Lunching out in Englewood for $6 and up

Sweet potato soup, above, and quiche, below, are among the choices when you order the fixed-price, two-course lunch at Patisserie Florentine, 10 S. Dean Street, just steps from the main shopping street in Englewood (201-408-4890).

The quiche was made with broccoli, asparagus and mozzarella cheese, and served on a long platter with salad, below. With a soft drink, bottled spring water or Perrier, the lunch is $11.75. Instead of quiche, you can choose a half-sandwich with ratatouille.

Cafe au Lait is served with a complimentary cookie ($2.80).

The young waiter and waitress at Patisserie Florentine mean well, but service is casual and my table didn't have a napkin or silverware. When I asked whether the tasty sweet potato soup contained cumin, the young woman went into the kitchen and returned with a small portion of the fragrant ground spice, which I sprinkled over the soup.

A whole branzino is deboned, beautifully grilled and served with artichokes, olives and tomatoes at Solaia, a fine-dining Italian restaurant at 22 N. Van Brunt St. in Englewood (201-871-7155). The fish is $25 at lunch, but can be shared by two along with a Caesar Salad ($10), below.

A half-portion of Caesar Salad at Solaia.

Skip Blue Moon Mexican Cafe and cross the tracks to Taqueria Los Gueros for an order of Tacos de Pescado -- corn tortillas topped with grilled tilapia, fresh salsa and avocado. Four filling tacos are $8.

Tacos al Pastor include pork roasted on a vertical spit and topped with fresh pineapple (four for $6).

Mexican soda is made with sugar, not high-fructose corn syrup ($2).

Taqueria Los Gueros is at 46 W. Palisade Ave. in Englewood (201-408-5924).

Two other lunch spots in Englewood I haven't tried yet are The Kitchen at 21 E. Palisade Ave. (201-568-4570), where a $12 lunch is served Mondays to Fridays; and Baumgart's Cafe, where Chinese and American food is served at 45 E. Palisade Ave. (201-569-6267), below.