Eatipus complex

The multilevel madness of the new Café Européen

by SARAH MUSGRAVE

A block-long building at the eastern edge of the Village, Complexe Bourbon has finally rid itself the scaffolding it's been hidden under for months. The hotel, disco, ice cream parlour and Club Sandwich diner are all still there, but one end has undergone a major facelift just in time for the spring sun. Inexplicably named Café Européen, it has so many terrasses, themed seating areas and food options that it looks like a gay Moevenpick.

For sheer size and variety, it's now one of the best outdoor settings in the city for an afternoon pit stop. You can take a seat on the street-level patio, get a bird's-eye view from the third floor balcony or hide away in the greenery at the back. Inside, renovations include a mosaic floor, a large copper bar, lots of skylights and spacious food-preparation areas. Plus, it's open 24 hours, manned by sweet, cute and relatively het-friendly staff.

One of the new features is an extensive lunchtime salad bar. The contents are hit and miss, from the usual suspects to more unusual creations. On offer: a salad of black olives, marinated eggplant and sundried tomatoes; artichoke hearts; beets; potato salad with capers and red peppers; marinated mushrooms; shredded carrots and strawberries; prosciutto and melon; and a tasty pasta shell salad.

I particularly enjoyed the couscous salad with chopped peppers, red beans and mild Mexican/Moroccan spicing, as well as the pâté and crusty mini-baguettes that you slice yourself. To be avoided was a sliced Caucasian-pink loaf that tasted like a mixture between Spam and Cheese Whiz. Even the waiter couldn't identify it, but his curiousity was so piqued by this mysterious processed food that he investigated and came back with the verdict: salmon mousse.

There are lots of dressings to choose from, although be warned that some--like the mandarin and kiwi concoction--taste like bath products from the Body Shop. Nevertheless, with plenty of fresh fruit salad for dessert, you can certainly fill up healthily for $6.95. And just a buck more gets you a half pre-prepared sandwich on a baguette.

I went back on a weekday evening and tried the diner fare, which was already familiar from the Club Sandwich kitchen but now also served in the café. It's still got all the key aspects of American eating: generous servings (need a container for leftovers? no problem!), customer convenience (salad instead of fries? no problem!) and a "weight watch-wha?" menu (triple-decker white bread, extra mayo and bacon? no problem!).

The enormous hot chicken sandwich ($6.50 with fries) consisted of two thick slabs of bread with a plentiful amount of white meat topped with gravy and green peas. The Lyonnaise poutine ($5.50) is one of the best hangover alleviators I've ever tried: thick, rough-cut fries, a very pungent peppercorn sauce, curds of squeaky-fresh cheese, fried ground beef and thinly sliced onions. The half Caesar salad I ordered to accompany it was great too--enormous, creamy and bacony.

The menu also offers lots of club sandwiches, burgers and pizzas. You may want to stick with these standards because the table d'hôte on the night we visited was pretty unappealing. Choices included Havana-style pork with mango sauce, duck with citrus fruit and a cream of chicken soup of the day. Forgive me, but does anybody like cream of chicken, not to mention as an appetizer before a meal of duck prepared in a diner kitchen?

Café Européen would be better off not trying to find common ground between diner and finer cuisines. Now that they've created a great setting, if they can streamline the salad bar and the daily specials slightly, it will be a perfect summer haunt.

Café Européen

Address: 1560 Ste-Catherine E.

Phone: 523-4679

Hours: 24 hours/7 days

Best features: diner food, sunny terrasse

Vegetarian friendly: so-so

Wheelchair access: yes

Alcohol: yes

Credit cards: yes

Price: $10/person before tax, drinks & tip

Rating: HH out of HHHH