Beach Recovery Cafe, Norwalk

An oversize globe floats above the wine sippers at Beach Gallery & Café, but it is not held up by a freelancing titan. Instead, the sphere perches on a homemade bird's nest symbolic of BG&C's commitment to the environment. Exhibitions of nature photography bedeck the café-cum-art-gallery's warm orange walls, and a portion of each purchase from the menu of frittatas, pastries, and cheeses goes toward environmental efforts. On many evenings, live jazz, soul, and blues music washes down glasses of international and domestic wines or the café's signature coffee drinks such as the corto, a single shot distilled from strong blended beans.