Coffee & Treats in Anchorage

Inside a cozy shack painted with a mural of sloping mountains, the baristas of Lazy Mountain Espresso brew coffee and craft steamy or frosty cafe beverages. Specialties include the Hatcher Pass, flavored with blueberry and white chocolate, the Pioneer Peak, which combines praline with caramel mocha, and a revved up smoothie made with Red Bull. Patrons can nibble on soft pretzels made fresh daily, ham and cheese croissants, or jumbo cookies.

Catered Blessings Dessert First's owner and head chef Tamara Josey directs her passion for all things confectionary into custom-made cakes, pies, and baked treats. Patrons can request a bundt cake with a personalized birthday message, design, or the silhouette of Alfred Hitchcock emblazoned onto it in frosting. The shop serves a different flavor of cheesecake each month, accompanied by a permanent cache of cookies and bars, and a fleet of café fare such as sandwiches, salads, and appetizers.

Catered Blessings cultivates its community by enlisting local suppliers whenever possible, and peppering its crimson walls with locally made artwork. The eatery's free open writers' circle invites hungry scribes on Saturday at 8 p.m., while musicians and aspiring guitar picks can refine their stage presence during open-mic sessions on Saturday at 9 p.m.

Inspired by New York shops, Bagels Alaska treats its patrons to delicious bagel-based delights made with traditional, boiled and hearthstone-baked dough. Baristas squeeze gourmet espresso shots from locally roasted beans, and hot breakfast sandwiches feature more egg, meat, and cheese combinations than an omelet-themed Rubik's cube. Alaskan calzones envelop Alaska-inspired fillings—the Fairbanks, for example, contains the city's three officially sanctioned ingredients, tri-tip beef, horseradish, and swiss cheese. Fans of both pizza and bagels can savor both simultaneously by ordering one of the café's hand-tossed, stone-fired pizzas, which recline on a bagel crust in 11-inch individual portions or 20-inch larges.

In 1988, Auntie Anne's founders Anne and Jonas Beiler purchased a Pennsylvania farmers' market stand, where they experimented with dough until they created a pretzel that seemed to strike the perfect chord with their customers. Today, at their more than 1,150 locations worldwide, the pretzel makers still hand roll the original recipe but have added to the menu with inventive options, such as the pepperoni pretzel and eight signature dipping sauces. The team constantly explores new uses for the pretzel dough, such as wrapping it around hot dogs, slicing it into bite-size nuggets, or using it to build historically accurate Austrian villages. To transform the snack into a meal, they accompany it with specialty drinks, including frozen-lemonade desserts.

When not twisting dough, Auntie Anne's team partners with the national charitable organization Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, which raises funds to fight childhood cancer. They also reach out to the community through fundraising opportunities.

When Jennie Carter excitedly set out to bake a cake celebrating her child's first birthday, it didn't turn out so well. The debacle inspired her to take some cake-decorating classes, and she unearthed a talent that led to the creation of Tiers from Heaven, a one-woman baking business that deals exclusively in special orders for cakes, cupcakes, and cookie cakes from inside a mobile truck. The lineup of more than 30 cupcake flavors includes the Blue Hawaiian, a pineapple-rum cake on which a cherry and a dried pineapple wedge float on a swell of Blue Curacao frosting.

Since overcoming her failed birthday-cake attempt, Jennie's successes range from opening her own food truck to wowing July 4 partygoers with cake pops draped in American-flag designs. She also baked a camouflage-frosted cake to sweeten a soldier's welcome-home festivities, much to the despair of forks that kept losing sight of their target.

Qwik Cup Espresso has been brightening guests’ mornings with energizing coffee drinks since 1997. Besides the caffeinated cups, staffers also stir up healthy fruit-protein shakes or fill plates with breakfast sandwiches, waffles, and Illusions Bakery’s sweet baked goods. Later in the day, they keep guests fueled with a diverse menu of burgers, chimichangas, and wings served with six possible sauces, like choose-your-own-adventure books designed to be eaten at the end.