Barney's

22 Boylston Street

Within spitting distance of Harvard Square, Barney's serves New York style steaks with New York style prices. The latest gimmick is a 10 per cent surcharge to cover the rise in food prices. On football Saturdays, there are hordes of alums--the type who prefer not to drink from a make-shift tailgate bar. Downstairs at Barney's serves excellent hot sandwiches and beer at more moderate prices.

Blue Parrot

123 Mt. Auburn St.

For a lunch of reasonably good taste and moderate expense try The Blue Parrot. The Parrot is a hang-out for artsy types who linger over their meals, and if you don't mind waiting for a table or sharing your table with an artsy type this is as nice a place as any to get a sandwich or a snack of cheese and crackers. The luncheon menu is varied--the offerings range from a simple BLT sandwich to Hungarian goulash. Beer and wine is served, but the coffees are your best bet. The Parrot Viennese Velvet (coffee with ice cream, brazilia, and whipped cream) is the best of them. The Parrot stays open at night with a slightly more expensive version of the lunch menu.

Casa Mexico

75 Winthrop St.

Tucked away in a cramped but opulent cellar on Winthrop St., Casa Mexico is one of the best restaurants around. Go there for spicy Mexican food, candle-lit atmosphere, and fine service. Bring a lot of money.

Everything on the menu is spicy, and expertly prepared. Casa's straight-forward fare is based around enchiladas and tostadas (mainly combinations of meat, chicken or cheese rolled in dough, and usually served with beans and rice) and a few seafood dishes.

The fruit desserts are especially good, and the restaurant's unique blend of coffee is excellent. No liquor is served, but you can bring your own, and the restaurant staff will chill your wine and provide you with glasses.

All this comes at a price, however. The restaurant's cellar room is over-crowded with revenue-producing tables, and the floor arrangement allots little space to groups of two or three. Casa's prices, already high, have been raised by 10 per cent in the wake of recent increases in food prices, and a $4 minimum per person has been decreed, even though it is difficult to wheedle a $4 meal out of the menu. An average meal runs close to $8 a person, excluding tip.

La Crepe

1274 Mass Ave

Only a chain restaurant like La Crepe would promenade its waitresses in French costume and headdress to impersonate an intimate cafe. The effort, needless to say, fails miserably.