Cafe Ilhavense (Island Cafe)

This place picked a theme and stuck to it. The interior walls are painted in tropical green and mango orange in this small neighborhood bar on the corner of Bellville Avenue and Sawyer Street. The music, uncomfortably loud, blares something that sounds vaguely Carribbean but with a distinctly Portuguese twist, sort of Carmen Miranda meets Passionada. The shelves of the back bar, seem almost overstocked with an array of fruit-flavored syrupy liquors in colors commonly found on a pair of madras pants. Or a Hawaiian shirt. While the barmaid was friendly enough, she doted on the customers who seemed to be usual visitors, while regularly shaking her plump hips to what-might-have-been Portuguese ska. The music was so loud as to almost feel opressive, especially in an establishment that probably doesn't have much more squarte footage than the average eat-in hotdog joint. The beer selection- on tap- was limited to Budweiser and Michelob Amber Bock. Mr Draft instead sucked on a bottle of Sagres, and wished he was in Bermuda. Not a bad place for the block regulars...for everyone else- it's a 4. (Roll Call: Mr. Draft, Mr. Mix, Mr. 3BOES)