Coffee & Treats in Raleigh

Conveniently located in the 140-store Cary Towne Center mall, the DQ Treat Center offers a cool respite for shoppers tired of fitting-room lines and surly sales clerks. Celebrating its 25th year, the signature Blizzard's chunky charms are as inescapable as ever, with classic candies such as Butterfinger, Oreos, and Snickers and newer flavor options like Strawberry CheeseQuake blended to unmatched thickness with creamy soft serve ($3.19–$3.89). The Peanut Buster Parfait ($4.19) slathers vanilla ice cream in fudge and peanuts for an appealingly layered delight. This location harnesses the relentless power of the DQ Blizzard alongside the brightly colored grace and dignity of Orange Julius smoothies ($4.49) and fruit drinks ($3.19–$3.79) to create a sweet treat superpower.

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 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. To accommodate sweets cravings at celebrations, staff members also dish out premade treats, such as ice-cream cakes and baked goods.

Spearheaded by a local couple, Big City Bagels & Cafe surges with the scents of New York–style water bagels and homemade sandwiches. Vegetable, scallion, strawberry, and cinnamon raisin walnut cream cheeses swathe freshly baked bagels, as classic philly cheesesteaks sport thinly sliced rib eye and Cheese Whiz layered into italian hoagie rolls. In the dining room, customers roost upon tabletops surrounded by sunny yellow walls and artwork representations of major cities. The eatery's catering services are also available to furnish meetings, parties, and lengthy PTA canoe trips with trays of sandwich fixings, breakfast morels, and desserts.

A glass display case of colorful cakes, cookies, and pastries greets guests as they enter Clayton Bakery & Cafe, along with the enticing aroma of freshly baking bread. The family-owned establishment staffs a team of local artisanal bakers and decorators, who use local and natural ingredients when whipping up baked goods and a lunch menu of hearty sandwiches, paninis, and daily soups. Chefs roast all of their beef and pork fresh each day, and distribute their signature rolls to local venues such as Laugh Out Loud and Clayton Steakhouse. Upon request, the bakery can inscribe customized cakes with birthday greetings, personal messages, or a favorite chapter from James Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.