Soup, salad, sandwich. It’s a simple formula, and one that perhaps covers 90 percent of diners’ lunchtime demands.

Croutons’ menu offers plenty of all three — 14 sandwiches, an equal number of salads and at least four soups — and little else.

For eight years, Croutons has been a popular stop for light meals on Bend’s west side, and in March, the franchise added a second restaurant on Northeast Greenwood Avenue. (Croutons restaurants started in California’s San Diego County in 2002. There are now five there, along with the two in Bend, which are privately owned under a franchise agreement.)

Like its predecessor, the new business is clean, modern and well maintained, with a concrete floor and rough-hewn timbers that buffer the dining area from overhead ventilation ducts. Tables accommodate about 60 diners, who sit near large windows on Greenwood and Sixth Street.

The young staff appears to be genuinely friendly: There are smiles all around. Diners order at the counter, take a number, help themselves to soft drinks and wait for their meals to be delivered to a table.

The food is fresh, but it has a sort of mass-production quality; I know it wasn’t prepared with me in mind. “All the ingredients are fine, but they’re not remarkable,” my dining companion said on one of our two visits. “Nothing really stands out.”

Soup and salad

Croutons has two everyday soups as well as a couple of specials that change with regularity. We tried both of the regular offerings.

I preferred the cream-based chicken-and-wild rice soup. Prepared with finely chopped carrots, celery and onion, it was flavored with a sprinkling of thyme.

The tomato basil soup was a coarsely blended, slightly peppery bisque. I would have loved to have a good sprinkle of Parmesan cheese on top.

There’s only a $1 price difference between large and small salads at Croutons, so my companion and I decided to share a large one. It probably could have fed four.

Our Napa Valley salad was a mix of chopped romaine lettuce and spring greens, tossed with a variety of ingredients. There was diced, roasted turkey breast along with crispy applewood-smoked bacon, halved red grapes, toasted almonds, crunchy celery, herb croutons and chopped Swiss cheese. The entire blend was drizzled with red-wine vinaigrette.

My friend and I agreed that the salad lacked distinctiveness, that it may have been too finely chopped and probably could have used additional seasoning.

On a previous visit to Croutons, I had especially enjoyed the pear-and-bleu cheese salad, a blend of romaine and spring greens topped with sliced fresh pears, crumbled blue cheese, candied walnuts and poppy-seed vinaigrette.

Sandwiches

There are two types of sandwiches on the Croutons menu. Paninis are cooked by pressing ciabatta or other Italian bread in a specialized grill. Flatinis are similar, but they are made with folded flatbread.

When I ordered a Granny Smith chicken salad flatini, I found the flatbread to be like thick, lightly grilled pita bread. Cheddar cheese was melted upon the warm pita, which was spread with mayo before the salad was folded in. This was mostly equal parts diced green apples and chicken breast, with a very modest amount of walnuts, dried cranberries and celery.

It wasn’t bad, but I would have preferred less bread and more goodies.

I liked my friend’s Tuscan roast beef panini better. The toasted sandwich, dressed with garlic mayonnaise, had three slices of medium-cooked beef with roasted red bell pepper, slightly caramelized red onion, and provolone cheese. I missed having horseradish on the side, however.

On another occasion, I’d like to order the Southwest panini, featuring oven-roasted chicken breast with roasted green chile, avocado, pepper-jack cheese, tomato and chile mayonnaise.

Croutons is an excellent lunch alternative to conventional fast-food restaurants, especially given the quality of ingredients for price. It may not measure up to more formal sit-down establishments in terms of creative preparation, but for value it’s hard to top.

Croutons

Location: 564 N.E. Greenwood Ave., Bend (also at 335 S.W. Century Drive, Bend)

Hours: 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday to Friday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday

Price range: Soups $3.75 and $4.75, salads $5.95 to $8.25, sandwiches $6.95 to $7.95

Credit cards: American Express, MasterCard, Visa

Kids’ menu: Four $6 meals

Vegetarian menu: Numerous choices

Alcoholic beverages: No

Outdoor seating: No

Reservations: No

Contact: www.croutonstogo.com, 541-728-0825 (east side), 541-330-1133 (west side)

Scorecard

Overall: B+

Food: B. Fresh ingredients but unremarkable preparation of soups, salads and sandwiches.

Service: A. Genuinely friendly staff takes orders at counter and delivers meals to tables.

Atmosphere: A-. Modern and well maintained, with large windows framing the dining room.

Value: A. Portions are generous and prices reasonable, with nothing tagged higher than $8.25.

Next week: Pure Kitchen

Visit www.bendbulletin.com/restaurants for readers’ ratings of more than 150 Central Oregon restaurants.