Practically nobody has been poisoned by the food served up on a House grill. Each House committee offers a grill franchies to House entrepreneurs, and whoever wins the franchise runs the thing for the next year or so. As a result the service varies, the cooking varies, and the hours vary--though it is safe to say that House grills are generally open late in the evenings and tend to close when the local entrepreneur decides to go to a basketball game.

Duck Soup

58b Boylston St.

Soup is, obviously enough, the thing to have at Duck Soup. Though the menu has more than just soup on it, Duck Soup's versions of traditional offerings (which most people have tasted only out of the Campbell's can) are so much better that they can literally be meals in themselves. And the chili is hot enough to make an antihistamine spray seem like a good idea to clear smashed sinuses. Duck Soup is buried in the little jungle of specialty shops on Boylston St., but it's well worth the trouble to find it. And as long as the coffee is only a dime a cup, the prices will be hard to beat.

Fromage Imports

56 Boylston St.

Doubtless more than one high school French class has visited Fromage Import. In addition to having the kind of quaint setting every French teacher depicts as "typically" French, the restaurant's specialties--quiches and omelettes--are among those elementary French foods attempted by every French class at one time or another. Prices at Fromage Import are very reasonable--for under $2 you can get one of the specialties, a salad and a beverage ranging from mineral water to apple beer. A serving of mushroom, bacon, feta, chive, ham, spinach, mussel or ratatouille quiche is 95 cents. Even without your French class, a "field trip" to Fromage Import is worth it.

Hungry Persian

52 Boylston St.

The Hungry Persion offers good food at cheap prices. The fare consists mostly of combinations of meat and salads stuffed into Syrian pita bread. You can eat quickly, but the pleasant atmosphere makes a leisurely meal a promising prospect. The Hungry Persian is a refreshing change from hamburger sameness. Be sure to try the Phase Four special, a Nixonomics soybean variation of the standard Hungry Persian dish which the management claims is as tasty and more nutritious than the original. Friendly and informal, this place is certainly a Boylston St. bargain.

Patisserie Francaise

54 Boylston St.

The Patisserie Francaise, hidden in Boylston Street's collection of below street-level restaurants, offers relief from the madding undergraduate crowd common in Square restaurants. In exchange for somewhat expensive prices, the Patisserie provides several varieties of croissants, coffee, sandwiches and pastry. And if you are fortunate to find a seat it is yours for as long as it takes you to read the paper or write a portion of your current manuscript.

Lehmann Hall

In the Yard