Stopped by this AM for excellent Kyoto-style cold brew and the most genius pastry I have had in a while: kouign-amann with gruyere and French ham layered into the dough, still warm from the oven. If food obscenity laws existed, this would be banned.

Damn it! Where's that like button?

The parking gods smiled upon me after a Lincoln Park Costco run this morning. The case at Loba was pretty empty so I went with the pineapple sourdough muffin and a decaf latte to go. That was a delicious muffin. Perfect crumb, gentle pineapple flavor. I ate it on my drive home. Mr. X never needs to know...

I'm an idiot. Took me this long to get to Loba even though it's about a 20 minute walk from my front door. This is the Sesame Emme.

Menu description: "Inspired by the French Canelé. Crisp on the outside, soft and custardy on the inside. Pairs perfectly with coffee." This one was cooked right up to the edge of too long - almost a crunchy exterior - with tender custard on the inside. Definitely very reminiscent of a canelé but with a higher crunchiness ratio thanks to the shape. The extra earthiness from the sesame is a fantastic touch.

Patrons of North Center Animal Hospital take note - Loba is steps away.

Hey yall this is Val from Loba Pastry. Im not really familiar with this forum so let me know if there is a better place to post this. Could you please remove the association of Bad Wolf from this thread? truth is I've been handling this business longer than badwolf ever existed and I do not want to be associated with that dude anymore.

Thank you!

lobapastryval wrote:Hey yall this is Val from Loba Pastry. Im not really familiar with this forum so let me know if there is a better place to post this. Could you please remove the association of Bad Wolf from this thread? truth is I've been handling this business longer than badwolf ever existed and I do not want to be associated with that dude anymore.

Thank you!

Hi Val,

There's not too much we can do about it because we don't edit or censor our members' posts and the discussion has taken its own course since Coyote started the thread. That said, I edited the subject line to remove any mention of BW. Between that and your post here, hopefully it'll be enough to make it clear that Loba is not affiliated with Bad Wolf in any fashion.

Thanks,

=R=
for the Moderators

Turns out the spectacular Sesame Emme is even better when it's warm. Today's was a little lighter in color than the one I posted previously but every bit as good in terms of flavor and texture. Getting there early is a good idea. Not too early though. Like so many Chicago bakeries and coffee shops, Loba is not for early risers, opening at 8 on weekdays and 9 on weekends.



The pineapple sourdough muffin is very nice. Not too sweet and the sourdough mostly hangs out in the background. The top had some nice chew to it. The pineapple sourdough is a regular item. There is typically a second sourdough muffin available, but the flavors on that one changes (today it was blueberry with oat on top).

A note on the space - it's small, spartan and cozy. There are about 5 tables on the Lincoln side of the restaurant and a counter with stools facing Addison. There is a no laptops on the tables policy that I wholeheartedly applaud.

I had a truly spectacular pastry from Loba this week - a mole croissant. Apparently, they make several versions. I think the one I tried was red.

I enjoyed everything about it: the complex mole flavor, the Valrhona chocolate filling, the excellent lamination, and the deep caramelization.

I love pastries and frequent a number of pastry shops around town. I generally prefer to stop other places over Loba for a variety of reasons (proximity, operating hours, what they have on offer when I've stopped in, etc.).

This was the first time I tried something that made me say wow. To be fair, when I've stopped in previously, I don't think I've really seen the laminated pastries I love in stock. I do think that I stopped in closer to opening this time. Maybe arriving earlier allowed me to pick one of these up because there are limited quantities. It is a small shop.

I also got a Sesame Emme, which was somewhat warm. This was also good. I had tried it before, although maybe not as fresh. I can understand the reaction that the dark bake on these may not resonate with everyone but it didn't bother me.

But the mole croissant I had was among the best pastries I've had in town in quite a while. I will certainly stop in again to try other varieties or other laminated goods. But I guess I may need to stop closer to when they open to have more opportunity to get the types of things I like.

The pineapple muffin now has an additional pink peppercorn strudel topping taking it one step more. Like an amp that goes to 11. The emie and a cheese kouign amann were formidable as well.

I rarely pass by w/o stopping and parked in a tow zone today for a quick fix.

Nice article in the Sun Times today on Loba: https://chicago.suntimes.com/dishin-on- ... an-flavors