Unlike speedy in-and-out coffee shops, cafés indulge fantasies of sneaking off through misty European streets paved with pain au chocolat and lined with biscotti parking meters. Indulge in savory streetside fare with today’s Groupon: for $7, you get $15 worth of café drinks, desserts, and more at Perugino, located downtown.

Perugino replicates the leisurely elegance of a European coffee house with warm brews and handmade pastries. Perugino's experienced baristas pour tall glasses of 11 imported and domestic wines, including Wachenheim Pfalz chardonnay ($7.75/glass) and Ca' del Sarto barbera d'Alba ($5.75/glass), along with 18 teas, including Indian vanilla, jasmine blossom, and imperial orange spice—a blend of black teas with orange peel, cinnamon, and clove. Contrasting the teas' fruity flavors, each mug of house-brewed cappuccino rests under a blanket of swirling foam. Theater-goers and afternoon shoppers can sit under the multicolored tapestries dotting the café's brick walls, munching on an Il Marche panini with prosciutto, provolone, black pepper, and spinach ($7.50) while surfing the free wireless Internet and building pastry castles.

Reviews

Seven Google Mappers give Perugino an average of 4.5 stars and more than 20 Yelpers give it a 3.5-star average:

• A cute, classy coffee shop with friendly baristas. – Jill, Google Maps
• Great coffee, sandwiches, and deserts [sic]. The atmosphere is lovely. – Alice K., Yelp, 7/9/10