During my dad's last visit, he was craving a bear claw, but had to settle for a Starbucks fritter. He was happy with it, but we both know the real deal comes from a place called Winchell's (what a great Midwestern donut chain name!). It's sign was the appropriate yellow with brown lettering that seemed to not only be popular when I was little, but quite possibly was the only option for food signage in 1978. But sadly, it seems according to their site, they no longer serve the bear claw.
To be honest, what I grew up thinking was a bear claw was actually a bit closer to a fritter. According to wikipedia, a true bear claw has almond paste and raisins, where I recall apples and cinnamon.. but who cares what it was officially called, it was always the biggest, messiest donut in the box and one was always reserved for dad.
But what do you think?