Best Bakeries: Rito's Italian Bakery & Deli

At Rito’s Italian Bakery & Deli, quantity doesn’t negate quality. While the two-story Brunswick megabakery may be known for show-stopping centerpieces, from the Food Network-featured gigantic cannoli stuffed with three-dozen of the standard-sized treats, to the multitiered fondant birthday cakes in the shapes of unicorns and Disney characters, even the single a la carte pastry is treated with care. Take the humble angel wing. Essentially a crunchy afterthought of sugary fried dough at many bakeries, Rito’s angel wings are made with creamy buttermilk, rolled thin, cut individually, folded and fried before being topped with confectionary sugar laced with vanilla. They’re so popular, they’re only sold in 7- and 13-ounce cartons. It’s these details that have earned the family bakery generations of devotees, ever since Santo Rito, a Sicilian baker, founded the original Rito’s on West 130th Street in 1965. “My dad started as a young boy learning the trade back in Italy,” says Jim Rito, Santo’s son and co-owner. “You went to school until eighth grade and then you were trained. He brought those Old World recipes here.” Indeed, from cannoli shells hand-rolled thin each day to spongy cassata cake coated in macerated strawberries, it’s still the traditions that make Rito’s sing. 1930 Pearl Road, Brunswick, 330-220-3103, ritosbakery.com

Our Pick: Rito’s nut horns ($10.98 per pound) are bite-sized cinnamon-spiked delights, kept decadent and chewy through dough mixed with cream cheese.