Metro Café

Toast and eggs, hold the crowd

On the Cheap by Frank Habit

Sunday brunch is like a religion in the South End, where a long wait for a small table in a crowded room has become the purgatorial prelude to eggs and toast. Adventurous souls willing to walk down to Washington Street can escape the madness at the Metro Café, a room with all the jolly, eclectic charm of a drag queen's art deco front parlor. The breakfast menu is heavy on the sort of dishes Mom used to turn out before she heard about cholesterol. If you're willing to let yourself go, try a fluffy omelet ($6.95), eggs with corned beef hash ($6.25), or eggs Benedict ($6.95). If you must exercise restraint, have a platter of fresh fruit ($4.25) or a bagel with the works ($6.95). Later in the day, lunches (salads, burgers, and roll-ups, ranging from $4.55 to $7.50) are equally simple and satisfying. For comfort after dark, a supper of roast turkey ($9.95 for white meat, $8.50 for white and dark) is the next best thing to having Grandma fix you a little snack. This is diner fare, nicely cooked, and served by some of Boston's friendliest waiters.

Metro Café, located at 1415 Washington Street, in the South End, is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., and on Sunday (breakfast only) from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call 236-4443.

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