Why it says 59 on the door at 62

Cafe 59 started across the street, at number 59, as a coffee shop that rented computers by the hour. Soups came next, then salads and sandwiches, then the move to the corner building at 62 Allen. The name stayed.

More than twenty years on it is a locally owned restaurant with a full service bar. The owner puts it in one line: soups, salads, sandwiches and entrees for vegans and carnivores alike. The kitchen makes everything itself, from the two soups every day to the red sauce, the focaccia and the hand-breaded chicken fingers.

The room is lined with local art and furnished like someone's living room. The patio opens onto the sidewalk from spring to fall, dogs included. Sunday is brunch until 3, Monday to Thursday is happy hour from 2 to 6, and every day the specials sheet changes.