Coffee & Treats in Watertown

Five decades ago, Kirio Pantelis wheeled a wooden cart around Kalamata, Greece, peddling syrupy sweets to locals. Today, his son and daughter-in-law oversee the American patisserie and café that evolved from these humble roots, nestled in both Brookline and Brighton. The bakery pays homage to its heritage with walnut-studded cakes and tarts that echo back to communal baking in wood-burning Greek ovens, though the shop draws from all over Europe for luxurious ingredients such as chocolate genoise, poached Turkish apricots, and Belgian cocoa. Puffed éclairs, petits fours, and fruit tartlets evoke the patisseries of Paris, and the bakery’s from-scratch gelato transports tasters to Italy without the hassle of concentrating hard enough to teleport.

Along with these sugary delicacies, the Brighton location also dishes up savory, Mediterranean-inspired fare at a café with marble tabletops and loft ceilings. Diners here fork into cold poached salmon, munch on paninis layered with gruyere or house orange-scented sausage, and savor cold sandwiches filled with roasted pancetta.

Lilly’s Cafe & French Bakery owners Alex and Susan sate sweet and savory cravings with a lineup of deli-style sandwiches, pastries, and renowned specialty cakes. Lunchtime trips to Lilly's replenish flagging bodies like a puff of nutrient-rich steam with hearty deli sandwiches prepared with fresh ingredients including Boar's Head meats and cheeses. The mediterranean-chicken sandwich ($6.95) harks back to sunlit walks under Roman arches with a full complement of hummus, roasted red peppers, and lemon oregano on focaccia. Pastry lovers can select from a bouquet of croissants and sweets such as specialty red velvet cupcakes or miniature cheesecakes.

Cafe Burrito's crew stuffs tortillas with ingredients such as chili-lime chicken, cotija cheese, and zesty pickled veggies to craft its hefty Mission-style burritos, which epitomize the handheld meal. The menu also features other creative fare, such as Mexican-style grilled-cheese sandwiches, which showcase cheese melted over pork carnitas or pulled barbecue chicken, and pickled veggies. Diners can also top their food with special-made salsas crafted from fruits such as peach or apple, which rotate monthly to keep palates surprised.

More Than Words is a nonprofit social enterprise that empowers youth who are in the foster care system, court involved, homeless, or out of school to take charge of their lives by taking charge of a business. We are also a fabulous used book store and we proudly brew Starbucks coffee!

Judy Rosenberg didn’t set out to be an award-winning chef or an NPR-lauded cookbook author. The owner of Rosie’s Bakery found her calling in 1974 after attending art school and gobbling desserts at some of New York’s finest bakeries, becoming inspired to forge her own batch of sweets. When the staff of a local cheesecake shop got hooked on her homemade cookies, she knew she’d found a recipe for success. Since then, she’s expanded her culinary repertoire to include fudge-nut brownies, bavarian-cream fruit tarts, and more than 14 types of muffins and scones.

Each recipe teems with real, old-fashioned ingredients, such as butter, cream, sugar, and edible monocles. Cakes come in circular layers and rectangular sheets, boasting flavors such as carrot and mocha. Filled with snickerdoodles and chocolate-chip rounds, the cookie lineup conjures more childhood memories than a psychiatrist who rides to work in an ice-cream truck.

Today's deal gets you the gift that can say everything from "Happy Birthday" to "I'm sorry I hugged your uncle, Mr. Tapdance." For $10, you send $20 worth of fine chocolates at Chocolate.com anywhere in the U.S., Canada, or 16 other countries. Along with its wide variety of chocolate, you can apply that $20 toward shipping and the site's Gifts on Sale section. There's a limit of one Groupon per checkout, but there's no limit to how many you can buy.

Chocolate.com is a network of chocolate shops across the USA and Canada, with one in nearly every major city. Start by browsing Chocolate.com's easy-to-navigate website. You can shop according to occasion, price, type of chocolate, and even ingredients if the next person on your list has dietary concerns. If you're seeking something that falls within your Groupon, check out the best-selling Gifts Under $25, such as dark-chocolate brownies ($15.50), premium truffle assortments ($17), and Ghirardelli Galore ($20). Once you've made your selection, Chocolate.com will send the order to the closest local shop—ensuring that your giftee gets fresh, handmade chocolate, and not some inedible brownish brick that's been sitting in a warehouse since the Carter administration decided to only travel on horseback. You can track your order online through every stage of delivery, including pre-natal, pupation, and Dr. Wily's stage in Megaman 2.

Reviews

Business Week and Boston.com feature Chocolate.com:

• You can get just about any chocolate candies sold nationwide at the chocolate.com website. – Boston.com
• ... an online emporium, complete with boutique sweets, recipes, and articles that run the gamut from the health benefits of dark chocolate to the history of chocolate Santas. – Aaron Pressman, Business Week