In Paris last summer I ate more than my fair share of those delicious brie-stuffed baguettes they sell at every subway stop and corner cafe, and every single time I found myself wondering why something so easy and so delicious couldn’t be part of my lunch-time ritual back home in Vancouver.

Turns out it can.

Finch’s Cafe has apparently been at 353 W. Pender (at Homer) for upwards of five years–the waitress I talked to wasn’t exactly sure–and judging by the lunchtime line-up still going strong at 2 p.m., they haven’t really suffered from the lack of my business.

This place is worth getting in line for. The room is shabby chic; the clientele is vintage-and-Fluevog with a little tech-nerd and corporate-creative thrown in for good measure. And the food is all Paris-worthy nosh: a brie-and-olive baguette, for example, or a pear-and-prosciutto salad with walnuts, blue-brie and white balsamic.

They’re open Monday to Friday, 9 to 5 and Saturday, 11 to 4. You probably won’t get a table at lunch; be prepared to share your space. But you can phone ahead (604-899-4040) so your take-out order will be ready when you are–a good plan since it can take up to half and hour to get your food during the lunch rush. (Plus it’s charming they way they wrap up your baguette in waxed brown paper tied with raffia.)

As one patient customer told me the other day: “This place can get a little hectic, but the food is always nice and slow.” Sure beats Subway.