Coffee & Treats in Forest Hills
Recommended Coffee & Treats by Groupon Customers
Founded by ice-cream enthusiasts Donald and Susan Sutherland in 1988, Cold Stone Creamery has grown to more than 1,400 locations across North America. Each day, the shop's scoopers mix up fresh batches of ice cream, yogurt, and sorbet, which are served by the scoop, piled high in sundaes, and blended into shakes. After customers choose their desired flavor, the staffers toss the chilly sustenance upon a slab of frozen granite and fold in a smorgasbord of candy and nuts to achieve the ideal ice-cream-to-add-in ratio. Customers can dream up their own creations or opt for a signature masterpiece, sampling one of more than 11.5 million possible flavor combinations, which still await a brave conqueror to unlock them all. To accommodate sweets cravings at celebrations, staff members also dish out ready-made treats, such as ice-cream cakes, cupcakes, and cookies.
Before Paul and Jared Smith came onboard, the company that became Great Lakes Chocolate & Coffee Co. had no coffee to speak of: it only sold chocolate by the bag, box, or individual morsel. But the brothers recognized how well their rich chocolates complemented a hot cup of joe, and by 2004 they started roasting their own beans. Today, those yield coffees such as the Black & Tan, a combination of dark and light roasts, and the Honduran High Grown, which is harvested on the wings of airplanes.
The coffees add a jolt to Great Lakes’ hot drinks, including seasonal selections such as the pumpkin-pie latte. Organic and decaf teas, as well as cold beverages such as frozen lemonade and fruit smoothies, round out the shop’s drinkable options, all of which complement this family owned and run business’ stock of sweet treats.
The crafty bakers at Cake N Candy offer an extensive curriculum in the art of building sweet treats of all shapes and sizes. Students learn the subtleties of cake decoration, dressing breads in icing, flowers, or the smooth, sugary shell of gum paste and fondant. Instructors teach trade secrets of splicing different varieties of cookies or making homemade candy that can cheer up even the grumpiest of nightclub bouncers. Instructors build moist and munchable cake pops or ride the waves of the cupcake craze with an array of recipes and decorating ideas. Classes range from one to four sessions, with some including additional costs for equipment and course books.
The day starts early at Great Harvest Bread Co., where grain gurus Blake, Sharon, and Mike bake loaf after loaf of all-natural, housemade bread. Each batch of dough begins with freshly ground whole-wheat flour milled from family-owned farms in Montana. Salt, yeast, and local honey soon follow. By 9:30 a.m., the Stoimenoffs start pulling their first loaves from the oven, handing out warm, complimentary slices to customers as they enter the store. The bread schedule changes every day, but patrons can always purchase seven of the shop’s mainstays: honey whole wheat, white, nine grain, and four varieties of cinnamon swirl.
Great Harvest’s breads can surely stand alone, but that doesn’t stop the Stoimenoffs from offering made-to-order sandwiches stacked with ham, turkey, or chicken and three types of cheese. For dessert or a sweet breakfast, patrons can grab pumpkin cream-cheese scones and low-fat raspberry muffins, or—if they're kids or adults disguised as kids—score cookies on the house.
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. Confectioners build custom cakes and accommodate last-minute requests, and bakers translate email orders or telegrams into loaves. Savory lunch fare rounds out the menu with choices including cheeseburgers and chili.
White mums, ripe apples, and chocolate-chip muffins are just a few of the goodies Posies, Plans & Pics + Pastries packs inside its colorful baskets designed to suit any occasion. The floral experts combine fresh-baked eats with fragrant blooms to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries or devise season-specific desserts such as autumnal candy-corn cupcakes and Christmas cookies flavored with a pinch of Santa’s after-shave. Each edible, sniffable treat is a product of the staff’s more than two decades of baking and floral-design experience. Beyond their flower and pastry specialties, the crew also provide event-planning services, event photography, and tuxedo rentals.
