Inside Andersonville’s New Palace of Carbs From a Fine Dining Pastry Chef

Next week, a pastry chef who’s worked at a couple of Michelin-starred restaurants opens a temple of carbs in Andersonville. Bobby Schaffer will feature fresh breads, croissants, chocolates, and sandwiches at Lost Larson when it opens on Wednesday at 5318 N. Clark Street. Schaffer was the first pastry chef at Grace, the West Loop restaurant that launched chef Curtis Duffy into superstardom. It’s since shuttered.

Schaffer has also worked in Spain and upstate New York (at the lauded Blue Hill at Stone Barns), learning the skills to help him open his own business. Lost Larson is the former Goddess & the Grocer spot along Clark and features a back patio. Schaffer wants to feature the best of the Midwest and he’ll offer four to five loaves of bread daily. He maintained his methods will give Chicagoans baked goods like they’ve never tasted before, certainly better than those stale and laminated pastries growing old inside that chain coffee shop’s display case.

He’s got about 20 seats inside and Schaffer’s sister, Bree, will handle the barista duties. She used to work for Stumptown Coffee. In a neighborhood which lost Swedish Bakery last year, a new spot for breads, pastries, and sandwiches was needed.

Take an early stroll through the rehabbed space below. Lost Larson opens on Wednesday.