Du Bois Pastry Shoppe

...is located in NYC borough of Queens at 84-08A Broadway in Elmhurst.

I tried the mini pecan pie ($3) and palmiere ($1.50) - both were very good.

Istanbul Grill

This casual Turkish restaurant is located in NYC's Rego Park section of Queens at 95-36 Queens Blvd.

I went with a large group and 50% of us ordered the Lamb Shish Kebab ($14.95) which was served with rice pilaf, fresh onion, roasted green peppers and tomatoes. Beforehand our table was given a basket of fresh turkish bread which was dense, topped with coarse salt and tasted like a cross between pita and foccaccia. The baklava ($3.50) was delicious and dripping with honey.

I didn't try them, but the hummus and babaganoush both looked very good.

Levain Bakery

Since this bakery located in NYC's Upper West Side at 167 W. 74th Street was touted by Frank Bruni - former NY Times Food Critic and author of "Born Round" I had to try it.

Located one flight below street level this bakery is neighborhood gem. A small counter is the only thing separating customers from the working bakery.

I tried one of their three Crispy Pizzas - artichoke hearts and gruyere cheese ($7.75). They warm it up and cut it into fourths for me. It had a very crispy thin crust with lots of artichoke.

And I also had to try one of their famous chocolate chip cookies ($3.50) which are really huge. It was bigger than my palm and about 2-1/2" high! It was also served warm so the chocolate chips were melted and gooey. Earlier this year the two chefs/owners won the Bobby Flay Chocolate Chip Cookie Throwdown on the Food Network.

Even though it was early on a Sunday afternoon the bakery had sold out of many of their breads and other pastries. I will have to return earlier in the morning to try some of their other offerings.

Huckleberry

Located at 1014 Wilshire Blvd. in Santa Monica this cafe/bakery does a bustling business in the morning. So much so that you should be prepared to share the communal table (as the California Governator and his family did last year) or wait several minutes for one to become available. The chef is Zoe Nathan who provides the desserts for Rustic Canyon (owned by her husband Josh Loeb). It's really nice to go to a restaurant and see the owner/chef actually cooking in his/her own kitchen.

LC had the scrambled eggs over fresh market asparagus with pesto and toasted bread crumbs $12 and drip coffee $2.75

I had the fried egg sandwich with Niman Ranch Bacon, gruyere, arugula and aioli on country bread $9.50 and House made Hot Chocolate with whipped cream $4.50

We were full, but we bought some sweets to go: Maple bacon scone $4.50 and Peanut butter chocolate tart $4.50