The 2019-2020 Flagpole Guide to Athens

File Under: Coffee Houses. Hours: 7 a.m.–6 p.m., Mon–Fri. 9 a.m.–5 p.m., Sat–Sun. The Look: High-ceilinged, spare but impeccable space in a historic building, with both the local micro-roaster's production facilities and a cafe. Menu: Perfect, small-batch coffee, either pour-over or pre-made if you're in a hurry, plus beans, coffee accessories and baked goods by The Comerian. Pop-ups with doughnuts to benefit local charities and coffee-centric events.

File Under: Sandwiches, Coffee Houses and Bakeries, Vegetarian Friendly. Features: Catering, counter service, delivery, Wi-Fi. Hours: Breakfast and lunch, seven days. The Look: Locally owned bagel bakery with space to eat-in. Menu: Big, good bagels boiled and baked in-house in a wide variety of flavors. Top with hummus, butter (whipped, honey, peanut) or housemade cream cheese in flavors savory and sweet. Breakfast and lunch sandwiches on bagels: smoked pork, Reuben or housemade egg salad.

File Under: Coffee Houses and Bakeries. Features: Wi-Fi. Hours: Seven days.

File Under: Ice Cream and Smoothies, Coffee Houses and Bakeries. Features: Drive-thru, Wi-Fi, counter service. Hours: Vary by location.

File Under: Bakeries, Sandwiches, Delivery. Features: Catering, counter service. Hours: 9:30 a.m.–6:30 p.m., Mon–Sat. The Look: Cute and decorative, like the fancy cookies and cakes it offers. Menu: Custom-order desserts, or pick up something from the display case (cake, iced cookies, cupcakes, brownies, cake pops and more). Box lunches with a sandwich, cheese straws and a cupcake are available without pre-ordering.

File Under: Bakeries, Something Different, Vegetarian Friendly. Features: Beer and wine, catering, counter service, outside seating, Wi-Fi. Hours: Breakfast and lunch, Mon–Sat. Weekend brunch. The Look: Charming restaurant with an amazing dog-friendly patio and sidewalk chalk for kids. Big booths and art inside. Menu: Breakfast and lunch, plus breads, pastries, cakes, special orders and more from the bakery. Really good French toast and burgers, plus quiche, some bigger plates (fish and chips, veggie sauté), fries with blue cheese and garlic aioli and lots of healthy stuff. Drinks: Small but nice selection of beer; wine by the glass or bottle.

File Under: Coffee Houses and Bakeries, Bars, Sandwiches. Features: Beer and wine, counter service, outside seating, Wi-Fi. Hours: Breakfast to 8 p.m., seven days. The Look: High ceilings, cool kids area, indoor porch swing and trains out the window. Menu: Eats are on the lighter side: pastries and soft pretzels by The Comerian, hard-boiled eggs, sandwiches, cheese plates, snoballs and snacks by the scoop. Coffee and tea, plus interesting sodas. Drinks: Draft and bottled/canned craft beers, wine, craft cocktails made with beer and wine, aperitifs, boozy snoballs.

File Under: Coffee Houses and Bakeries. Features: Outside seating, Wi-Fi. Hours: Tue–Sat. The Look: Small shop in a big old house, with lots of gift items for sale. Menu: Whole cakes by Savvy Cakes and Hoosier Girl, if you order ahead, but also cake by the slice, cute cookies, coffee, tea, gooey bars, baklava, Italian chocolates and more. Free samples.

File Under: Bakeries. Features: Catering. Hours: Mon-Sat. The Look: Family-owned cake bakery that supplies many restaurants. Menu: All cakes are made to order. Specialty and wedding cakes require more advance notice and can be custom-designed. Popular flavors include lemon, tres leches, hummingbird, mocha, caramel, coconut and red velvet. Purchase only. No seating.

File Under: Coffee Houses and Bakeries, Vegan. Features: Counter service, catering, Wi-Fi. Hours: Seven days.

File Under: Coffee Houses, Something Different. Hours: Open seven days. Features: Outside seating, Wi-Fi. The Look: Cool space with Aztec motifs on the walls. Operations are fully visible. Menu: Created by Peter and Nick Dale, this artisanal chocolate shop sells truffles, chocolate bars and bon bons and offers drinking chocolate, coffee, gelato, salted caramel brownies, ice cream sandwiches and homemade honeycomb candy. Selection is constantly evolving and includes vegan options.

File Under: Ice Cream and Smoothies, Coffee Houses. Hours: Seven days, until 9 or 10 p.m. in the summer.

File Under: American, Bakeries. Features: Catering, counter service, delivery. Hours: Breakfast and lunch, Mon–Fri. Saturday brunch. The Look: Cute, cozy, family-run eatery inside Hawthorne Drugs, with lots of children's books to read. Menu: Breakfast has plates, biscuits, omelets, pancakes and baked goods. Brunch adds quiche, Benedict and more. Lunch is mostly classic sandwiches (chicken salad, pimento cheese, egg salad) but also a good Cuban and a pimento-cheese BLT with pepper jelly.

File Under: Coffee Houses and Bakeries, Bars. Features: Full bar, catering, counter service, live music, art, Wi-Fi, outside seating. Hours: Open seven days. The Look: Spacious coffee house/restaurant/bar/music club in the Bottleworks with a regular open mic night. Menu: Coffee drinks, nitro coffee, teas and juices all day pair with muffins, cookies and savory scones. Scratch-made sandwiches, yogurt parfaits. Drinks: Draft and bottled/canned craft beers, wine, craft cocktails and mocktails (some with coffee).

File Under: Coffee Houses. Hours: 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Wed–Thu, Sat. 10 a.m.–9 p.m., Fri. The Look: Coffee shop inside Hip Vintage and Handmade. Menu: Coffee drinks made to order, plus various packaged snacks.

File Under: Bakeries, Sandwiches, Vegetarian Friendly. Features: Counter service, outside seating, take-out. Hours: Breakfast and lunch, seven days. The Look: Homage to a classic deli. Menu: Breakfast and lunch, with nice, small bagels, excellent house-smoked fish and sandwiches (either on bagels or on Luna bread). Sandwiches involve meats sliced in front of you (capicola, roast beef, etc.) but also hummus, roasted veggies, sauerkraut and scrambled eggs. Kids meals.

File Under: Bakeries. Hours: Tue–Sun. Features: Outside seating, Wi-Fi. The Look: Small shop with most of its space devoted to baking. A few seats at a counter, and some on the covered patio next door. Menu: It doesn't really matter what you order here, as everything is perfect: very serious bread (down to the rolls) made with house-milled wheat, plus croissants and other feather-light viennoiserie, Counter Culture coffee and a limited selection of cookies. Products available at a few other places around town.

File Under: Bakeries. Features: Catering, delivery. Hours: Seven days until 3 a.m.

File Under: Coffee Houses and Bakeries. Features: Drive-thru (Baxter, Greensboro and Epps Bridge), outside seating, art, Wi-Fi. Hours: Vary by location. The Look: Named for a coffee shop on "The Simpsons," Jittery Joe's is instantly identifiable with Athens. The beans are roasted on Barber Street, and each location is different. Menu: Wide range of specialty roasts that benefit different causes. Lots of hot and cold drinks and premium teas. Locally baked goodies like bagels, giant brownies, parfaits, scones and muffins.

File Under: Coffee Houses and Bakeries. Features: Outside Seating, Wi-Fi. Hours: Mon–Sat. The Look: Look for the shiny Quonset hut. You can check out the roasting equipment inside. Some tables. Menu: Fresh-roasted beans by the pound—whole or ground to your specs—cups of coffee, teas and shots of espresso. Home base for the ubiquitous local brew. Hosts lots of events and food truck pop-ups.

File Under: Coffee Houses and Bakeries. Features: Catering, counter service, take-out. Hours: 7:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m., Mon–Fri. 8 a.m.–4 p.m., Sat. Menu: Fresh breads (loaf-style, baguettes, bagels), muffins, scones (sweet and savory), cinnamon rolls and sweets from cheesecake to bar desserts, cupcakes, layer cakes and cookies, everything cutely packaged. The deli case holds pimento cheese, chicken salad, tuna salad and hummus. Specialty cakes and pies orderable in advance. Holiday menus.

File Under: Coffee Houses and Bakeries. Features: Catering, drive-thru, Wi-Fi. Hours: 6 a.m.–10 p.m., Sun–Thu. 6 a.m.–11 p.m., Fri–Sat.

File Under: Bakeries. Features: Counter service, take-out. Hours: 6 a.m.–9 p.m., Wed–Mon. The Look: Select your own pastries with tongs or browse the refrigerated cases in this cute bakery in a small strip mall. Menu: Cake by the slice, cookies, Mexican sweet breads, doughnuts, whole cakes, coffee and surprisingly excellent bagels. Sno-cones sometimes. All exceedingly reasonably priced.

File Under: Bakeries. Features: Catering, counter service, delivery. Hours: 9 a.m.–6 p.m., Mon–Thu. 9 a.m.–7 p.m., Fri–Sat.

File Under: Coffee Houses and Bakeries. Features: Outside seating, art, Wi-Fi. Hours: Until 9 p.m., seven days. The Look: Small, independent coffee shop in the heart of Normaltown with a covered year-round porch. Menu: Pastries and treats from local bakeries, plus lattes, cappuccinos and espresso drinks brewed with Jittery Joe's and 1000 Faces coffee. Some Latin-inspired options and specialty drinks. Vietnamese iced coffee in the summer. Many loose tea options as well.

File Under: Coffee Houses and Bakeries. Features: Catering, take-out. Hours: 7:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m., Tue–Fri. 7:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m., Sat. The Look: Historic grocery renovated into cute bakery. Menu: European, American and Asian sweets, including fancy custom cakes, taro croissants, cupcakes, mini pies, bar cookies and anything you can imagine with fondant. Savory things, too, including scones and tiny pies. Espresso and drip coffee in the a.m. Custom orders of all kinds.

File Under: Mexican and South American, Bakeries. Features: Counter and table service, full bar, take-out. Hours: Lunch and dinner, seven days. The Look: Sweet bakery and restaurant in a Watkinsville strip mall across from Publix, with a nice kids area. Menu: Uruguayan steaks and choripan, chicken milanesa torta, breakfast all day, chivito, churrosco del sur and more, with a much expanded menu at dinner. Great baked goods, especially Latin American sweet breads, and tasty empanadas, both sweet and savory. Some gluten-free items.

File Under: Coffee Houses and Bakeries. Hours: Mid-morning to mid-afternoon, Mon–Sat. The Look: Sweet space in the Chase Park warehouses packed with art, books and more. Menu: Coffee from Jittery Joe's, tea, pastries from Independent Baking Co. and others, plus packaged snacks (yogurt, cheese sticks, pretzels, etc.) and some ready-made sandwiches.

File Under: Coffee Houses and Bakeries, Bars, Sandwiches, Burgers and Chicken. Features: Full bar, outside seating, counter service, art, Wi-Fi. Hours: Open seven days. The Look: Large bar, tons of wooden booths. A good place for meetings or late-night hanging out. Menu: From locally roasted coffees, pastries, bagels, breakfast burritos and drunken waffles (Guinness and chocolate chips) to sandwiches, quesadillas and nice small burgers. Drinks: Six beers on draft and over 70 in bottles, including many microbrews.

File Under: Coffee Houses and Bakeries. Features: Outside seating, Wi-Fi, catering. Hours: Seven days. The Look: Wooden tables, doughnuts made before your eyes behind the counter. Menu: Coffee (including iced coffee made with coffee ice cubes), espresso and the main attraction: doughnuts customizable with toppings from shredded coconut to bacon, pecans, Fruity Pebbles and the traditional sprinkles. Vegan, paleo and gluten-free options. Some ready-to-go sandwiches.