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Mom-and-pop partners Marc and Blue Solomon have infused a bleak stretch of upper Columbus with downtown flavor and a mellow neighborly vibe. Even after an expansion, this tiny BYOB café is as cramped as a car on the subway line it's named after, populated by a mellow mix of Columbia students and UWSers communing over French-Caribbean-accented small plates with equally small price tags. There's a fiery kick to the escargots with cilantro-chile butter, and the hot grilled avocado with a dollop of spinach mousse where the pit used to be is a nutty experiment that works, smooth as butter in a puddle of shiitake-sesame vinaigrette. — Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld

Tue.—Sun., 6 p.m.—8 p.m.; two courses, $25