Oak Mill Bakery & Cafe

This Des Plaines–based bakery turns out traditional European pastries (macarons, petit fours, tarts) in Niles, Arlington Heights and on the South and West Sides of Chicago. Needless to say, they've developed quite the following, particularly for special event cakes and Polish pastry specialties. Come Paczi Day (a.k.a. Fat Tuesday), the place is mobbed with regulars picking up fruit and cream–filled doughnuts by the dozens.