Bittersweet Treats

This modest Pasadena cafe from a former Top Chef: Just Desserts contestant sells inexpensive pick-me-ups in chocolate and candy form; the modest space has a handful of small tables in a bright, cheerful storefront decorated with vintage cake pans and Polaroids.

This modest Pasadena cafe from a former Top Chef: Just Desserts contestant sells inexpensive pick-me-ups in chocolate and candy form; the modest space has a handful of small tables in a bright, cheerful storefront decorated with vintage cake pans and Polaroids.

About one year ago, Top Chef Just Desserts alum Danielle Keene opened Bittersweet Treats, a Pasadena bakery spinoff of her dessert catering company by the same name, with help from partner Linda Chen. However, right before the Thanksgiving holiday, just as Bittersweet was preparing to fête its first birthday with an anniversary party, Keene sent out a note announcing that she had split from the...

Los Angeles has plenty of sweet shops and bakeries around the city, many adopting styles and flavors from around the world. But some of the best are as American as apple pie, putting slight twists on familiar classics. This list is a reliable collection of pastry purveyors around town that offer a good range of delectables that would please any sugar maven. Below, Eater presents L.A.'s Best...

The pastry scene in LA continues to grow with new takes on sweet concepts popping up here, there, across LA, everywhere. A new season means an update to the ever-popular Eater Pastry Map. To qualify, shops must give special attention to a wide variety of pastries and excel at a dozen different types. Pastries are tasted for freshness, quality of ingredients and seasonality.