The people of Chicago need to come to terms with the fact that they do not know almost anything about the art of pastry.” That’s what Natalie Zarzour told me in 2011, shortly before shutting the doors for good on Pasticceria Natalina, her superlative but notoriously dear Sicilian pastry shop. Among the dupes she lumped all but two professional pastry chefs in town and a handful of food writers, me included.
Shaffer—who led the pastry department at Curtis Duffy’s late, lamented Grace and then at upstate New York’s Blue Hill at Stone Barns—builds upon his sponge with raspberry jelly with whole raspberries and white chocolate marzipan mousse set in an almond-milk mousse, sprayed with green-tinted cocoa butter, and crowned with jewels: a perfect ruby- red raspberry set on a marzipan blossom, with a glimmer of gold leaf. A mouthful of it is a silky-soft cloud of gentle, creamy sweetness that is just the reward you deserve.
Occasional savory pastries like a cheddar-kale scone make me eager to see what else Shaffer is capable of down this road, though the four open-faced sandwiches on offer are showcases for the remarkable whole dark loaves displayed on shelves behind the counter: pickled herring, wild-foraged ligonberry jam, and crispy onions grace sunflower-seed rye; avocado, green garlic, asparagus, and thinly shaved sour pickles are gracefully arranged atop limpa bread baked with orange peel and anise; shaved smoked ham, Havarti, and tomato are complemented by stout slices of country loaf.
5318 N. Clark 773-944-0587lostlarson.com
