Despite initial protests from a few dozen locals worried about noise, the revolution at Custom American Wine Bar is rather gentle, awfully quiet and earnestly committed to American wines. (They don’t do cocktails, although there’s a small craft beer list and a few boutique bourbons.) If it all sounds precious, it’s not. The walls and ceiling are reclaimed from a boarding house in upstate New York. The unique ’30s-era light fixtures are original to a now-defunct department store in Detroit. A long bar of reclaimed Pennsylvania barn wood made from a 400-year-old American chestnut tree is strewn with candles, while a handful of tables are overtaken by murmuring locals in search of, say, a Finger Lakes Chardonnay after work, or maybe a 12 AM nightcap of Columbia Valley Syrahs (the kitchen closes at 2), while the soundtrack segues from gentle Brazilian folk to downbeat Kylie Minogue. The food menu is limited and straightforward, and recalls co-owner Dan Lathroum’s Maryland upbringing. Popcorn shrimp is given a dusting of Old Bay, wedges of fried green tomatoes are battered with cornmeal, lightly fried and drizzled with smoked hickory sauce, while sandwiches like the Philly cheesesteak and a mustardy, toothsome tiger shrimp po’ boy are popular affordable favorites. There’s even an Elvis—peanut butter, bananas, and bacon on white bread, if you have to ask.

Grilled cheese
Shoestring cheese fries
Fried green tomatoes
Cobb salad
Philly cheesesteak
Shrimp po’ boy
view full menu here

The center of the bar is the best place for quick refills and the chance to ogle the rare off-the-menu bottles on the shelves.

Strangely, when Dan Lathroum and co-owners Stefan Mailvaganam (Bar Carrera) and Frederick Twomey (Bar Veloce) opened Custom American Wine Bar, some neighbors complained that the relaxed Syrah-sipping spot would attract excessively loud clientele; one resident cited local teenagers already “going crazy” and said the community was trying to prevent “gang activity.” Fortunately for area adults, the Community Board came to its senses and approved the final wine bar application.

Sun.–Wed. 6 PM–2 AM; Thurs.–Sat. 6 PM–3 AM

$6 (fried green tomatoes) to $9 (grilled cheese sandwich)
wines $8–$12 per glass; bottles $32–$48