La Crepe's specialties are limited to crepes and omelettes, which are not well-concocted, not satisfying and not cheap--considering the $2 to $3 a la carte price. If you find yourself trapped at La Crepe, take refuge in the onion soup gratine and be sure to get a table in front so you can watch people walking to better restaurants in the Square.

College Grille

Near Radcliffe, on Mass Ave

We didn't find out about the College Grille until recently, probably because it's located up near Radcliffe on Mass Ave. If you're looking for decent pizza, good draft beer, and a nice atmosphere, don't wait that long.

But if you do decide to take the walk, wait until 11 p.m. and just order pizza. One group of eight made the mistake of going to the Grille for dinner--and one of the eight waited an hour for a hamburger. The pizza eaters had finished their meal and ordered another one.

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.

Grendel's Den

1 Winthrop Square

Interesting restaurants and reasonable prices are a rarity around Harvard, but both can be found in Grendel's Den.

Grendel's serves a European fare, either in their small dining room or outside on the patio. For lunch, the restaurant offers a buffet with two choices--"soup and salad" for $1.50 or "the works" for $2.25. The dinner menu includes shish-ke-bob variations and an eggplant dish, and the desserts are worth more than the price. A pleasant place where a meal costs under $5.