Coffee & Treats in Union City

Piles of fresh, hand-rolled bagels fill the shelves at Montague Street Bagels, which keeps a steady supply of cream cheese, housemade salads, and Boar’s Head meats to build sandwiches all day long. Chewy bagels feature lox or whitefish salads, while hot cuban or buffalo paninis press several savory fillings between their grilled bread. There are also specialty sandwiches that recall iconic Brooklyn sayings or places such as the Fuggetaboutit, the Brooklyn Bridge, or the I’ve Been Cryogenically Frozen Where Did the Dodgers Go.

At Cupcake Chica, bakers dole out a variety of petite pastries every day, delivering them to homes and offices throughout the city. Classic french vanilla and chocolate confections share billing on the menu with more whimsical concoctions such as coconut, dulce de leche, and mint chocolate chip. Customers can dive further into miniaturized desserts with cake and cheesecake pops or order custom full-sized cakes to celebrate birthdays or impending tax audits.

[[m:####Apple Cafe and Bakery

A rush of warm air fills the kitchen as the head baker, Babu, opens the shining silver door of his oven. The spice-laden aroma of carrot cake lures Babu’s kitchen crew to his side, where they slide the fresh-baked creation onto the counter and prepare to spread a rich, cream-cheese icing across its top.

So passes a normal day behind the scenes at Apple Cafe and Bakery, a quaint and cozy shop known locally for crafting delicious handmade pies, cookies, brownies, and cakes. Babu bustles about the kitchen throughout the day, checking on the consistency of his flourless cakes and fruity muffins and fending off monkeys anxious for a taste of his signature banana pudding. Far removed from the hubbub in the kitchen, guests seated in the quiet café sip on mugs of just-brewed coffee while chatting with friends or curling up with a book.:m]]

Artful swirls of buttercream and cream-cheese icing adorn the signature cupcakes at Vanity Sweets, whose satisfying array of flavors ranges from classic red velvet to a banana-split concoction laced with pink-tinted icing, drizzled with chocolate, and carefully crowned with a cherry. This elaborate preparation might be bit over-the-top for a single cupcake, but the bakery prides itself on its uncommon attention to detail and handmade confections. When they aren’t busy perfecting the recipes for dozens of cupcake flavors, the bakers dress cake pops in smooth coats of chocolate and craft stunning full-size cakes to celebrate birthdays or throw in the faces of unsuspecting prime ministers.

Davidovich Bagels

As a child, Gene Davidovich delighted in the robust aromas of baked bread. It wafted from his Grandma Zoya's kitchen, where the future entrepreneur eagerly observed old-fashioned preparation methods and tasted generations-old recipes. Today, Gene hand rolls and kettle boils fresh bagels every morning to honor his grandmother's legacy, and, according to ABC News, his are some of the few bagels to sneak seeds onto both sides.

Although bagels—prepared in flavors such as blueberry and pumpernickel—may be the main attraction at this Woodside bakery, they certainly don't hog the spotlight. Born from real yogurt, butter, and flour, tins of kosher, handmade muffins accompany artisanal breads prepared from ancestral recipes that, like the music of ABBA, date back to 600 AD. For Francophile sweet teeth, the store's exclusive line of pastries from the Bridor company in France come straight out of the oven every morning.

Branson Got Juice proprietor Branson B. has been featured in press from Forbes to Fast Company for his dual connoisseurship of both hip-hop and fine champagnes. A veritable New York legend in the hip-hop and rap community, Branson's storied past includes work as a talent manager and on his own record label, but his curiosity, knowledge, and love of champagne are what's earned him immortalization in numerous lyrics by hip-hop artists and friends—such as the Notorious B.I.G., L.L. Cool J., and Elmo. As Fast Company puts it, “Fab 5 Freddy and other industry insiders credit Branson with having triggered rap's champagne craze in the first place.”

In his Sugar Hill juicery, he shifts focus to fresh-pressed juices and healthy smoothies that deliver a potent nutritional punch. Veggies, fruits, and roots relinquish their liquid after a run through the juicer to become elixirs such as the Super Green with kale and spinach, or B's Wellness with carrot, beet, ginger, cayenne pepper, and a dash of magic potion. Smoothies and juices alike benefit from the addition of supplements such as bee pollen, whey protein, and spirulina, and wheatgrass shots let patrons knock back liquid health on the go.