* Item: Metro Food Market's Take Away Cafe

* What you get: 1 serving

* Cost: About 65 cents to $1

* Preparation time: 1 to 3 minutes in the microwave

* Review: On a night when no one could agree on what disshould accompany some grilled chicken, I picked up a handful of single-serving entrees from Metro's Take Away Cafe. The zTC supermarket chain offers a variety of ready-to-eat dishes from its hot-food bar and from its deli counter. The Belgian carrots were glazed with a pleasant cinnamon-studded syrup. And the broccoli-rice casserole offered fresh broccoli and firm rice in an alfredo-style sauce. Unfortunately, things went downhill fast from there. Linguine with herbs and olive oil had a strangely bitter aftertaste. Leaden batter hid lifeless broccoli in the fried broccoli appetizer on the hot bar. And the green bean casserole, also from the buffet, was so greasy it was inedible.

Pub Date: 8/19/98