CAR Artisan Chocolate

On weekdays, this quiet, brick-walled cafe in Pasadena is somewhere to disconnect from the craziness of suburban life (read: scheduling carpools). But on Saturday mornings, CAR Artisan is buzzing with lines of people seeking the same thing: their excellent chocolate croissant. These pillowy croissants come filled with a thick band of good-quality chocolate, have layers upon layers of buttery dough that you can count like the rings in a tree trunk, and instantly shatter when you bite in (do not eat these in your car.) And since you'll probably wait 20 minutes in line for a coffee and pastry, might as well double up and get the flaky almond maple danish that tastes like a warm pancake breakfast.