Cafe Stellina

Ambition can be a beautiful thing, particularly when it's balanced with good sense and talent. Witness Cafe Stellina, which is a tree (coffee and lunch joint, really) growing in Brooklyn (OK, the C.D.). The small space manages to burst out of its confines both by spilling its artful, comfy atmosphere onto the sidewalks surrounding it and by aiming much higher than your average latte-and-panini pimp. Presided over by a gentleman who seems to have had several very interesting past lives and a woman who could probably coax gladioli to blossom in the middle of a sunless winter, the smallish menu changes from visit to visit (unless you're one of the many daily regulars, of course), but that water glass full of rosemary sprigs and basil leaves sitting on the sandwich counter next to the Dean and DeLuca cookbook is ever present. On one visit, a roasted eggplant sandwich ($6.50) was perfectly and inventively dressed in an odd but wonderful sesame mayo, and a bowl of yam and peanut soup ($4) was as hearty and warming as hearty and warming get. And get this: a plate of angel hair pasta with gorgonzola was served with hazelnuts and green beans baked in parchment paper. Who does that—in a coffee shop no less? Portions are enormous, plates are pretty, pretensions are nil, and service is friendly but not cloying (and the coffee isn't half bad, either). No wonder the neighbors love it so. 2000 E. Union St., 206-322-2688. CENTRAL DISTRICT