by MARK SLUTSKY

Like everywhere else in this city, rue Van Horne is changing, especially where it runs through Outremont, just below the switching yard and train tracks. Some of the older, weirder elements of the street remain - the junk shops and old signs most notably - but it seems like the borough has recently awoken to the fact that another commercial street lies in its midst, and they're colonizing it with fancy furniture stores and high-end restos. There isn't much one can do about this, and it is Outremont, after all, not exactly a working-class preserve.

Not all the change is necessarily for the worse either; take Brodino, which some months ago moved from its location on St-Viateur (a street that itself has been rapidly gentrifying over the last half-decade) to a space previously occupied by an old lunch counter. Sad to see that old place go, but Brodino is worth checking out if you're in the neighbourhood and looking for lunch; it's affordable, relaxed and they make some mean sandwiches.

A long room with a semi-open kitchen, the new Brodino is more of a sit-down restaurant than its previous incarnation, where you placed your orders at the counter. We're not talking white-tablecloth dining here, and thankfully the prices don't seem to have changed that much, though the fare has slightly. While the place used to be a straight-up soup-and-sandwich joint, there are more hot items on the menu (like hot sandwiches, burgers and even steak), with less emphasis on the soups.

Some elements, like apples, recur in a lot of the sandwiches - they've got a distinct thing going on, a loose signature style, if you will. All are available on white or whole wheat baguette or kaiser roll. I liked the comptable ($7.25), made with apples, prosciutto, marinated aubergines and honey mustard. A little sweet, a little salty (prosciutto always tastes great with fruit), it's wholesome indeed. Another standout is the moo moo ($6.75), made with roast beef, Emmenthal, pickles, hot peppers and Dijon mustard. The roast beef is moist and tasty, and the cheese/pickle/pepper combination never fails to please, although the moo moo is a little on the oily side, causing a friend (who otherwise liked it), to complain of an overly greasy texture.

There's a bunch of vegetarian sandwich options too, the most intriguing being the métis ($8.50), made with cheddar cheese, veggie paté, sundried tomatoes and green apples. Though this sandwich sounds great, it fell a little short of the mark - the ingredients' various flavours failed to stand out, especially against all the bread in the meaty baguette. It seems to be missing some element to tie all the tastes together. If none of the combinations interest you, you can also get a very large variety of single-ingredient-plus-toppings sandwiches - sopressetta, smoked ham, capicollo, bocconcini, veggie paté, provolone, tuna and smoked meat are but a few of the choices, all in the $5–$6 range.

As for the hot sammies, I liked the "New York-style" tuna melt ($6.50), which isn't open-faced (as I had hoped), but rather a "closed" round sandwich, well grilled. And the hamburgers are pretty fine too. In the $7–$8 range, a bunch of them feature various ham toppings, which isn't really my thing, so I went for the straight-up cheeseburger ($8.50), with pickles and jalapeno peppers. This, like the moo moo, is really tasty but also a little oily - I blame the peppers, present in both. The burgers come with either a green salad or a serving of plain potato chips (good ones, too) on the side.

And let us not forget the desserts: Brodino offers two I find particular toothsome, a delicious brownie and a very tart lemon tart (both $2.25). Thankfully, this hasn't changed at the new location. The brownies are thin and packed with chocolate chips, a leaner kind of brownie but no less sweet. And the lemon tart is rich and buttery, a worthy way to end your meal.

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Brodino
ADDRESS: 1049 Van Horne (two blocks west of Parc)
PHONE: 271-2229
HOURS: Mon–Fri 7 a.m.–3 p.m.; Sat 10 a.m.–3 p.m.; closed Sundays
BEST FEATURES: Variety of toothsome sandwiches and burgers
ALCOHOL: Yes
WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: A couple steps up
VEGETARIAN FRIENDLY: Yes
CREDIT CARDS: Interac only
NO-SMOKING SECTION: The whole place
PRICE: $5–$12 per person, before tax, tip or booze
RATING: **1/2 out of ****