Old Europe Pastries

Old Europe has been Asheville's Hungarian-rooted pastry shop since 1994, when Melinda Vetro, who learned to bake in pastry school growing up in Hungary, opened the first one on Battery Park. It's moved a few times since and now sits at 18 Broadway downtown. The case is packed with mousse cakes, eclairs, macarons and croissants, plus old-country picks like Rigo Jancsi chocolate cake and the Ishler, a pair of walnut shortbread cookies with apricot jam dipped in chocolate. A lot of the cakes are gluten free, and there are vegan options too, like a chocolate cupcake and a seasonal cobbler. Coffee is espresso from Dynamite Roasting in Black Mountain, and the bar pours Aperol spritzes, espresso martinis and Irish coffee. It's open 7:30 AM to 10 PM Sunday through Thursday and until 11 on Friday and Saturday.

Get the almond croissant, filled with frangipane and marzipan, with a latte in the morning. After dinner, split a slice of mousse cake and an espresso martini, since they're open until 10 most nights and 11 on weekends.