by MARK SLUTSKY

Next time you're heading out to the airport, you might do well to leave home a little early and turn off into Dorval. If you don't feel like catching an overpriced meal at the airport's food court, and you have some time to spare, Chez Trudi is a weirdly charming little spot where you can down some hearty, home-cookin' style Swiss eats before you board the plane (and are faced with the culinary horrors within).

Chez Trudi is decorated in total alpine style: lots of wood, Swiss flags hanging from the ceiling, pictures of mountains, cheese and small villages. It's not fancy by any stretch, but it has a sort of comforting, kitschy feel to it.

The menu is extensive, and our eyes were drawn to the appetizer column, and specifically the bündnerfleisch ($8.75) and tête de moine ($8.75). The bündnerfleisch was described on the menu as "air-dried beef." Tête de moine is a raw cow's milk cheese, and as both came recommended, we went for the "1/2 and 1/2," a plate that combined the two ($9.50). The beef was of the cured variety, sliced into thin strips, and it had a subtle, dark flavour. The bündnerfleisch was well-paired with the cheese, which was shaved off the wheel into little squiggly slices somewhat resembling pencil shavings, of all things. It had a sharp, almost piercing flavour. Also occupying the plate were little pearl onions, which were great, though they had a pungent, gamey flavour to them. Unusual.

Next up was the soup and salad, each of which came with two of our meals. The soup that particular day was peanut butter, which intrigued us. We were expecting something Thai-style, but that wasn't at all what we got. Made with a chicken stock, carrots and potatoes, the peanut butter soup had a rich, appealing flavour to it; it actually tasted kind of Jewish, like a matzo ball soup with peanut butter in place of the matzo balls, if that makes any sense. The salad was unremarkable, a green thing with chopped-up boiled eggs and an overpowering, unpleasant dressing.

We split four main courses between us. First on the list was the Swiss cheese fondue ($10.25), which none of us could resist. It was accompanied by a basket of cubed bread, and (of course), those long forks. I'm sad to say the fondue wasn't the highlight of the meal. The pot of melted cheese was made with white wine, and a little too much of it must have got in, as the taste of it was overpowering. Strangely, as we forged on, the dish got a little better - seemed like the really cheesy stuff had settled at the bottom of the pot.

Much better, though, was the cordon bleu ($16.95). Made with veal, not chicken, and stuffed with ham and cheese, it was quite tasty, all three layers merging harmoniously. It was served, as was every dish save the fondue, with sides of red cabbage and rösti, that most delicious of Swiss dishes. A sumptuous swirl of fried shredded potato and onion, it's quite heavy, though a delight for potato-lovers.

Even better than the cordon bleu was the schnitzel, made like a parmigiana, with tomato sauce and melted cheese ($17.95, with soup, salad, dessert and coffee included). Fried crisp, just shy of burnt, it might have been the highlight of the meal. Also tasty was the sausage trio ($16.95, same deal), which included a couple of spicy sausages and one intimidatingly big beef one, very much in the kielbasa mode.

There's something rather fun about pretending you're in the Alps for a night, even if it's a hot summer one. Chez Trudi may not serve the very finest of Swiss cuisine, but it's worth a trip.

Chez Trudi
ADDRESS: 445 Lakeshore, Dorval (10 minutes from the airport)
PHONE: 631-1403
HOURS: Mon-Wed 7AM-9PM; Thurs-Fri 7AM-10PM;
Sat 8AM-10PM; Sun 8:30AM-8PM
BEST FEATURES: Chalet stylin', mean schnitzel
ALCOHOL: Yes
VEGETARIAN FRIENDLY: More or less
CREDIT CARDS: Yes
WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: A couple of steps up
NO-SMOKING SECTION: Yes
PRICE: $15-$20 per person before tip
RATING: **1/2 out of ****