by MARK SLUTSKY

When it comes to eating out, living or working in Old Montreal can be frustrating. Sure, there are restaurants on almost every block, some of them quite lauded and rightfully so. But there's a binary to eating in the olde towne, especially when it comes to lunch: either you go for the expensive businessman's fare, the fancy-shmancy places, or you have your choice of hot dog and french fry-heavy diners. When it comes to food that's wholesome and fresh, yet not unduly pricey, the pickings are slim.

One place in particular bucks the trend, offering an abundant choice of fresh, cheap, tasty food. Tucked away on St-Jacques, around the corner from Square Victoria, Le Clafouti is the neighbourhood's number-one stop for lunch on the go. It's invariably packed during the noon hour, with lineups winding around the counters and nearly out the door. Amazingly though, even at its peak, the sheer efficiency of the place can have you at the cash register, meal in hand, in under five minutes. They've had good practice - the Laotian family who run Le Clafouti have been quietly serving their quality lunches for 14 years now, though a fire briefly saw them out of action about a year back. (Incidentally, there's also a branch of their operation up on Drummond near Ste-Catherine.)

But on to the food. The first thing you'll probably notice about Clafouti, thanks to the big menu board behind the counter, is the big variety of sandwiches on offer. There are the standards, like tuna, salami, ham and cheese, chicken salad (a personal favourite!), smoked salmon, and egg salad. The list doesn't end there, though, with pâté de campagne, brie, oka, St-Paulin, roast pork, pâté de foie, garlic sausage, and many others also available. They're all made fresh when you order them, and for a little extra you can customize them with whatever cheese or other toppings you want. The bread is a thin, always-soft baguette, and you can choose between two sizes (one or two half baguettes). Prices generally run between the $2.50–$3.25 range for the small, or "half," and $3.25–$5.50 for the large, or "whole." That's good value! Add one of the many salads ($2.25–$3.50), which range from pasta to marinated vegetables to couscous and beyond, and you've got yourself a hearty, inexpensive meal.

There's also a daily special dish and soup, which can be had together for $5.75. Varying based on the day of the week, they're usually of a Thai or otherwise Asian variety. Three-flavour chicken with rice and vegetables is a good choice, as is the sweet, succulent pork BBQ, also served with a healthy portion of fresh veggies. The soups are uniformly rich and satisfying, with the hot-and-sour being a particular high point - though the chicken and rice is good too.

If you feel like neither a special or a sandwich, but hunger for some sort of novelty dish, Claf's got you covered. A particularly toothsome favourite is their unnamed platter, which features three mini-sandwiches (generally ham and cheese, tuna, and something else), a scattering of fruits and vegetables with dip, a fried spring roll and several slices of cheese ($5.25). It's a little bit of everything. Fruit cups or platters (which come with a Babybel cheese, and cost around $2) are also recommended.

Or you can do the whole thing à la carte. One of the fun things about the place is the number of little foodstuffs you can buy, mostly in the 50 cent–$2 range. There's a basket of hard-boiled eggs by the cash register, mini cheeses, individual fruits, croissants, baklava, tasty banana bread… the list goes on and on. Clafouti may not have much in the way of atmosphere, but you won't get bored with its variety of good eats and fast, friendly service.

Le Clafouti
ADDRESS: 402 St-Jacques (corner McGill)
PHONE: 849-6756
HOURS: Mon–Fri 7:30AM–3PM
BEST FEATURES: Fresh, filling lunch fare served up fast and friendly
ALCOHOL: No
VEGETARIAN FRIENDLY: Yes
CREDIT CARDS: No
WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: Yes
NON-SMOKING SECTION: Yes
PRICE: $2.50–$10 per person
RATING: *** out of ****