Copenhagen Pastry, in full disclosure, is walking distance from the L.A. Weekly offices, but its arrival in 2012 single-handedly made our location seem like a privileged one, rather than the highway-abutting, gourmet-deficient stretch it has historically been. Among the items in the pastry case, the Copenhagen is the show-off, wearing its strips of chocolate and yellow custard on the outside; even tastier is the Kringle, a wavy croissant-meets-strudel with almond paste and custard hidden in the middle and an exterior crusted with almond slices and sugar. Owner Karen Hansen and head baker Henrik Gram, both from Denmark, also offer a Danish rye bread, which is darker and more compact than the American kind. It's the perfect place to stop on the way to someone's house — your potluck contribution will manage to be both exotic and impossible not to like. —Zachary Pincus-Roth

11113 Washington Blvd., Culver City, 90232. (310) 839-8900, copenhagenpastry.com.

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