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Cal Pep. If you need a break from Catalan, go to El Japones for japanese noodles and Bella Napoli for authentic pizza

We had the pumpkin pie and the pumpkin cupcakes for Thanksgiving. OUTSTANDING.

Ditto on Jack's. My daughter used to work there and couldn't get the recipe. Top secret. But I'm sure they have lots of coffee. I think they might actually contain ground coffee beans. Sometimes they're too raw (because the staff bakes them in a toaster oven and lack consistent timing) but they're usually very good. Jacques Torres is still the winner.

I threw away the last cookies I bought at City. They were burned on the edges and completely raw in the center, but the worst part was that they had an "off"taste, as if they'd been baked in an oven along with savory items.
I can't wait to try Pret. I know Claudia Fleming was a consultant there for awhile after Gramercy. Maybe they used her recipe.

Jacques Torres by a mile, but a vote for Bouchon