If there is one overarching trend that food critics and pastry enthusiasts have noticed over the past several years, it is the extraordinary evolution of the modern bakery. Across the country, independent baking operations have significantly stepped up their game, driven by a cultural moment where the "little treat" phenomenon is at an all-time high.
Some of these establishments function as deep personal expressions of a baker’s cultural heritage and identity, while others aggressively push culinary boundaries with unexpected, genre-bending flavor combinations. Yet, what unites them all is an unwavering commitment to technical precision and a refusal to compromise on quality at a time when consumer demand for exceptional, artisanal baked goods is peaking.
The recognition of these standout culinary destinations forms the backbone of this year’s Eater Awards, which highlight the most dynamic, innovative, and beloved spots shaping the American food landscape. From neighborhood storefronts born out of pandemic lockdowns to community-driven pillars of baking education, these bakeries are defining the cutting edge of contemporary pastry arts.
Chicago, Illinois: Bad Butter
If there is one new establishment in the Windy City that requires no further introduction or hype, it is Bad Butter. Visitors strolling down West Cortland Street in Bucktown know they have arrived when they spot the characteristic line cascading out of a clean, whitewashed storefront—a persistent queue that rarely lets up until the pastry case inside is completely empty.
The creative force behind Bad Butter is Dan Koester, who formerly served as the head baker at Soho House Chicago. Like countless culinary professionals across the globe, Koester found himself restricted to his home kitchen during the shutdowns of 2020. He began baking excess sourdough loaves to share with friends and family, eventually offering them up for free local pickup. After he was officially laid off that summer, Koester took a leap of faith and launched an online baking business that rapidly amassed a massive, fiercely loyal following.
Following a successful residency at the Emily Hotel, Koester finally established his permanent brick-and-mortar home in Bucktown. The bakery serves as an open showcase for his immense range and technical mastery. Shelves are frequently stocked with still-warm, charred, and dimpled flats of focaccia generously showered with scallion furikake. Twice-baked almond croissants achieve an impossible crispness and exquisite lamination, bursting open to reveal a subtle, aromatic almond paste filling. Meanwhile, a spicy harissa monkey bread delivers a cloudlike texture balanced expertly by a cooling pool of creamy labneh drizzled with silky olive oil.
Bad Butter’s menu achieves a rare feat: it possesses incredible breadth while gracefully arc-ing with the rhythm of the seasons. Customers who snake along the polished concrete floor while waiting their turn are rewarded with towering cruffins, dusted meticulously in fine grains of sugar and piped full of tangy ginger plum jam, or vibrant seasonal tarts piled high with plump, lacquered blueberries. Securing a pastry box filled with these confections is widely considered by Chicago food lovers to be well worth the wait.
Los Angeles, California: Chainsaw
In Los Angeles, the journey from an underground operation to a celebrated neighborhood fixture has found its ultimate expression in Chainsaw. Born originally as an underground dinner party operating out of Karla Subero Pittol’s garage in Echo Park, Chainsaw finally secured its own permanent physical home in November 2025. Located in Melrose Hill—an increasingly vibrant and gentrifying neighborhood that has quietly transformed into a hub for some of the city’s finest independent restaurants—the lively cafe has quickly become a community anchor.
At Chainsaw, Subero Pittol channels her deep Venezuelan heritage through an inventive, deeply personal menu. Patrons can order arepas generously stuffed with savory beans, lime-infused guasacaca, and fresh cheese, or a Venezuelan hot dog, known locally as a perro caliente, elevated by a bright, acidic slaw. Among the standout offerings is her bracingly tart passionfruit-lime icebox pie, a dessert that commands a passionate cult following entirely its own.
Stepping into Chainsaw feels less like entering a commercial establishment and more like walking directly into Subero Pittol’s home kitchen, where she greets both regulars and newcomers as if they were old friends. Guests study a handwritten menu that changes daily, making attachment to any single dish a risky endeavor—aside from the ever-present icebox pie, of course. Patrons are regularly tempted by spontaneous creations, such as a full English breakfast served for a single day only.
The cafe’s impact on the broader Los Angeles dining scene is unmistakable. Near-constant crowds hover outside the storefront, reading newspapers over cups of espresso or tucking into Subero Pittol’s latest culinary experiments. In a metropolis that has historically lacked an accessible outlet for untamed, modern Venezuelan cooking, Chainsaw provides a vital home for its founder to celebrate her culinary roots in a way that feels distinctively, undeniably Los Angeles.
Brooklyn, New York: Diljān
Blending Afghan and Latin American influences in a seamless display of baking prowess, Diljān has given New Yorkers a bakery with a distinct point of view and a multitude of reasons to return week after week. The project is the result of a powerhouse collaboration between Ali Zaman and Mohamed Ghiasi, the owners of Astoria’s beloved Little Flower Cafe, who teamed up with Honduran American baker and cookbook author Bryan Ford. The resulting bakery now anchors a bustling corner near Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn Heights.
The synergy of their combined culinary backgrounds yields some of the most compelling and culturally rich baked goods in the five boroughs. Consider the Saffron Shah, where impeccably laminated pastry holds a delicate saffron cream formed into the shape of a crescent, an important symbol in Islamic culture. Traditional flavors are reimagined with sophisticated technique: halwa tops a sticky bun, while a clever swirl of samosa pastry wraps halal lamb beneath a fine dusting of powdered sugar.
Savory offerings are equally impressive, highlighted by enormous Afghan flatbreads crowned with creative toppings like halal beef bacon with scallions or sour cherry cream cheese. The kitchen has also branched out into unique pizza interpretations topped with cheese and Afghan cumin, kofta kebabs, or beef pepperoni. Daily specials bring further excitement to the display case, featuring temptations like cardamom-poached apricot flan and traditional sweet conchas stuffed with firni, a fragrant rice pudding.
San Francisco, California: Parachute Bakery
San Francisco’s pastry scene is notoriously competitive, yet Parachute Bakery has surged to the forefront of the city’s culinary conversation by pairing classic patisserie standards with daring, seasonal showstoppers. Situated in the Ferry Building, pastry chef Nasir Armar brings rigorous fine-dining training—honed in the Michelin-starred kitchens of Sorrel and Saison—to a bakery format designed to captivate both local palates and social media feeds alike.
The team’s exacting execution of layer upon buttery layer is immediately apparent in the flawless curves of their lychee-laden bowtie croissants and geometrically precise cube croissants. Equal attention is paid to flavor pairings and structural fillings, such as the black sesame and yuzu incorporated into charcoal-colored, sesame-topped cookies, or the use of peak-season fruit to anchor elaborate laminated pastries. A prime example is the summertime mango pastry, which features thick slices of ripe mango piled into a bulging mound over a bed of vanilla tapioca pudding, all resting on a sturdy croissant pastry base.
Vegetables and savory components also claim a prominent stake on Parachute’s menu. Stalks of grilled asparagus shine inside a baton-shaped croissant shell, accompanied by fennel jam, sheep’s milk ricotta, and ramp pesto. In a nod to local culinary history, the bakery even introduced a brief, viral creation: a croissant piped with rich clam chowder, directly referencing the iconic soup served in sourdough bread bowls along the city’s wharf. From potato-laden samosas to bright tomato shakshuka reinterpreted into pastry form, Parachute’s experimental vision continues to earn widespread acclaim.
Seattle, Washington: The Pastry Project
Just off Pioneer Square in downtown Seattle, eager customers regularly form a line in front of two charcoal-painted Dutch doors, flanked by a picture window decorated with a cheerful rainbow pennant garland. Through the glass, the bakers of the Pastry Project can be observed arranging neat slices of towering layer cake, trays of cinnamon rolls generously slathered with glossy frosting, and thick oatmeal cookies sandwiching rich cream.
When the doors finally swing open, service moves briskly. Some patrons collect pastry boxes to take away, while others linger at small metal patio tables nearby, enjoying spoonfuls of light yet robust strawberry shortcake out of small white cups while catching distant glimpses of the Puget Sound a few blocks away.
While various iterations of the Pastry Project have existed for several years—previously operating as an at-home baking kit business and a seasonal summer soft-serve window—the debut of their permanent walk-up storefront has allowed the operation to expand its footprint year-round. Regulars can now access signature salted chocolate chip cookies alongside rotating seasonal items like maple-sweetened pancake croissant wheels and airy peanut butter and jelly cakes finished with whipped peanut frosting.
Beyond its impressive menu of cardamom croissants and inventive confections, the Pastry Project is fundamentally anchored in social mission. In collaboration with local partners, founders Emily Kim and Heather Hodge have integrated free pastry education, professional career training, and job placement services specifically tailored for individuals facing traditional barriers to employment. To date, 41 students across nine distinct cohorts have graduated from the program. Furthermore, the organization offers affordable residency spaces for local food entrepreneurs and maintains an onsite community cookbook library, proving that a bakery can excel both in culinary craftsmanship and community impact.
