Goddess and the Baker, 33 S Wabash-Millennium Park

An all-day counter between the Loop and Millennium Park

Breakfast is the first shift here, and it does not end at ten. The Wabash branch of Goddess and the Baker works as a counter-service bakery and cafe with pastry, coffee, sandwiches, salads and flatbreads on the same board, so a single stop can be a croissant early or a salad at one. The idea borrows from a French boulangerie and patisserie, then runs it on American all-day habits, which is why the pastry case and the lunch menu sit side by side rather than taking turns. The room is bright and busy, built for people crossing the Loop and the theater district rather than settling in for a long afternoon.

How the counter actually runs

Guests queue, order, then take a table or carry it out. That rhythm fits the block: office workers early, a rush at midday, hotel guests and theatergoers later on. The all-day format is what separates it from a bakery built around a single early pastry rush, and it gives the room a second and third life once the breakfast trade thins. The Chicago group has grown on the same model, with sibling cafes in River North, the Loop, Riverfront and Superior and Wells, plus one in Brookfield, Wisconsin. The tone is friendly rather than formal, and nothing about the service asks you to commit to a full sit-down meal, which is most of the reason the counter turns over as quickly as it does.

Order the salmon kale Caesar, or stay with pastry

At lunch the salads are the clearest choice, and the grilled salmon kale Caesar is the one that eats like a full meal rather than a side. Sandwiches and flatbreads sit in the same lane if you want something hot and quick. Earlier, the bakery side takes over: croissants and viennoiserie, cakes and the rest of a rich pastry case, with coffee as the default companion. The drinks list runs further than espresso, into the colorful cafe drinks the brand is known for, which is why a fair number of people come in without ordering food at all. If you are deciding between the two halves, take the pastry early and the salad late. The counter is built to do both, and it does not treat either as the side project.