Bourke St Bakery in Surry Hills
 

No Aussie entries???

OK, so it is only 5 minutes walk from where I live, but for those of you visiting Sydney (and Surry Hills) head to Bourke St Bakery on the corner of Bourke and Devonshire.

I also found some nice bakeries in Tokyo, the ones in the basement of Isetan Dept Store in Shinjuku, and the one in Haneda Airport were a couple of my favourites.

Kezza

I live in New York, which has some good bakeries.

Two down the street from me (so I don't know how if I'd go out of my way :)) that I love:

Amy's Bread
Little Pie Company (their sour cream apple pie is incredible!)

In addition, Bruno's in the Village (2 locations - Italian bakery) is one I definitely DO go out of my way for.

Some more random locations
In N. Andover, MA is Smollak's Farm. They have the most amazing bakery shop, and even though my husband's family no longer lives there, it's definitely worth going out of the way. Lovely fresh muffins and donuts -- a great way to start a morning!

In Minnetonka, MN, I can't miss It Takes the Cake, a jewish bakery. I have never been able to find challah as good as the challah there even in NY. They've just introduced a chocolate chip version that makes amazing French toast. They also made my wedding cake, which was good amazing despite the fact that I don't even LIKE cake.

When in Montreal, go to:

- Premier Moisson for traditional French breads

- St-Viateur Bagels (best in the world) [1]


[1] http://www.bootsnall.com/namericatra...b02bagel.shtml

I've driven two hours in traffic to bring home Sprinkles Cupcakes (Beverly Hills) for a birthday party. They're expensive ($3.50 a cupcake) and a bit overrated (Barbara Streisand flew them to Oprah) but they are mighty decadent. Flavors change daily.

www.sprinklescupcakes.com

Carlo's Bakery - Hoboken, NJ
 

Just a couple blocks from the PATH train from Manhattan (95 Washington, St.), Carlo's Bakery has been around since 1910 and has the best cannoli I've ever had...

http://www.carlosbakery.com/pastries.html

Great stuff...

Yes! Midnight Sandwich, 2 croquettas and a potato ball for me, please!!!

How do you SANers feel about Extraordinary Desserts?

I read through this thread again and realized that I was being way too US-centric. Shocking! I have to agree that in Europe there bakeries are just superb. You're right, virtually any patisserie in France. Switzerland has some great bakeries too.

La Maison du Kouign Amann
Place St Guénolé
Ville Close
29900, Concarneau
Tél. 02 98 60 58 35


http://www.kouignamann.com/index.shtml

There are some surprisingly good bakeries in Japan and Hong Kong (but not in Singapore or Bangkok, interestingly enough); however I don't know their names, only how to find them on the street. But while they are good, they don't really meet my original criteria -- being sufficiently tempting to be worth a special trip, miles out of the way. Actually I suspect about 3 or 4 of the bakeries in this thread meet that criterion; the rest are merely very good. But the comments about the midwest have been an eye-opener for me. Historically bakeries were not appreciated and didn't thrive in the US; that has changed to some extent, but it is still a tough business in most cities. Hence the "any patisserie in France" making the best list, by US standards.

Sweet ThAng - Chicago
 

Great patisserie in Chicago. Bernard, the Patissier, learned his trade in Paris. Whenever I am invited to a brunch, I take his croissants. His cakes are wonderful, not to mention beautiful. He's an artist.

http://www.sweetthangcakes.com/

Good but not great, and way over-priced; I think they're existing on their reputation. If you want San Diego superb, my vote's with Bread et Cie, anything from there hovers around a 10.

Payard Patisserie & Bistro
1032 Lexington Ave
New York, NY 10021
(212) 717-5252

I have two doctors with offices within a block of here.... it is very difficult to resist stopping by when I have an appointment. There's a pastry called a craquelin (sp?) that's like a brioche with orange peel and almonds--yum.

Craquelin is great at Payard but costs $9 (well worth it). Payard is without question the best classic French patisserie in the US. Craquelin is very hard to find elsewhere in NA.