A towering cruffin, the cross between a croissant and muffin, has consistently become a bestseller with flavors changing every month. Tall and heavy yet tender, they hide not one, but two fillings. A recent ricotta and pumpkin cruffin held clouds of ricotta pastry cream intertwined with silken pumpkin ganache.<\/p>\n
That ephemeral ganache begins with caramelized white chocolate, Dulcey by Valrhona, stirred with cream, then pumpkin puree and pumpkin spices.<\/p>\n
The aromatic ham and cheese croissant, one of his original items, will remain.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s one of my favorites,\u201d said Koester. \u201cBecause it\u2019s got sliced porchetta and whole grain mustard and gruyere cheese, and then it\u2019s topped with sesame seeds.\u201d<\/p>\n
He sources the excellent herbed porchetta from Tempesta Artisan Salumi based in Chicago.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s the crispy cheese skirt that steals the show.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the best part of the croissant,\u201d said the baker. \u201cThe cheese that melts out the side and kind of gets crusty.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s one of his earliest pastries, but the bakery began even earlier.<\/p>\n
\u201cI started Dan the Baker, like my own \u2018business,\u2019 in my house during COVID in 2020,\u201d said Koester.<\/p>\n
He had previously been the head baker at Soho House Chicago<\/a> before the pandemic, so he was able to move his home operation into their professional kitchen in 2021, but just for a year. Luckily enough, somebody at The Emily Hotel said they had a spare kitchen for lease, so he moved again in 2023, and has been there since.<\/p>\n He had to change his business name at the end of 2024, because there\u2019s another Dan the Baker in Ohio<\/a>. Bad Butter was accidental.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s honestly kind of a silly story,\u201d said Koester. He was cooking for his family one night. The pan was too hot, so when he put a little butter in, it immediately burned, so he set it aside until after dinner.<\/p>\n \u201cMy wife and I were cleaning up, and she was like, what\u2019s this? I said, it\u2019s some bad butter. And she said, is that your rapper name? I said, no, but it could be our bakery name.\u201d<\/p>\n The stunning s\u2019mores croissant<\/a>, however, was as deliberate as it is delicious.<\/p>\n One of his bakers said that whenever s\u2019mores becomes something else, the graham cracker gets lost in translation.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought, why don\u2019t we make a chocolate with cocoa butter, milk powder and graham crackers?\u201d said Koester. \u201cAnd that\u2019s our graham cracker element.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s toasty and textural and absolutely brilliant.<\/p>\n \u201cSo we have the graham cracker and then we add chocolate pastry cream and little chocolate croissant bars as well,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n After they bake the filled and cross-shaped laminated pastry, they pipe in a gobsmacking heart of Italian meringue, similar to melty marshmallow.<\/p>\n My favorite, as a s\u2019mores connoisseur, sells out in minutes, and as a seasonal specialty item may be taken off the menu anytime.<\/p>\n As is the case with a perfectly crisp and custardy canel\u00e9 de Bordeaux, a beautifully caramelized kouign-amann and a spectacularly loaded sticky pecan monkey bread.<\/p>\n His so-called plain croissant and chocolate croissant will always stay as classic staples.\n<\/p>\n \u201cWe use Isigny Ste M\u00e8re butter from Normandy, France,\u201d said Koester. \u201cWhen I first started, it was $115 a case. Now it\u2019s up to $200 a case, almost doubled.\u201d<\/p>\n His pastry prices have certainly not doubled, remarkable for the ingredients and technique, but also the sheer enormous size of the pastries. They\u2019re so big that the pain au chocolat actually holds three bars of chocolate, defying chefs in Paris who insisted two bars were the absolute limit and any more just madness. While generous, I do feel that the butter and chocolate croissants lean a bit toward bready boulangerie and away from buttery layered p\u00e2tisserie.<\/p>\n Unless they\u2019re warmed, which they can do at The Emily coffee shop, where some of the classics are available daily. And in the afternoon, the shop offers a coffee and pastry deal. That may be one of the best-kept secrets in the neighborhood. Plus, when I picked up my preorder box at the coffee shop, impeccably packed by the bakers themselves, the baristas handled the handover with sincere hospitality.<\/p>\n \u201cThey don\u2019t work for me,\u201d said Koester. \u201cBut they do it with a lot of care, and they\u2019re just the coolest people, and I really appreciate that they go above and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n A shattering apple custard danish also goes so above and beyond that it may be the baker\u2019s favorite pastry.<\/p>\n \u201cAt least top five pastries that we do,\u201d he said. \u201cI put it on last fall, so we brought it back this year.\u201d<\/p>\n A seemingly infinite layered croissant shell hugs a pie filling, made with Honeycrisp apples from Mick Klug Farms. That\u2019s covered with custard, then baked again until the top caramelizes.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s creamy, it\u2019s appley,\u201d he added. \u201cIt\u2019s very fall.\u201d<\/p>\n But seasons change, and so will his bakery yet again.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are opening a storefront,\u201d said Koester. \u201cWe\u2019re moving to Bucktown, hopefully in January.\u201d<\/p>\n The space at 1655 W. Cortland was last Mable\u2019s Table<\/a> and previously the beloved Jane\u2019s<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve always wanted the neighborhood spot,\u201d said the baker. \u201cAnd it\u2019s perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n They will still focus on viennoiserie, but expand the sourdough bread program because they\u2019ll have space to do it.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd we have deck ovens, which are going to be kind of behind the pastry case,\u201d he said. \u201cSo you\u2019re going to be able to see the action, hopefully.<\/p>\n They plan to make breakfast sandwiches later on, but will have no plated dishes or inside seating, because there\u2019s not enough room. The coveted seasonal patio will open when the weather permits.<\/p>\n Until then, the Bad Butter preorder bakery menu goes live online on Monday mornings. Ordering opens at 3 p.m., and I highly recommend signing up for an alert, because the hundreds of pastries will sell out fast.<\/p>\n \u201cI always tell people like you just really never know when something\u2019s going to come off the menu,\u201d said the baker. \u201cSo definitely don\u2019t wait.\u201d<\/p>\n Bad Butter<\/p>\n 311 N. Morgan St. (pick up at The Emily Hotel coffee shop or front desk after hours)<\/p>\n badbutterchicago.com<\/a><\/p>\n Open:<\/strong> Friday to Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. (preorder only) (holiday hours may differ)<\/p>\n Prices:<\/strong> $4.25 (plain croissant), $4.75 (chocolate croissant), $6.50 (ham and cheese croissant), $7 (ricotta and pumpkin cruffin), $8 (s\u2019mores croissant), $9 (apple custard danish)<\/p>\n Accessibility:<\/strong> Wheelchair accessible with restrooms on same level<\/p>\n Blame Butter<\/p>\n A single slice of pie at Blame Butter, 168 W. Huron St. in Chicago, comes boxed and beribboned with a metal fork, a napkin and shopping bag on Nov. 21, 2025. (Terrence Antonio James\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Bob Balanoff and daughter Asa Balanoff Naiditch at her pastry shop Blame Butter, 168 W. Huron St. in Chicago, on Nov. 21, 2025. (Terrence Antonio James\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n The pastry shop Blame Butter, 168 W. Huron St. in Chicago, shares a space with the poke bowl restaurant Poke San Chicago. (Terrence Antonio James\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n A pie called The One for Paul at the pastry shop Blame Butter, 168 W. Huron St. in Chicago, Nov. 21, 2025. (Terrence Antonio James\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n A slice of The One for Paul pie at the pastry shop Blame Butter, 168 W. Huron St. in Chicago, Nov. 21, 2025. (Terrence Antonio James\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n A slice of the Dying The Honey Pink pie at the pastry shop Blame Butter, 168 W. Huron St. in Chicago, Nov. 21, 2025. (Terrence Antonio James\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n A slice of the I’ll Cry if I Want To pie at Blame Butter on West Huron Street on Nov. 21, 2025. (Terrence Antonio James\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n A slice of the It’s My Party pie at Blame Butter, 168 W. Huron St. in Chicago, Nov. 21, 2025. (Terrence Antonio James\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Asa Balanoff Naiditch salts her Dying The Honey Pink pie at the pastry shop Blame Butter, 168 W. Huron St. in Chicago, Nov. 21, 2025. (Terrence Antonio James\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Show Caption<\/p>\n 1 of 9<\/p>\n A single slice of pie at Blame Butter, 168 W. Huron St. in Chicago, comes boxed and beribboned with a metal fork, a napkin and shopping bag on Nov. 21, 2025. (Terrence Antonio James\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n Expand<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Founder and chief pie officer Asa Balanoff Naiditch does all the baking herself for Blame Butter<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI call myself a pietisserie,\u201d said the baker. \u201cKind of like a p\u00e2tisserie in France, but pie.\u201d<\/p>\n Like a high-end French p\u00e2tisserie meets modern art.<\/p>\n \u201cI think of it kind of as a living archive,\u201d she said. \u201cI consider myself an artist, and pie is just kind of the medium.\u201d<\/p>\n Balanoff Naiditch is clearly obsessed with pie. And I don\u2019t just love what she\u2019s doing with Blame Butter. I am completely smitten.<\/p>\n The baker will hand you bundles, tied like something urgent and precious. Your first instinct will be to rush outside for a taste. But you\u2019ll want to keep that moment for a little bit longer. You will discover that the pies themselves are delicious and delightful works.<\/p>\n \u201cMy hope is that I\u2019m passing my memory,\u201d she said. \u201cFood is everything. It can even be political. It\u2019s the one thing that you carry with you when nothing else remains.\u201d<\/p>\n Dying The Honey Pink is the title of one pie, with a narrative that begins, \u201cTo the ache of loving something you cannot save.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s a compelling salty and sweet burnt honey custard, infused with tart sumac, under a dark pink floral orange blossom glaze finished with petals, leaves and salinity from Maldon sea salt.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the pie of the residency,\u201d said Balanoff Naiditch. It\u2019s also the only one that\u2019s been on the menu since she opened in September to lines wrapped around the corner, and will remain until she closes at the end of the year. \u201cIt gets a variety of flowers, depending on what Mike brings me.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s Mike Murphy of Chef\u2019s Local Choice, who grows flowers in his own local suburban home garden, and has also supplied flowers to Kumiko by James Beard award-winning chef Julia Momos\u00e9<\/a>.<\/p>\n But Dying The Honey Pink began with fragrant, organic, handpicked Palestinian sumac at Middle East Bakery & Grocery in Andersonville.<\/p>\n \u201cThis pie is a tribute to Palestine,\u201d said the baker. \u201cIt was kind of a love letter to its love and heartbreak.\u201d<\/p>\n Her best friend is Palestinian, whom she met at pastry school in London, and they now spend a lot of time together in the Middle East.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s my way to kind of be political,\u201d Balanoff Naiditch. \u201cTo call resistance through food.\u201d<\/p>\n The flavors are deeply rooted in the region.<\/p>\n \u201cThey hold both beauty and grief, that salty and sweet,\u201d said the baker. \u201cAll folded together into a pie.\u201d<\/p>\n The One For Paul is a fantastic fruit-forward apple pie, topped with a thin sheet of cinnamon rolls and mascarpone frosting.<\/p>\n \u201cThat actually came about before Blame Butter was ever a thing,\u201d said Balanoff Naiditch. \u201cIt was for my friend\u2019s dad, who loved apple desserts.\u201d<\/p>\n When she came back to Chicago, it became pie and her first original recipe.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is thinly sliced, peeled apples that then are very heavy with cinnamon, dark brown sugar, but not too much, not too sweet,\u201d said the baker. \u201cAnd he loves a flaky crust.\u201d<\/p>\n Her flaky buttery crust is a rough puff pastry, also unusual for pie.<\/p>\n Her newest pie is a two-part birthday cake pie.<\/p>\n \u201cOn your birthday, you either want a chocolate cake or vanilla,\u201d said Balanoff Naiditch. \u201cSo I couldn\u2019t say I had a birthday cake pie on the menu and not have one that was chocolate, and one that was vanilla.\u201d<\/p>\n Both are layered like an entremet with sponge cake, a birthday cake infused pastry cream, more cake, more pastry cream and frosting, plus choux \u00e0 la cr\u00e8me (cream puffs) and sprinkles.<\/p>\n It\u2019s My Party has cake that\u2019s infused with tonka bean and vanilla. To my relief, it\u2019s subtly sweet, evocative of distant childhood birthdays, with a tender crumb throughout.<\/p>\n And I\u2019ll Cry If I Want To, however, has cake infused with toasted cocoa nib and chocolate. Also lovely and not too sweet, but the sponge cake was a touch dry and needed a bit more of a syrup soak.<\/p>\n The choux, though, were perfection with crisp shells and luxurious cream, which she pipes to order.<\/p>\n It\u2019s all part of the remarkable performance art that captures the intensity of a chef during a fine dining service. But there\u2019s also ordering, finishing, wrapping, beribboning, bagging, real forks, heavy paper napkins and a shopping bag that feels like a couture experience. The baker works fast, but it does take time.<\/p>\n \u201cThe lines came a lot faster than I expected,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Balanoff Naiditch was born and raised in Chicago. She has dual art degrees and a minor in political science.<\/p>\n Her first job in pastry was at Dutch & Doc\u2019s<\/a> in 2018, now Swift Tavern in Wrigleyville<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI cried almost every day,\u201d said the baker, who loved the experience, especially prep, but not service.<\/p>\n She graduated from pastry school at Le Cordon Bleu London in 2019.<\/p>\n \u201cI came back to get my work visa, and the pandemic hit in \u201920,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Her return to London coincided with a job offer, but then another wave of COVID lockdowns hit Britain.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I started doing Blame Butter from my flat as a secret micro bakery,\u201d she added, adapting the name from the Blame Gloria<\/a> cocktail bar in Covent Garden.<\/p>\n Another job offer came, for what was her dream job in London, but the baker turned it down, realizing she had no desire to be the executive pastry chef at a fancy hotel.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen everything reopened, I started staging,\u201d she said, at Violet Cakes, Pantechnicon and finally The Pie Room at Holborn Dining Room, where she was hired and worked for two and a half years.<\/p>\n \u201cAll we did was make savory British pies,\u201d said the baker.<\/p>\n The last place she worked was Hart Bageri<\/a>, the bakery in Copenhagen, famously featured in \u201cThe Bear<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n At Last, In Quiet Company was a nutty, studded pecan pie on a recent menu at Blame Butter.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was the one pie that even if I had any left over, I just had no desire to sit and eat it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The baker is not a pecan person, so she started introducing hazelnuts into the ganache, then the glaze and tempering the traditional sweetness with cocoa nibs and burnt maple on top. The terrific toasted hazelnut croustillant alone crackles with creativity.<\/p>\n \u201cIt slowly came together,\u201d she said. \u201cBut it\u2019s never as much mine as some of the others.\u201d<\/p>\n All whole pies come fully wrapped, with her signature wax seal and art labels showing the title, artist, date, medium, description and a tagline. For Dying the Honey Pink, it\u2019s Even Honey Bleeds. They are not inexpensive at $112 each. Slices range from $13 to $16. All prices include tax with no fees or tips expected.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I came back from London, I was kind of shocked, because I had gotten so used to seeing a price and that\u2019s what you pay,\u201d Balanoff Naiditch said.<\/p>\n Her prices reflect ingredients that come from specialized vendors within two hours of the city.<\/p>\n \u201cI work with individuals,\u201d she added. \u201cI work with Pete at Seedling. I work with Al at Nordic Creamery. It was one of the only places where I could find cultured butter, 85% butter fat, even in London, I was only getting like 83%. My flour comes from Josh at Farm2Flour in Alvin, Illinois, where they do organic stone ground.<\/p>\n She\u2019s mostly a one-woman show, except for her father, who helps by driving pies from a nearby commercial kitchen or folding boxes. Bob Balanoff<\/a> was the presiding judge of the Child Protection Division in Cook County<\/a> until he retired in January.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the pietisserie will only remain in its current residency until the end of the year.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not sure exactly what\u2019s next,\u201d said the baker. \u201cBut for sure, I\u2019m going to do a pie-focused supper club series, I think in January.\u201d<\/p>\n Part dinner, part party, kind of love letter to the universality of pie and travel.<\/p>\n \u201cBlame Butter will never leave Chicago permanently,\u201d she said. \u201cEven if it disappears, it will return.\u201d<\/p>\n Blame Butter<\/p>\n 168 W. Huron St.<\/p>\n blamebutter.com<\/a><\/p>\n Open:<\/strong> Friday, 4 to 6 p.m., for whole pies by reservation only; Saturday and Sunday, 12 noon until 3 p.m. or sold out, for slices (holiday hours may differ)<\/p>\n Prices:<\/strong> $13 to $16 (pie slice); $112 (whole pie), all including tax with no tips expected<\/p>\n Accessibility:<\/strong> Wheelchair accessible with restroom on same level<\/p>\n Meals are paid for by the Tribune.<\/p>\n lchu@chicagotribune.com<\/p>\n Big screen or home stream, takeout or dine-in, Tribune writers are here to steer you toward your next great experience. Sign up for your free weekly Eat. Watch. Do. newsletter here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n \t\t\t![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/CTC-L-FOOD-BAD-REVIEW-1126-22.jpg\")
The s’mores croissant is served at Bad Butter in Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood on Nov. 22, 2025. (Dominic Di Palermo\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/CTC-L-FOOD-BAD-REVIEW-1126-32.jpg\")
The apple custard danish at Bad Butter in Chicago\u2019s West Loop neighborhood. (Dominic Di Palermo\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n![\"Owner](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/CTC-L-FOOD-BAD-REVIEW-1126-3.jpg\")
Owner Dan Koester shapes the dough for the country sourdough bread for the next day’s preorders on Nov. 22, 2025, at Bad Butter in The Emily Hotel in Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood. (Dominic Di Palermo\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n\n
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Asa Balanoff Naiditch salts her Dying The Honey Pink pie at the pastry shop Blame Butter, 168 W. Huron St. in Chicago, Nov. 21, 2025. (Terrence Antonio James\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1764069565_516_CTC-L-FOOD-BLAME-REVIEW-1126-012.jpg\")
A slice of The One for Paul pie at the pastry shop Blame Butter, 168 W. Huron St. in Chicago, Nov. 21, 2025. (Terrence Antonio James\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1764069566_556_CTC-L-FOOD-BLAME-REVIEW-1126-014.jpg\")
A slice of the I’ll Cry if I Want To pie at Blame Butter on West Huron Street on Nov. 21, 2025. (Terrence Antonio James\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n