This neighborhood bar is so quiet, the video poker machine makes more noise than the jukebox. This means it's an ideal spot to wind down after a day of work, discuss the day's travails with friends or listen to the dramatic dialogue of "Law and Order." It's definitely a locals' hangout, with the bartender greeting and sending off people by name and coming around the corner to chat if nobody is waiting to order.

Cindy's is split into the front bar, which is pretty much what it sounds like, and the lounge in the back. The lounge has a pool table, arcade game (you read it right, just the one) and a dart board. A carpet that's spotted like an alleyway dog runs the length of the place, actually covering the vertical part of the bar, and wall decorations come in the form of beer signs and Christmas lights. A couple of TVs hang from the walls, but you'll find no flat screens here. These are the box-like clunkers you might have inherited from an older sibling when you moved to college. And while the manual, mechanized cash registers might suggest otherwise, Visa and MasterCard are okay.

If that list didn’t give you enough signals that pretension has no place at Cindy's, note that the bathroom mirror is the size of two tiles, never mind being surrounded by black sponge marks and pictures of pin-up girls. If you check your hair every 10 minutes, head elsewhere. But if you appreciate a place serves all 20 of its beers ($2 to $3) in bottles, pull up a stool.

Centerstage Reviewer: Kent Green