Road Trip to Chicago: What Bakeries Should CakeSpy Visit?

Guess what, sweeties? I'm coming to Chicago for the Renegade Craft fair, and staying a little extra time to do a totally sweet mural at one of the Bleeding Heart Bakery locations (I think the Oak Park one).

But here's the thing. I'm DRIVING to Chicago, and I need your help! What bakeries should I visit on the way?

I am listing my "best case scenario" including all the bakeries I'd like to visit, but of course I realize that based on a limited schedule, I might not make it to all of them. But let me know if there are any great bakeries (or regional specialties in a given area) that I should make sure to try!

Washington:

Yakima: 

• Essencia Artisan Bakery

Spokane

• Mary Lou's Milk Bottle
• Petit Chat
• Rocket Bakery

Idaho:

Coeur d'alene:

• Bella Rose Bakery
• Frosted Cupcakes 

Montana:

Missoula:

• Bernice's Bakery
• Big Dipper Ice Cream
• Le Petit Outre

Bozeman:

• Sweetpea Bakery

 Billings:

• Caramel Cookie Waffles

 Wyoming:

Sheridan:

• Java Moon

South Dakota:

Chamberlain 

• Indulge

Rapid City:

• Piece of Cake

Sioux Falls: 

• Cookie Jar

Minnesota:

Rochester: 

• Daube's
• Gingerbread Factory

Wisconsin:

Osseo, WI:

• Norske Nook

Madison:

• Daisy Cafe
• Ella's Deli
• Marigold Kitchen

Columbus: 

• Sassy Cow Creamery

Illinois:

Chicago:

• Bittersweet
• Black Dog Gelato
• Bleeding Heart Bakery (duh)
• BangBang Pie and Coffee
• Dinkel's
• Hoosier Mama Pie for the Friday night Pie Flights!
• Medici Bakery
• Molly's Cupcakes
• Patisserie P
• Red Hen Bread
• Sweet Mandy B's
• also, maybe I can catch Flirty Cupcakes (a mobile cupcake truck) 

Oak Park:

• Sugar Fixe 

Add destinations to the comments section or to the CakeSpy Facebook page!

Comments

[stephanie]

If the mural is in Oak Park - an homage to Frank Lloyd Wright is in order, yes?

[cocoschmoco]

Norske Nook in Wisconsin has awesome pies, and multiple locations ... http://www.norskenook.com/

[Rose campion]

You should definitely make the side trip to Oak Park (take the green line from the city) and hit up Sugar Fixe. With any luck, they'll have their monkey bread on the day you're there, which is the best monkey bread ever. They use brioche dough or some other kind of sweet dough. If they don't have it, go for the raspberry almond pond cake.

http://www.sugarfixe.com/


Also, if you like cream puff kind of treats, hit up Beard Papa in the basement of the Block 37 building. What I love about them is they don't fill the cream puff shells until you order, so they don't get soggy like eclair type things normally do.


Also, my favorite cupcake around is the one done at Red Hen Bread. They taste like the cupcakes you bake at home. Their other stuff is pretty good to. Oh,and they do the best bread in Chicago if you ask me.

Oh, and make sure you eat breakfast at Ann Sather. They have the best cinnamon roles ever available instead of toast.

And there's always Dinkel's, which is a very traditional Chicago style baker. And Sweet Mandy Bs and Alliance Bakery. I could just go on and on and on.

[B More Sweet]

Medici Bakery in the Hyde Park section of town is a place you need to get to if you can. Great baked stuff, wonderful staff, super-cool studenty-Hyde Park-U Chicago vibe, AND it's only a few blocks from President Obama's house, so the staff are usually wearing t shirts that read "Obama Eats Here." Awesome fun.

[Samantha]

If you have time, you should take a detour to Michigan's upper peninsula! There's a great bakery run by monks called the Jampot. They have the best German chocolate cake I have ever had, a peanut butter and jelly brownie, and a ton of other deliciousness. It's definitely worth the drive.
http://www.societystjohn.com/store/

[bridge]

Hi CakeSpy!
Since you'll be stopping by Chicago, see if you can catch Flirty Cupcakes.
They have two blue vans and travel all around Chicago and the suburbs. Their cupcakes are A-MAZ-ING! You can follow them online @ http://www.flirtycupcakes.com or on their Facebook page (where they give hourly updates as to their location).

On a side note, will you have a booth or anything to represent yourself at Renegade? If so, I'd love to stop on by and meet the one-and-only CakeSpy! :)
Happy travels!

[Patti King]

INDULGE in Chamberlain, South Dakota

[Renae]

Petit Chat Bakery in North Spokane is amazing! They bake delicious artisan breads but what you must try are their croissants. The twice baked almond croissants are fantastic. I also love the orange cranberry bread. http://www.google.com/m/place?cid=18022779685603864924&q=petit+chat+bakery+spokane&fb=1&gl=us&hq=petit+chat+bakery&hnear=0x549e185c30bbe7e5:0xddfcc9d60b84d9b1,Spokane,+WA

[Jocelyn]

Le Petit Outre in Missoula. Great pastries and amazing breads (in case you need a baguette for the road). I believe my mom has a chocolate bouchon with her coffee everyday :). My brother bakes for them, which just makes it more awesome. http://www.lepetitoutre.com/index.php/fuseaction/products.cat.htm

Next door is The Big Dipper ice Cream, where our own Molly Moon Neitzel got her start. It is one of my favorites in the country.
http://www.bigdippericecream.com/

[Kay]

I grew up by Columbus, WI! Sassy Cow's ice cream and cheese curds are amazing. Ella's Deli is a great stop, but I go there more for the atmosphere than the food.

[Christine]

Chicago:
- Bittersweet - french bakery with delicious cookies and cakes and savory lunch too!
- Dinkel's: classic old fashioned sour cream donut!
- La Patisserie P: french-vietnamese bakery - you have to try their ensaymadas - a filipino version of brioche
- Sweet Mandy B's: has the most addictive cupcake frosting and crazy delicious whoopie pies!

[Cate]

When you get to Sweet Mandy B's, you MUST try the Lemon Cupcake. It's completely amazing. I wish I lived closer

[Joanna]

So I don't have bakeries to recommend, but you'll probably need "real" food eventually (according to my mother, baked goods are not real ... but who actually believes that?), so I recommend while you're in Coeur d' Alene that you go to either Moon Time or Hudson's Hamburgers. And have fun!

Joanna

[Amy]

if you are driving through the sun valley ID area, you should stop for coffee at java on 4th and have a bowl of soul. Best coffee, ever!
there is also one in hailey and in boise, I think.

[Ashley]

If you come through Kansas, stop in Wichita and go to Monica's Bundt Cake.

[Em]

If you're driving through Madison you have to stop at Monty's Blue Plate Diner. They have fantastic cake, pie, and ice cream!
http://www.montysblueplatediner.com/