Gran Forno
1235 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, 954/467-2244, Granforno.com
Perhaps it's time we stopped singling out Gran Forno as best bakery after nine consecutive years. Mind you, the quality of the bakery hasn't diminished, but because we can no longer be sure of getting a table at lunchtime during tourist season, much less a chicken pesto sandwich, we considered awarding this category to another bakery. Problem is, we couldn't find one anywhere near as excellent as Gran Forno. Sal Annino and Peter Dennis' Las Olas landmark makes everything from scratch in an on-site kitchen, and customers include area restaurants that fill their bread baskets with crisp, airy ciabattas and other breads from the 15 or so varieties of oversize loaves baked daily. The miniature cakes that fill the glass case are indulgent without overwhelming your blood sugar, and the artisan cookies go perfectly with an espresso after lunch or as a midafternoon pick-me-up. Modern Baking magazine reports that Gran Forno does about $1.4 million in sales annually, and we can't imagine anyone who hasn't gotten his money's worth.
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