“A Table Down The Street” follows Howie Southworth, author of “A Taste of Alexandria,” one local barstool at a time. No reviews. Only encounters. The bartender chasing perfection, the chef with a story, the regular who swears this place was better before you found it. Food and drink may be the excuse. People are the point. A corner seat can tell you everything.
The stairs drop from Kisso’s foyer like a quiet detour, and before I reach the bottom, I feel that familiar pause. The space between one destination and the next. Casa Luna lives in that pause. Down here, time slows just enough to reset your bearings.
The mad scientist manager Bryan, stands behind the bar surrounded by bottles that look more like pigments than spirits. He is happiest when experimenting. Color, flavor, texture, whatever he can coax into a glass. If you told me he painted cocktails in his free time, I’d believe you. He nods with the recognition of someone who’s spent many afternoons rearranging ingredients until they catch the room’s attention.
I order one called the “layover.” Gin, lavender, frost on the glass. Seems appropriate. A drink named for the exact state I seem to occupy between the sushi upstairs and whatever mood unfolds down here. I sip, astounded and the room settles into focus…