Los Angeles - It’s easy to get distracted by the display case filled with elaborate creations at this LA cafe, but don’t overlook their plain croissant. This shaggy, slightly rustic pastry looks like it wears Birkenstocks, but underneath the hood, it’s a traditionalist masterpiece. It has a bit of everything we love: nuttiness from whole-grain flour, a bit of sourdough tang, and the ideal balance of butteriness and crunch, all while remaining supple enough to pull apart like a carb slinky.

New York - If you had a French friend visiting and you took them to get a croissant—which, why would you do this, but stick with us here—we’d tell you to bring them to Simple Loaf. The Brooklyn bakery’s plain version hits every note: It’s equal parts flaky and buttery, with just a little chew, and we’d consider it a perfect specimen. We’ve even heard that the person who makes them learned to do so in France. Go find out for yourself.

San Francisco - Butter & Crumble is a palace of all things pastry. And everyone knows it—this bakery attracts block-long lines of butter enthusiasts who line up daily for impeccable croissants. The pastry here is light and crackly, with inner layers so thin they’re transparent. The menu rotates, but we love mainstays like the bacon, egg, and cheese croissant with a gooey egg yolk. Also know that a visit here is null and void if you don’t order the pistachio cardamom croissant.

Philadelphia - Philly’s Machine Shop Boulangerie is easy to find. Just peep the line forming on the first floor of the Bok Building, a historic schoolhouse converted into restaurants and work spaces. The croissants here (there’s typically a handful of varieties) are about the size of a snowball, and are super airy with lots of flaky layers. While the standard croissant nails the balance of buttery sweetness, we also love the double chocolate version stuffed with chocolate mousse.

Houston - Love Croissants puts the name (and percentage) of the fancy butter in the croissants right on the menu—82% beurremont beurre—so you know it’s serious. Try the satisfying pain au chocolats or the croissants stuffed with extra thick layers of smoked ham and asiago. They also have something called a “crolache,” a uniquely Texas mashup that combines a croissant and toasted jalapeño cheddar beef sausage kolache.

Atlanta - This Japanese bakery and cafe is the reigning croissant king of Atlanta, with an unmatched selection of cream-filled, circular-shaped, or classic multilayered beauties. Momo's rotating menu constantly keeps things interesting, with flavors like sweet matcha or (our favorite) savory onion, gruyere, and rosemary combo. And if the banoffee cream croissant with banana-toffee cream is available, it’s a must-order.

Chicago - Lost Larson’s whole wheat croissant would be a lethal poker player—you can’t guess what’s going on behind its glistening exterior. But this Chicago bakery has achieved pastry perfection. Breaking it open unleashes a crackle, revealing an immaculate honeycomb structure. It has the ideal flake-to-fluff ratio, so you won’t need an army of vacuums afterward.

Miami - This warehouse bakery is whipping up some insanely light and flaky plain croissants for $3.50 (and hosting classes so you can learn how to make one yourself). They also have delicious almond croissants and ones with chocolate and pistachio cream fillings, but we’re partial to the plain ones that are perfect for dipping in their cappuccino.

Nashville - This bakery and brunch spot has a whole section of its menu dedicated to the non-traditional croissants they call “laminations”, like churro cruffins tossed in cinnamon sugar and filled with dark chocolate and dulce de leche and the bacon squared breakfast cube—a toasted, layered marvel that’s stuffed with eggs, onion-jalapeno jam, bacon and cheese. But we also love their croissant sandwiches like a c’reuben on a pretzel croissant and roasted turkey with sliced apples and brie.

Austin - This croissant is richer than Jeff Bezos. It’s chocolate on chocolate—Mexican, to be specific. There’s a coat of dark chocolate glaze on top and more chocolate morsels stuffed inside the flaky sourdough layers. With its pink facade and bright yellow door, Comadre Panaderia is certainly the most colorful bakery in Austin. But the existence of that croissant might make it the best bakery there, too.

New Orleans - Ayu is the most exciting bakery in New Orleans. They offer classic laminated treats like plain and chocolate croissants, but what you’re really here for are the seasonal varieties like cheese and crawfish-stuffed crawwsants. There are also sweeter special editions, like a salty-sweet chocolate croissant filled with brown butter frangipane and rum caramel bananas, and a floral rose baklava croissant.

Washington DC - If you inhale too deeply before taking a bite of the za'atar croissant at Yellow, you're likely to get a lungful of Levantine spices. This croissant isn't dusted with za'atar so much as it's a vessel for the stuff. It is absolutely drenched, and as such it is exclusively for the most real za'atar freaks. You can get it with just labne, but we'd highly recommend adding the egg and smoked peppers.

Seattle - If we held a croissant seminar and invited all the deflated French pastries across Seattle to enroll, this would be the professor. Fuji’s laminated showing is the platonic ideal to aspire to, which is all the more exciting for a bakery known for its donuts. With a brittle-thin shell that cracks like crème brûlée, subtle sweetness, and a beehive-like network of moist, malty fluff inside, it has everything you want in such a classic—and nothing you don’t.

San Diego - Izola is an industrial-sized bakery making industrial-sized croissants that push the limits of the format. Their most famous, and best, is the bibimbap croissant filled with gingery sauce and beef bulgogi and served on a huge wooden slab with dollops of chili sauce. It’s more of a meal than a pastry, and we’ve never had a croissant quite like it anywhere else. But if you just want a regular croissant, those are incredible too.