I might be a little biased towards Nova's, because it was the first place I ever bought food when I moved to Charlotte. Nova's does bread best. It's definitely the best bread I've found in town, traditional and crusty and delicious. Some of the best kinds are sesame semolina, francese, and the special chocolate orange brioche loaf that you can only get if you're lucky enough to be there when they get them in on Saturday. Their breakfast pastries are pretty good, but everyone in the neighborhood knows that, so if you want your choice of danish flavors you'd best get there early. The kalamata olive spread is Nova's secret weapon -- that stuff is delicious. The cakes are good though the selection is always a mystery. The only thing that's hit-or-miss is the dessert pastries. As someone else mentioned the cannolis are pre-filled and so they're a little squishy. I haven't been too impressed by the cream puffs or eclairs either the times I've had them. But that's OK. Nova's can go on making me bread and coffee and danishes. They do those really well.