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The décor at Edgar’s—an Upper West Side mainstay of more than 15 years—is slightly disconcerting. Walls painted in trompe l’oeil style are made to look as though they were cracking open. But once one learns that the café is named for morbid writer Edgar Allan Poe, who once occupied the café’s very address, the Tell Tale Heart-evoking paint job starts to makes sense. The salad-and-sandwich reliant menu, which also features 24 coffee beverages—iced or hot—(including a frappucino made with gelato) and a daunting array of tarts and tortes, is less inspired than the café’s namesake. Still, a tuna salad using the Italian olive oil cured variety is a nice touch, and of all the desserts, the house-made tiramisu is the best bet. But alas, there is no amantillado on the wine list. — Gabriella Gershenson

Tiramisu, $6.25