This legendary San Francisco bakery certainly knows how to make an entrance. First Boudin SF’s 158-year-old original sourdough starter was flown out from the Bay and given its own police escort from O’Hare to Lombard. The press ate it up. Then, when the place opened in Yorktown Center on October 9th, Boudin SF gave away 36,500 loaves of sourdough—one bread per person per day for one year—to the first 100 people in line. More pandemonium. Now, the place has settled into a steadybreakfast/lunch/dinner groove, proffering croissants, soups, sandwiches, and pizzas—all with fresh-baked breads, of course. And, hey: If you were one of those lucky 100, let’s work out a trade of some sort. 348 Yorktown Ctr., Lombard; 630-691-1849.

Photograph: Tyllie Barbosa