For 20P, you can get a simple bagel with cream cheese; its upwards from there for a fancier sandwich. The vegetarian version is nothing super elaborate, but sure fills up the stomach. Drinks range from 12-30P. I didn't have much to do except to while away the morning, so I splurged on a delicious hot chocolate and then an even more delicious mocha. Usually a one-person operation, the service can be "relaxed," but also quite welcoming towards locals, language students, and tourists alike.

Because I'm sure there are better places to get bagels. HOWEVER, I AM a creature of habit, so Bagel Co. (formerly Bagel Station, an offshoot of the chain in Vienna), has since become my go-to place for my favorite breakfast item. The staff are used to visitors and so don't think anything of hungry non-German-speaking bagel fanatics such as myself.

The ingredients always seem super fresh and the one girl that I always saw there was always seems friendly. I can vouch for the Toscana (on a Parmesan-oregano bagel) and Veggie bagels, but they have eight other sandwiches, too. This is what I wish Einstein's could be. Then again, I'm glad there's only one of these shops.

), but perhaps this is the one most convenient for tourists like me. Because I really love the concept of the bagel sandwich, I can really only vouch for their humongous portions (enough for two!), especially the Italian Vegetarian (an overload of both fresh and sun-dried tomatoes and pesto, with mozzarella) on a spinach bagel, but their Mediterranean Plate (hummus, bagel chips, veggies = excellent) also looked appetizing. Amusing posters, to boot.

' Surely, I can get bagels at Best or City Bagels, but I like hanging out with my dear cousins a little bit more because they're very nice, and always have the time to have a pleasant chat. 6,-EUR bagel lunch specials will have me coming back for more, along with the carrot cake, the "love cake," the milkshake...I could go on. Note: it's easy to pass by the storefront, so if you can't find it the first time, try again; it's across the street from the blaring orange of Nathan Coffee. You'll be richly rewarded, though go after noon if you don't want to be suffocated by the crowd.

Happy Day is a cute little shop, really. It's decorated in a "super feminine" style, with flowers and butterfly wallpaper; you almost expect Amélie Poulain to make you a cortado and offer you a wonderfully decorated cupcake or a filling bagel a sandwich. Unfortunately, there's only one table, so you might have to take your goods to the nearby plaza.

" Of course, when I think of this concept, I think not only of being wrapped in a blanket with a cup of tea reading Rilke but also of being embroiled in a deep conversation with a friend, letting the hours pass by without a care. Surely you can do either (well, sans blanket) at any old cafe, though there's still that cozy--or rather, scrappy, "mismatched"--factor missing from many of the places here. I guess one could make a distinction between a "cafe" and a "coffee shop"; for me the former implies distance and "order" (at least in Paris), and the latter is more indicative of informality, conviviality. The @robase doesn't have a beanbag coziness, but it's much less imposing than the more well-known establishments in town. It helps, probably, that it's in the 13th that's part of the "Rive Gauche" revitalization project, lending the cafe--pardon, coffee shop--an air of toughness along it's otherwise polished edges. It also helps that service is relaxed without being forgetful, the bagels quite good (with Philadelphia cream cheese), and the coffee served in decent sizes, which can be had to go (!).

Given its location in the suburb of Arvada, the outside seating is not especially beautiful (unless, that is, you have an intense appreciation of parking lots). Four stars, though, for the excellent mochas (iced or not), though I can't remember if they offer any soy, and also four stars for the extreme hospitality. Probably the best place to peruse your purchase after hitting up the nearby Black & Read.