Best Soft Pretzel, August 2012

We confess: Soft pretzels are not our favorite snack. Too often they're just bread in knot form, relying on an assortment of dips to add flavor or on preposterous size merely for effect. The hale offering at the newly reopened Tom Bergin's has made converts of us all. A dash of dark rye flour gives the toothsome tie a heady hit of caraway; the baked-in salt results in even, caramelized seasoning that stays put. » 840 S. Fairfax Ave., Mid Wilshire.