Coffee & Treats in Forest Hills

Perched across the road from the gleaming waters of Bostwick Lake, the eponymously named bakery and coffee shop serves up a menu of fresh donuts, treats, and cups of coffee. Bostwick's conjures all species of carb-laden comfort foods, from donuts and glazed twists to apple fritters and long johns. Light off the lake dances in through dining-room windows, as a trinity of chocolate, buttercream, and butterscotch cinnamon rolls vies for counter space with the realpolitik power moves of a freshly baked bismarck. Cookies nest in glass-enclosed cases, fashioned in flavors of frosted sugar, snickerdoodle, date, and molasses. Savory lunch fare rounds out the menu with choices including cheeseburgers and chili.

With years of experience as a health-care specialist and bed-and-breakfast owner, Marilyn Heeringa has mastered the art of pampering and promoting wellness. Today, she specializes in ionic detox treatments, which utilize the ability of positive and negative ions to cleanse the entire body through ion footbaths.

Having traveled to Egypt and other parts of Africa, Marilyn has decorated her cozy studio with an eclectic collection of art that reflects her worldliness and her talent for looking at art. Along with detoxifying Egyptian body wraps, she offers massage therapy, facials, one-on-one-yoga, and meditation classes.

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Vanillas Coffee Tea Café serves a plethora of caffeinated concoctions and herbaceous teas, complemented with a full menu of wrapped sandwiches. The café offers several types of coffees ($1.50–$1.75) in its brewed arsenal, as well as a bruising bullpen of elaborate espresso drinks, such as mochas ($3.60) and full-flavored ristrettos ($1.75). Chase coffee with a grilled-chicken sandwich ($5.50), enhanced with sun-dried tomatoes and provolone and feta cheese, or a Michigan salad ($5.50), mixed with gorgonzola and dried fruits. Customers bearing the limited-edition, quickly abandoned Tony Orlando one-dollar bill can still find sustenance on the dollar menu, with low-priced pabulum such as a toasted honey croissant ($1) or a vanilla cupcake ($1). The café's specialty sweets also put smiles on the faces of stomachs, with specialty cookies ($15 for a dozen) and chocolate-dipped strawberries ($10 for a dozen) ready to stuff tummies. Java junkies can take home a pound of whole-bean or ground coffee ($8.50–$9.75), with an organic option available.