Lina Frey

Here's a French restaurant that won't leave you feeling like you overindulged (I love Le Gigot, but after a dinner of their duck confit, I was full for a week). Lina Frey is a hip little spot on Houston Street that specializes in small plates under $10. My pal craved the frisee salad with lardons and blue cheese, but they were out of it, so she ordered the bruschetta, which was sprinkled with diced red and green peppers, olives and fennel seeds, as well as a mixed green salad, crunchy haricots verts, and a round of salmon tartare. I went with a hazelnut-crusted salmon fillet (a bargain at $8), a side of your standard spinach sauteed in olive oil and garlic, and an order of "Provencal" fries. "What makes them Provencal?" I asked. The server responded that there was truffle oil in them. The truffle oil was not in evidence, and a side of spicy aioli was $1 extra, but there was a nice sprinkling of herbs on the hand-cut fries. I finished, not with the pot de creme, but with a blueberry coulis crepe ("Yes, we use fresh blueberries," assured the server). Our meal, plus two glasses of Montepulciano, cost us around $60 (happy hour alcohol prices are in force until 8 p.m.). Next time, strawberry coulis!

Lina Frey: 201 East Houston St., (212) 995-5546.