For $5, today’s side deal gets you $10 worth of fresh-baked cream puffs and other baked goods from Beard Papa’s downtown location on State Street. Buy up to three of this Groupon and triple your cream-filled intake.

The friendly bakers at Beard Papa’s make cream-puff shells fresh throughout the day using all-natural premium ingredients that run the gamut from Madagascar vanilla beans and Peruvian mangoes to Barry Callebaut Belgian chocolates and Plugra European butter. Enjoy the original puff ($2) dusted with powdered sugar, an éclair ($2.50) hand-dipped in Belgian dark chocolate, the sugar-cookie crunch ($2.50), or the Paris brest, a braided and chewy affair that can also be dark-chocolate-dipped or cinnamon-sugared ($2.75–$3.25).

The puffs and Parises are custom-filled per customer order with a choice of vanilla bean custard, Belgian-chocolate custard, real strawberries and cream, or, on Friday through Sunday, a rotating specialty fourth flavor; choices include the likes of caramel, coffee, green tea, pumpkin, and fresh banana cream, to name just a few. The grizzled mug of Papa also serves up Illy coffee and espresso drinks ($1.80–$4) to complement the baked wares, and the likes of cheesecake sticks ($2-$2.50), mochi ice cream ($2), and mango layered shaved ice ($5) for sweet treats in every season.

Reviews

Beard Papa’s was nominated for Best Specialty Shop in Time Out Chicago’s 2010 Eat Out Awards. The shop has been mentioned in Chicago magazine, the Chicago Sun-Times, Centerstage Chicago, Chicagoist, Eat Right Around Chicago, and Urban Daddy. More than 140 Yelpers rave about the sweet treats, and give Beard Papa’s an average of four stars: > * …the cream puffs are the star of the show. Ask to have yours dipped in chocolate, if you’re into that sort of thing, and then have the staff stuff them with your choice of vanilla custard, chocolate cream, or maybe a little Baileys Irish Cream-flavored ice cream. – Bill Burman, Centerstage Chicago > * I love Beard Papa’s puffs for the pleasure it provides, but as a dietitian, I am very fond of its modest calorie contribution. – Jenna A. Bell, Eat Right Around Chicago > * I love how the owners of this particular Beard Papa are always adding new creations to their menu. Hello key lime cream puff?? – Tiffany H., Yelp > * I’ve had cream puffs before but everything here from the cream custard to the shell had the perfect consistency and flavor. – Matt R., Yelp