>>> od name for this feature (which will certainly be _really_
>>> useful, thanks !).
>>
>> How about "try_file  $uri  $uri/index.html ..." or "test_file   
>> $uri ..." ?
>
> Or "use_file" ?
      location / {
          file_with_fallback  $uri  $uri/index.html  $uri.html
                      @mongrel;
      }
      location @mongrel {
          ...
      }
	Seems to express the idea?
Cheers-
Ezra