Bar Review - Bask in solitary drinks at Carroll Street Cafe

Cabbagetown holds a delight or two beyond the obvious smile anyone will get driving down one of its narrow roads and realizing many inhabitants don't have a full set of teeth. Whether you're hankering for a Sunday Bloody Mary, an afternoon espresso or a relaxing glass of wine in the evening, the longstanding Carroll Street Cafe is a neighborhood gem that offers all this and more.

A haven for those living nearby, you're likely to find any one of a number of the artists, musicians and even the occasional yuppies who call Cabbagetown home huddled against tables piled high with the sandwiches, pastas and salads whose flavors draw people from all over the city for a taste. But ask any of its regulars what keeps them returning to the limited menu week after week and they're all likely to tell you that there is simply something about this cozy cafe that hugs its visitors like an old T-shirt.

The ideal spot for reading a worn copy of your favorite book over something as simple as an espresso or as extravagant as a cantaloupe martini, one can often spy solitary visitors in the cafe simply taking a moment out of their day to watch the world go by. Fully embracing a European mindset, Carroll Street is not a spot where you will find multi-page wine lists or bombastic drink menus. Rather, a simply bound book rests atop each table, introducing visitors to a small but solid selection of specialty martinis, affordable and quality white and red wines by the glass or the bottle and a collection of upper-end liquors and liqueurs that form the bar.

No place for well drinks, one need not worry about receiving a quickly made beverage featuring such dubious spirits as Montezuma tequila or Barron's vodka. This is no bar, and no place to get drunk on such low-end materials. Instead, the cafe is an ideal place for sipping a solitary drink in the afternoon or evening while contemplating things as large as life or as small as current fashion trends readily visible in the stack of complimentary reads kept on hand for just such an occasion.

Carroll Street employs some of the most attractive waitrons in town. Try as you might to remind yourself that you don't need that second espresso or glass of wine, the wide smiles and big eyes beaming down at you simply beg you to tarry, if for no other reason than to watch beautiful people take care of you a little while longer.

Carroll Street Cafe. Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sat. 8 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sun. 8 a.m.-6 p.m. 208 Carroll St., 404-677-2700.