Widow Browns Cafe, Danbury

Owners Aura Showah and Douglas Waterbury attribute the success of Widow Brown's Cafe, which has been in business for more than 35 years, to culinary consistency, a family-friendly ambiance, and an eclectic menu that has earned the eatery a feature in the News-Times. While two-handing a burger or steaming sandwich, patrons can peruse the chalkboard around the fully stocked bar for a list of weekly events, such as trivia, karaoke, and raucous tax-preparation luaus. Wooden wall panels glow in the light of wall-mounted TVs as forks venture south for American comfort fare or globetrot with Asian-, Irish-, and Italian-inspired dishes. As frozen drinks or draft beers chill boothside, diners can bust billiards at one of the café's pool tables or surf the café's free WiFi for instructional videos on how to correctly execute robot dance moves.