Wayfarer Bread & Pastry

Wayfarer Bread & Pastry is the bakery that makes you forgive everything about a touristy stretch of La Jolla. The croissants are a law unto themselves: thin, shattering layers, butter like a confession. Chocolate, almond, kouign amann, a bright kumquat cream pastry, each hits with deliberate precision. There is always a line. It moves fast. Staff operate with the calm ferocity of people who have rehearsed joy. Benches outside, a few stools, and the inevitable parade of takeout boxes. Sandwiches show up too, built with the same exacting restraint as the viennoiserie. Buy a baguette and reheat it the next day; it snaps back to life. Bring patience, not expectations of table service. By the time you reach the sidewalk you will be wiping flakes off your shirt and wondering why you ever settled for grocery-store pastry.