by MARK SLUTSKY

Pretty much anywhere you go in Paris, you'll find a restaurant (or just a counter behind a storefront) where you can pick up a merguez sausage sandwich. The little sausages are said to have originated in Algeria in the 18th century. When the country was colonized by the French they found their way to Europe (the word "merguez" is actually a transliteration of the Arabic mirqaz or merga). Originating, as it does, in the Arabic world, merguez is traditionally made without pork, consisting largely of lamb meat, though beef sometimes finds its way into the mix as well.

These spicy sausages aren't as prominent on the streets of Montreal as they are in Paris, but devotees can find them here and there. One of the tastiest merguez sandwiches in town can be found at Sekso, a combination dep/restaurant up on Bélanger, in the Petite-Patrie district.

Bélanger may not be the fanciest-looking street in the city, but there's actually a lot of great stuff to be found there. (When the weather gets warmer, you'd be advised to top off your meal at Sekso with a lemon ice from Roberto Gelateria, which indisputably offers the city's best gelato - it's just a couple of blocks away.)

Sekso is actually two businesses in one. In the front is a dep/grocery, where you can buy halal meats, dates from Tunisia, various spices, couscous and olives. To enter the restaurant proper, the proprietors led me through a little passageway and into the back - which was kind of strange, as the back room clearly had an entrance of its own. The restaurant is small, with an almost living-room-like feel. Al-Jazeera is played on a big-screen TV in the back, next to the kitchen, which is small and open to the dining area.

Sekso doesn't exactly have a huge menu; the inexpensive specials, written on a chalkboard, are pretty much all you have to choose from. But that's okay, because you visit Sekso for the sandwiches.

All of the specials (which generally range in price from $3.99–$4.99) come with a side salad and a glass of mint tea; you've got your choice of merguez, kafta or tuna sandwiches, all made with fresh miniature baguettes. The merguez sandwich is stuffed with a bunch of the little, greyish sausages and spiced with fennel seeds, garlic and peppers. You don't need any fancy spreads or toppings on this thing; eaten plain, or with a little bit of mayonnaise, they make for one of the best sandwiches in town.

Nearly as good is the kafta. Kafta is a spiced ground beef concoction that has been described as the hamburger of the Arabic world. It's an intimidating-looking meat, all dark red and black, but it's quite delicious as well, and again, no additional toppings are required to jazz up the flavour, which is scented with allspice and cayenne pepper. Like the merguez sandwich, the meat is prepared fresh in front of you and served hot, its delectable scent filling your nostrils. Highly recommended. I wouldn't quite go so far as to recommend the tuna sandwich, though - it's basically tuna from the can served with a little bit of mayonnaise, and that's all - a concession, I suppose, to the restaurant's pescaterian clientele.

The side dish the day I visited was a simple mixed olive salad, a mélange of black and green olives with spicy oil. The olives were plump and salty, and it made for a nice counterpoint to the flavours of the sandwiches.

Sekso may not be the most stylin' joint in town, and its menu may not be the most diverse, to say the least, but they do sandwiches right there, and if you're in the mood for a spicy North African sausage there's no better place to be.

Sekso
ADDRESS: 2455 Bélanger (one block south of
Jean-Talon, metro Îberville)
PHONE: 727-4555
HOURS: 10AM–11PM
BEST FEATURES: The plain and perfect merguez sandwiches, plus
the variety of other good stuff you can get in the front
ALCOHOL: No
WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: A couple of steps
VEGETARIAN FRIENDLY: Not really
CREDIT CARDS: No
NO-SMOKING SECTION: No
PRICE: $4–$6 per person, before tax and tip
RATING: **1/2 out of ****