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In a sunny little rowhouse a few doors down from Soup's On in Hampden, Puffs and Pastries (owned by former City Paper contributor Anisha Jagtap) makes delectable treats with a strict butter-only policy. We applaud them. For a lunch in their upstairs seating area filled with Ikea white-and-silver tables and chairs and white and faded red streamers blowing in the open window, we stuck to what they call "savories": baseball-sized, flaky layered pastries filled with whatever meaty or veggie filling offered that day ($5). The turkey and zucchini savory contained a light, creamy sauce with spring herbs held together by folded-in puff pastry. The pulled-pork savory was a wealth of food for your money: tender shredded pork in a spicy sauce with hot pepper flakes and cilantro, again baked in puffy layers--the sauces in each just for binding and not at all soupy. But our favorite was the andouille sausage and cheddar savory croissant topped with sesame seeds: bites of spicy gooeyness between warm buttery layers. Delicious. About the lovely, sweet baked goods, we will say only this: The huge chocolate eclair with runny vanilla filling ($5) was probably meant to be shared.

E-mail Wendy Ward