Fritz Pastry is a local café and bakery located in Lakeview/Lincoln Park at Southport and Diversey. Specializing specifically in European inspired pastries baked daily, this inviting establishment has much to offer from assorted Danish, macarons, and quiche to coffee, tea, and caffeine free beverages. With a warm, inviting atmosphere, attentive staff, and quirky music selection of jazz, folk, and indie rock, this laid back establishment is easy to spend hours at reading your favorite book or casually flipping through the piles of food and wine magazines. Paired with their Vegan, vegetarian, and gluten free options, you’d be hard pressed to find a more fulfilling hang out.
Their most popular item, the chocolate croissant, is a rich, buttery indulgence that leaves you feeling satisfied. Served warm, the outside layer is perfectly crispy and flaky, concealing a soft and fluffy inside covered in melted dark chocolate. Sweet, but not too sweet, this will not be a disappointment, especially when paired with a hot cup of bergamot or hot cocoa on a chilly day.
Offered daily are among their Vegan-friendly choices of coffee cake, doughnuts, and cupcakes, are blueberry muffins that prove animals products are not a necessity for delicious baked goods. Dense, moist, cakey, and a generous ratio of blueberries, these wholesome muffins are the perfect breakfast. The top, firm, crunchy, and covered in streusel provides a sophisticated texture variation from the soft center. For chocolate lovers, their double chocolate muffins are comparable to cakey brownies stuffed with chocolate chips.
What about lunch though? For savory treats, one can choose from a daily selection of soups, salads, quiche, and sandwiches. Included is an egg salad sandwich puts all other recipes to shame. Served on a soft, light roll and topped with fresh, crisp lettuce, the eggs are appropriately light and fluffy with a healthy coating of mayonnaise that doesn’t overpower. The side is a chilled mound of spiced carrots, bathed in a light, tart, and tangy balsamic vinaigrette. Feel free to mop up the vinaigrette with your sandwich—the flavors more than compliment each other.
What sets Fritz Pastry apart from many other establishments aside from their mouth-watering sustenance, are their ethics. Their self-proclaimed favorite things listed on their website include, “local ingredients, sustainably raised produce, Sarica coffee and espresso, Intelligentsia organic loose tea, local artists, Chicago, from-scratch, the three-‘R’s [reduce, reuse, recycle], vegetarian-friendly dishes, [and] community.” Not only will you be filling your belly with happiness, but you will also be filling your community and planet with it as well.Fritz Pastry
