Summer Lovin'

Watching Nathaniel Meads deftly work what will soon become a Danish, it's obvious--the man loves his dough.

He opened Fritz Pastry in late May (with wife Elaine Heaney and friend Jared Nance) so he could make the pastries that rarely appear in restaurants: croissants, sugar-dusted brioche and rich, flaky, cheese- and raspberry-filled Danish (all $2).

The pastry shop's repertoire straddles the line between French and American; in the display case, a row of eight varieties of French macaroons (75 cents each) ends at a plate of prettily wrapped cupcakes ($2). And there's a creamy, puddinglike dark chocolate tart; a buttery, crumbly Gateâu Breton; a blueberry tart, which tastes like a blueberry coffee cake on a pâte sablée base (all $3 per slice); and more on the shelves below.

One of Meads' favorites is part American, part French and part Italian: his Summer Afternoon Cake ($3 per slice). The dense, round cake--made with both butter and olive oil and seasoned with lavender, rosemary and pine nuts--got its name because "it's not too sweet, not too rich, just exactly what I'd like to eat on a summer afternoon," he says (click here to download the recipe).

Drizzled with honey before serving, it tastes made for an afternoon on the patio (either Fritz Pastry's or your own).

Fritz Pastry, 1408 W. Diversey Pkwy. (near Southport); 773-857-2989 or fritzpastry.com