CHEZ HENRI (see Review, September-October 1996), One Shepard Street, Cambridge, (617) 354-8980. A modern French bistro with a Cuban twist, located near Harvard Square. The menu features updated versions of classic bistro cuisine with a Latin accent, such as steak with yuca frites. The bar serves Cuban-style tapas until midnight. In addition to the à la carte menu, prix-fixe dinners in the French manner are offered nightly. Prices are moderate, dress is casual. Dinner: Monday-Thursday, 6-10; Friday and Saturday, 6-11; Sunday, 6-9. Sunday brunch, 11-2.

HARVARD FACULTY CLUB, 20 Quincy Street, Cambridge, (617) 495-5758. Elegant décor and the eclectic cuisine of chef K.C. O'Hara make the club well worth your attention. A la carte and prix-fixe menus. Available for private parties and events. Membership open to the Harvard community, affiliates, and alumni/ae. Restaurants open Monday-Friday. Breakfast: 7:30-10. Lunch: 12-2. Dinner: 6-10. Cocktails: 5:30-10.

HENRIETTA'S TABLE, AT THE CHARLES HOTEL, One Bennett Street, Cambridge, (617) 661-5005. Henrietta's Table combines a New England farmers' market with breakfast, lunch, supper, and Sunday brunch. Everything you eat at Henrietta's Table is fresh-picked daily, and cooked right in front of you in the new open kitchen. Reservations are not required. Breakfast: Monday-Friday, 6:30-11; Sunday only, 11:30-3. Lunch: Monday-Saturday, 12-3. Supper: Sunday-Thursday, 5:30-10; Friday and Saturday, 5:30-11. Market hours: Monday-Friday, 6:30 a.m.-10 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 7 a.m.-10 p.m.

JOYCE CHEN RESTAURANT, 390 Rindge Avenue, Cambridge, (617) 492-7373. Authentic Chinese cuisine served daily for lunch or dinner. The menu includes exotic Szechwan, Hunan, and Mandarin entrées as well as traditional dishes. Chinese banquets, corporate delivery, and private meeting rooms are available. Full bar, plenty of parking, plus Lindsay's Corner, a family dining area for toddlers. Open Sunday-Thursday, 11-9:30; Friday and Saturday, 11:30-10:30; all-you-can-eat luncheon buffet every weekday, 12-2, $6.95. Visit our website at www.joycechen.com or call and we'll fax a menu.

KAREEM'S RESTAURANT, 600 Mount Auburn Street, Watertown, (617) 926-1867. We invite you to savor a glorious assortment of the best cuisine Syria has to offer. All ingredients are fresh and prepared with the most treasured exotic spices. Vegetables are hand-picked, and dishes are prepared by owner and chef Ahmed Yasin. Many vegetarian specialties are available. Open since 1984. Monday through Friday, 11-8. Also available for private events and catering.

MAISON ROBERT, 45 School Street, Boston, (617) 227-3370. Enjoy contemporary French food with Asian accents created by chef Jacky Robert while dining amid the grandeur of Boston's Old City Hall. Downstairs, the café offers imaginative bistro fare at provincial prices (especially the monthly prix fixe). Outdoor terrace and cozy indoor bar. Lunch: Monday-Friday, 11:30-2:30. Dinner: Monday-Saturday, 5:30-10. Reservations suggested. Valet parking.

UPSTAIRS AT THE PUDDING, 10 Holyoke Street, Cambridge, (617) 864-1933. The atmosphere, like the menu, is elegant: bowls of fresh flowers on the tables, pink tablecloths, chandeliers, and rich hunter-green walls stretching up to high ceilings--a setting worthy of the venerable Hasty Pudding Club, this restaurant's downstairs neighbor. The food also upholds that club's tradition of excellence without pretense. Appetizers include a roasted red-pepper soup and a duckling salad with Roquefort flan. Entrées include seared tenderloin of beef with chèvre mashed potatoes and pork chop confit with creamy polenta, Brussels sprouts, and apples. For dessert, try the warm apple crostada with Calvados crème fraîche or the bittersweet chocolate truffle tart in a shortbread crust. Lunch: Monday-Friday, 11:30-2:30. Dinner: Monday-Thursday, 6-9:30; Friday and Saturday until 10:00. Sunday brunch: 11-2:30.