Best Pastries

Ooh-la-la, we can't tell you how delighted we were when we discovered this honest-to-goodness French patisserie. Open since January, Scratch Pastries is a labor of love run by two Parisian transplants, Duc and Noelle Liao, who left behind glamorous careers (fashion photographer and model, respectively) in the City of Light to raise their family here. And we're so glad they did. Now we can hang out in their stylish, low-key cafe, sip Mariages Frères tea, and nibble on buttery, freshly made croissants, chewy macarons, and exquisite creations like the cream-filled strawberry-rose gateau or the matcha­-flecked green tea fleur. They're all almost too pretty to eat. That's right, we said almost.