Best Breakfast Pastries

When Bistro Vendome first opened, it tried to do three meals a day, every day. This ambitious plan was soon replaced by a dinner-only schedule that took a lot of pressure off the kitchen and chef Eric Roeder. Still, in a space like this -- tucked behind the main street, with a patio that opens onto the only quiet, secluded bit of real estate in Larimer Square -- it would have been a sin for Bistro Vendome not to do somethingwhile the sun was up. So Friday, Saturday and Sunday brunches were added, and that's when things really took off. The in-house bakery staff started knocking out excellent pain perdu topped with citrus honey and panier baskets of excellent croissants, buttery brioche and thick-sliced breakfast breads. Coupled with big, French-press pots of black coffee, those pastries remain a great reason to rise and shine.