peccadillo

Hidden behind a unmarked, shabby warehouse door, down an alley in Carrboro, you'll find a proper bar, with a white-jacketed barkeep who mixes very fine martinis, Negronis, and old-faahioneds. That's it for cocktails, and who needs anything else? The food is equally constrained and well-chosen: pâté, a cheese plate, charcuterie. They have an excellent wine list. The prices verge on outrageous, but this is not a place I'm likely to go every night or even every week. If you think of it as show business, it's less painful. And it is a great show. They open at 5:00 and close at 2:00. I've been there on the early side, when it's quiet and you can chat in a leisurely way with friends or the bartender. I gather it gets more crowded later. Some might prefer it that way, but not me.