Border Cafe

38. 10-13 Border Cafe, Church Street. Summary: As you'd expect of such a large restaurant - but passable in every aspect of the experience.

Border Cafe screams "tourist trap" the second you walk in. Major hustle and bustle, music blaring, blinking lights everywhere, tons and tons of tables upstairs and down service people zipping across the floor, onions sizzling on plates as they arrive at the table.

That said, it delivers a decent lunch. Service was prompt and courteous, food was fine, prices were a bit high but not terrible. Portions, however, were too large.

We got a big bowl of still-hot nachos and salsa as we sat down - which immediately fills you up and makes your stomach content. Then our Cokes came, in massive plastic glasses. Eventually our orders came, essentially super-sized. I ordered the blackened catfish taco, which was an enormous amount of food - but of course I ate it all, because I can't leave food on the table. And my companion had his Coke refilled, without asking, when it was down to about 2/3 empty.

The taco was quite good - the fish was well seasoned. There were a lot of 'extras' to add into the 'taco shells' (they were soft - not sure if that's authentic, but it worked) - but everything made for good eating.

So, if you're looking for a lot of food in a decidedly not-Harvard atmosphere, for about $13, this is your spot.