Bright with butter-yellow paint and a sparkling chandelier, this spick-and-span storefront is packed with prim white marble-topped tables and soda-fountain silver chairs. There are free samples laid out atop two glass counters filled with baked goods, and tunes from David Bowie and Joan Jett play on the pre-'80s soundtrack. Elisa Casas harbored a passion for baking even while owning two clothing stores on this block. Then she and her husband decided to take her favorite recipes and open City Girl, named partly for the Joan Armatrading tune. The coffee's free-trade and organic, but what sets this café apart is the quality of Elisa’s treats, all made in house (except for the croissants, which are imported, predictably, from Balthazar). Hippie classics like banana bread and oatmeal cookies are rendered more refined, though no less earthy, by their surprisingly delicate textures. Chocolate choices—most notably a Valrhona fudge brownie and the spicy Mexican chocolate cookie—offer velvety depth. Other standouts include thick, chewy ginger cookies, flecked with crystallized bits of sugar, crumbly apple cake, and small, but powerful dark-chocolate-dipped peanut-butter balls.
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