Coffee, Baked Goods, and Biscotti...OH MY!

Lately, I've been thinking of trying some new coffee/bakery places around the city.  There are just so many around here that I need to branch out from my weekly trips to my nearest Dunkin Donuts (as much as I plan to always remain a loyal customer!)

I decided to finally try this one place called BisCoLatte.  They specialize in 60 different flavored biscotti and they are HOMEMADE.  I love the cozy, coffee shop feel that has a colorful twist – the interior is very cute.  I got the 5 flavor sampler to get a variety that ranged from oatmeal-coconut-chocolate to fig and hazelnut, all of which were delicious.  They also feature soups and oatmeals of the day that I didn't get a chance to try, but definitely makes me want to go back.

During a Saturday of obsessively watching the Cooking Channel, Levain Bakery, was featured in one of the shows.  Watching "food experts" talk about the delicious special cookies and coffee cake, made me want to rush over to their location on the UWS while my mouth was still watering.  I ordered the Chocolate peanut-butter cookie and the sour cream coffee cake.  Their cookies are huge mound shapes that are soft and fluffy, which is my standard for a perfect cookie.  The coffee cake had this gooey cinnamon-brown sugar mixture at the bottom, that put me in a sugar overload for the rest of the day.  The space of the bakery is very small with limited seating, but you can watch the bakers work while waiting in line for takeout.  I got a glimpse of the cookie dough and wanted to jump behind the counter to taste it before it went in the oven.

I had arrived a little early to an event in the Upper East Side one evening, and decided to find a coffee shop to take up some time.  I stumbled in a place called The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.  I had to keep myself out of the customer line for a couple minutes, because I was overwhelmed by so many choices.  It was a little hot out that day, so I went with the Coffee-Ice-Blended flavor Black Forest.  Of all flavored iced coffee drinks I've had, this one is my new favorite.  I know this is breaking my "no sugar in coffee drinks" new years resolution, but I think this is a good once in a while treat.

Do you have a favorite coffee/bakery shop that you regularly go to?  What are some of your favorite menu items from there?