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Everyone wants a multipurpose hangout like Building on Bond in their neighborhood: Cozy café, dining tables, floorboards so worn and smooth they feel ancient, and wine and beer. Mix in free Wi-Fi, industrial-chic art-gallery-meets-hardware-store decor, and voilà! Lingering locals and writers galore. With all the positives, it’s too bad Building on Bond wants to feed you beyond the delicious Balthazar pastries already available. The most popular offering, a barbecue pork sandwich on a pretzel roll, tastes neither of pretzel nor barbecue; it’s over-sauced, with an aftertaste of cumin. The French Connection, an appetizer of stuffed endive spears, may as well come from a Starbucks cooker, and the grilled rib-eye steak appears out of nowhere. If you do need heartier fuel, the bourbon chicken wings are tender, meaty, and well seasoned, and the burger—a mixture of beef and chorizo—is perfectly cooked. There is a small but well-chosen selection of microbrews, and the coffee is rich and robust, exactly how it should be. — Josh Brentan

Bourbon wings, $8; macaroni & cheese, $6, B.O.B. burger, $9