Seeking a cozy place for a warm, comforting lunch on a cold day? Look no further than MEDITERRANEAN HOUSE in Clifton (235 W. McMillan St., 513-784-0144). This little gem features an affordable buffet of mostly-familiar favorites that anyone would enjoy.

I visited Mediterranean House on the bleak Thursday after Election Day. As depressed as any good Democrat could feel, I dragged my inconsolable spirit out for a healing meal. No sooner had I come back from filling my plate at the buffet than I noticed, hanging over my table, a grinning picture of ... George W. Bush. The gods, they mock me!

Despite W's smirking visage, I settled in to enjoy some truly delicious Middle Eastern food, the kind they eat in countries where we drop bombs on women and chil .... oh, never mind. The food! The food!

I have to rave especially about the lentil soup. It was sublime: golden and silky smooth. I thought it must have been made with rich chicken stock, but the owner assured me it was vegan. Impressive!

The pita bread is homemade and delicious. I filled half of it with two falafel patties and a creamy yogurt and tomato salad, and it was lovely. The stuffed grape leaves were another treat, the rice filling tasting of fresh parsley and mint. The hummus and baba ghannouj were excellent, and I dipped cucumber slices in a creamy, thick yogurt tzatziki sauce.

You can feast on veggies alone easily enough here, but there are good choices for meat lovers, too. My favorite was the thinly sliced gyros, nicely spiced beef and lamb to fill a pita or enjoy on its own. For milder tastes, there were tender morsels of chicken kebab, which my companion enjoyed atop rice and lentil pilaf.

To stay awake when we headed back to the office, we enjoyed a nice strong cup of Turkish coffee. Sage tea is also available. The proprietor brought us each a small honey and pastry dessert -- not baklava, but a close cousin. I would guess that he is a first-generation immigrant, and his love for his adopted country extends (possibly, in this case, overextends) to its leader. But aside from the portraiture, the décor at Mediterranean House is very comfortable. The walls are paneled with wooden screens, and there's a lot of whimsy in the tiny lights hanging from the ceiling.

Even the not-so-subtle irony of having President Bush watch over my table was not enough to make the Mediterranean House's lunch hard to swallow. This is a terrific place to enjoy a unique meal for just $7, drink included. (Hours: 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday; 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Sunday.)