominent restaurants in the city." - Eater Staff, Melissa McCart

"ALF Bakery, located inside Chelsea Market and run by chef Amadou Ly, is noted for its laminated baguette." - Juliet Izon