Owner Amy Foster, who started as a baker in the ‘90s and has worn many hats before taking over as owner two years ago, said the most popular dessert is the fresh fruit tart — “we can’t make enough of them,” she said — perhaps a surprise considering its proximity to so many Italian restaurants (the tiramisu and cannoli are also very popular, of course.)

Something that should not be overlooked is Pamela Gonell’s desserts, where she’s added in her own flavor and whimsical plating designs. Her churros are made with an edible chocolate tea cup filled with a silky dulce de leche. And her dulce de tres leches, an iconic Mexican sponge cake, is plated with edible flowers and a pink sugar dusting.

They do a great job of the Italian standards, including zeppole, torrone, and cannoli, with shells filled to order so the pastry stands up to the cool, creamy ricotta. But there are plenty of other things to try, like pretzel-shaped pastries filled with sticky fig jam, palm-sized tarts bursting with fresh fruit, wedges of cheesecake, and twists of tender crust lined with apple, raspberry, or cinnamon sugar.

Opened in March by Saja Barway, his wife Italia Sousa Barway (the owners of Ours, a neighboring restaurant), and local restauranteur Alex Tomasso, they serve Illy coffee and espresso from Italy, and all the art was done by Ian Johnson, a local artist. They begin in the early morning hours, serving bagels, waffles, croissants, and glasses of lattes and bright green matcha.

If you need something to nosh with your tea, Schasteâ makes both sweet and savory crepes to order, as well as sandwiches, and all can be vegan and/or gluten free. And yes, there’s also coffee, from hot to iced, drip to pour-over, cold brew to nitro, cafe au lait to cappuccino.

What’s better than ice cream sandwiches and tacos made of cookies, brownies, and waffle cones? That’s kind of the way of thinking at Tricycle Ice Cream where dessert novelties rule. For my fellow chocolate lovers, try the “cookie compost” ice cream sandwich, which has sweet cream ice cream with chunks of double chocolate brownies, brown butter blondies, and chocolate cookies on cocoa cookies.