None of Your Bistro

Apartment living (on the second floor of our building) is hot. We are in a west-facing unit; when I get home from work, our living room is about 137 degrees Fahrenheit. That place must be aired out to keep you sane, which means that we are trying to take better advantage of our balcony.

The balcony is cute, and has enough room for a little table and a couple chairs. So, we are in hot pursuit of some patio furniture.

We truly began our hunt at The Patio Place (the one that took over the old Hollywood Video on Cedar and Shepherd). We ventured in on a Sunday morning after church, thinking that they would have just opened; they had already been open for an hour and a half. I guess people normally begin their patio furniture hunting at dawn.

Anyway, the store had a really relaxing atmosphere. Cool breezes coming from quietly humming fans were accompanied by a smooth jazz store soundtrack. This, combined with the furniture that begged for lounging, made me very relaxed. The fact that a salesperson complimented me on my skirt as we looked around was a bonus.

Another salesman came up to us after we browsed for a minute and asked what we were looking for. We explained that we live in a tiny apartment and can't have a huge bulky patio set taking up what little room we have on our balcony. We pointed to a sample size of the type of furniture we were looking for.

"Oh, you're looking for a bistro set."

Um, LOVE IT! "A bistro set." I can just imagine sitting outside early morning (er, maybe mid-morning Saturday), enjoying a cup of coffee, listening to Edith Piaf, and mocking all the bistro-set-deficient commoners walking around my apartment complex. I could even wave to them. I am totally calling all small tables I ever come across again "bistro tables."

The store had about three potential future Huerta "bistro sets" on the floor. We sashayed our way over to simplest looking one to check out the price.

$498.

We couldn't get out of there fast enough.

We've heard of a few good places to try to find our set, but no luck. Where do you recommend we go to fulfill my fantasy (at a realistic price)?