The overall best bakery in Chicago may be the Red Hen Bakery--or it may be the bakery section of the M. Henry. And I'm sure there are other hidden gems, like that elusive baking genius who purportedly sells his divine bread on the streets of Chicago (I searched for this guy, but couldn't find the article...) But when it comes to turnovers, the winner is the one that keeps a low profile.

The bakery is in a desolate stretch of car dealers and strip malls in the Lincolnwood suburbia. Tucked between a Mercedes-Benz dealer and probably a small factory of some sort, it looks like a small factory itself. And that's not too far from the truth: Rolf's Patisserie, the awesome bakery in question here, is basically a baking facility with a nondescript store attached to the front. Even the store section doesn't show much attention in the decorative department: white linoleum floor, fluorescent lights, no cutsy baskets with red-and-white checkered cloth. But that's okay, because their turnovers are to die for.

The filling is nice; tart, sweet and cinnamony. But the true charm of Rolf's turnovers is the crust. It's flaky, but not dry and crumbly. The crust still has the resilience that's a proof of a good pie crust. Just one bite into the buttery crust is enough to tell you of the high quality of the butter they use (and of the generous amount of it, I presume). There's just enough icing on it to give it a sweet kick. I've never had a better turnover in my four years in Chicago, if not in my whole life. My another favorite is the twisted and pretzel-shaped almond pie with lots of sliced almonds and thin thread of icing. Patrick loves their chocolate croissant.

Rolf's seem to do a lot of business outside of their storefront shop. I've seen their out-of-this-world butter cookies and a few European-style cakes in Whole Foods, and can easily imagine other gourmet grocers and restaurants doing business with them. (Come to think of it, I think I first visited their store after utterly amazed by the butter cookies I got from Whole Foods.)

When we go there for the pastries in the morning, we often encounter local elderies chatting away with their pastries and cups of free coffee (when you buy pastries) in front of the large glass window. The store women usually congregate behind the counter filled with colorful cakes, chatting and giggling as they bag cookies and pack cakes into large boxes. Customers come and go, often picking up their special order of birthday cakes and trays of petite fours for get-togethers. It's thoroughly low-key, thoroughly unpretentious--and thoroughly delicious.

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Rolf's Patisserie
4343 Touhy Ave., Lincolnwood, IL
847-675-6565