Yuppie food for sure. Prices to match. My sandwich was ok. Too much bread not enough filling. The coffee was week. It's not bad but I wouldn't make a special trip for it.

Ithaca Bakery has such potential. The menu looks great with so many options. For example, some of the desserts can't be found anywhere else in Ithaca. Unfortunately, every time I eat here the service is awful. During my last visit my wife and I both ordered the same sandwich. When we looked at them one was twice the size of the other. When I asked why this was the employee said they ran out of bread. Is this not something that they could have mentioned at the time I ordered? When I brought this to the attention of the employee he offered me some more toppings to stuff on the smaller sandwich, but never offered an apology or a discount or anything. Eventually he offered to remake the sandwich using another type of bread, but still acted like -I- was being unreasonable for demanding a sandwich that was at least as big as the original (and fairly expensive) sandwich that I ordered. This is also not the first time that they've done something like this with no explanation prior to my order and no apologies afterwards. On another occasion I ordered one of the relatively new panini sandwiches on the menu. Again, when the sandwich was given to me it was (1) on regular sandwich bread and (2) not even grilled on a panini grill. Seriously, what is wrong with this place? Their food is amazing when they get it right, but when they get it wrong (about 2/3 of the time) they act like the customer is nuts for demanding what they paid for. I have never had service this bad anywhere else in Ithaca. Farewell, Ithaca Bakery. I give up.

Collegetown Bagels is one of those places you can take a visiting friend. An Ithaca institution that we're proud of for good reason. They make fantastic bread and their bagels are so dense a whole one is practically breakfast and lunch. Their sandwiches are made of a great variety of really fresh ingredients. When I went there I had a pesto chicken salad wrap. It had peppers, tomato, and asparagus in it. I was impressed. The dark roast coffee I bought was really flavorful, and the little dish of shepherd's pie I got had really substantial chunks of beef in it. If you swing vegetarian, there's tons of options here for you. But here's my problem. That meal I just mentioned cost me $11.23. It was a good meal, don't get me wrong, but shepherd's pie was as I said a small dish, the wrap was smaller than my hand, and it didn't even come with a pickle or a bag of chips. If this doesn't bother you, and maybe it won't because you make more money than I do, I highly recommend Collegetown Bagels. Apart from that it's a nice place. It can get real crowded during the work week, but I never have to wait very long for my food and I've always been able to find a place to sit. The staff is really nice. But man, it's just such a stiff bill that I can't recommend it too highly.