Foodstuff

Bookstores aren't just for books any more. The front half of Clematis Street Books, for example, is otherwise known as Susan's Bistro & Wine Bar (206 Clematis St., West Palm Beach, 561-832-5398), where you can linger, book-browse or people-watch at the cafe tables or marble-topped bar. The bistro serves up salads, wraps, gourmet coffee drinks, and, of course, some chilled white or room-temperature red vino. The staff is very helpful, if perhaps a little overzealous. Far from bookish, these servers are so into promoting the recently refurbished Clematis Street section of town that they'll try to talk you into making dinner reservations elsewhere or checking out the local piano bars and clubs, even as you're munching on Susan's appetizer-type fare. Who would have guessed that upper-crust West Palm Beach could be so, well, friendly?