Nazareth Sweets, Chicago

Even if you've yet to visit Nazareth Sweets, you may have already tasted its sweet, flaky pastries. The bakery, which specializes in baklava, supplies desserts to many of the city's Mediterranean restaurants. While local chefs know they can make a mean savory entrée, they also know that Nazareth bakers are among the most skilled when it comes to folding phyllo, drizzling honey, and baking the whole thing to flaky perfection. But the shop doesn't only supply restaurants and parties: it also offers baklava—walnut or pistachio, traditional or sugar-free—in individual squares, inviting customers to pluck single servings for themselves. Other customer favorites include birds nest cookies, which house a cluster of glazed nuts, as well as rolled walnut fingers, sesame brittle bars, and date-rosewater cookies.