A dessert with its own holiday must be pretty special, right? To truly understand why people go so nuts for these pastries, you need to line up outside Delightful Pastries' Jefferson Park storefront, where just inside young women fill cardboard boxes with dozens of the fresh creations, faces streaked with powdered sugar and eyes tired from the early wake-up call. It's part spectacle, part ritual, but that doesn't diminish how tasty these little spheres are. More

Overly sweet ricotta filling, mushy chocolate chips, soggy casing. These are just some of the common offenses that plague this sweet treat. But five Chicago bakeries are doing the Don proud, serving up cannoli that stays true to Sicilian standards. More

You may not be able to judge a book by its cover, but a good cover may get you to open a book. If I see an old school pizzeria with a big neon sign, worn pleather seats, and pictures of restaurant-sponsored Little League teams, I'm going to dive in with high hopes. Pete's Pizzeria #2 has all the signs of a classically delicious pizza joint, but unfortunately the pizza comes up woefully short. More

Serious Eats contributor Daniel Zemans checks in with another piece of intel on the Windy City pizza scene. Daniel also blogs about Chicagoland pizza with his friends on the Chicago Pizza Club blog. --The Mgmt. Pizza By Alex 5040-44 W.... More