The joint is packed -- the bar is SRO, the slender waitress maneuvers through the crowd sideways. A young woman sits up front, strums an acoustic guitar and segues from an Alanis Morrisette-esque number to a melodic Mary Chapin Carpenter-like ballad. Some of the diners and drinkers light up and drag on their cigarettes. The nonsmokers don't seem to mind. Welcome to Polly's Cafe, a cozy restaurant-bar on U Street that attracts an eclectic range of patrons: bankers and bikers, hipsters and political hacks; Gen-Xers and fifty-somethings; stalwarts of the official White House-Capitol Hill circuit, and residents of the real, unofficial Washington. It is one of the few Washington eateries where on a given night one is likely to find a genuinely balanced ethnic mix. There's a small outdoor section, fronting onto U Street. Inside, the feel is relaxed: The tables are varnished wood, the walls brick. There's a fireplace in one wall, a jukebox mounted on the other -- in the spirit of Polly's, the jukebox offers tunes ranging from Sinatra to Guns N' Roses. The music is live on Wednesdays. Polly's is the kind of place that's fine for first dates, business meetings and birthday bashes. The menu is basic and reliable -- steak, chicken, seafood, sandwiches, big salads. The hummus appetizer is particularly tasty. There are three specials every day, which are usually quite good, such as the chicken stuffed with spinach and topped with a tomato sauce, offered one recent night. The singer dedicates her next song to her good friend Angie, the relaxed and coolly efficient waitress. Angie stops for just a moment, smiles, nods to her friend, who strums her guitar, then breaks into "Angie."

-- Ruben Castaneda