Austin Greek Deli shares a parking lot and building with a little gas station, and is a closet-sized space plastered haphazardly with posters of azure seas and bleach-white buildings; there are even a few of those ubiquitous posters from the 1980s where a vaguely Mediterranean-looking young woman smiles coyly over a gyro. There are two tables out front, but we favor the few rickety stools inside because the guy who owns the place is priceless. “The only people who ask about lamb shawarma are from New York,” he might say in a bombastic and jovial Santorini accent. Come after the lunch rush, and he’ll spout off truisms like, “Who needs Wi-Fi? All you need is a dog, a nice meal, and a place to sleep.”

That shawarma is the standard lamb-and-beef mix ground with herbs and spices and reformed into a vertical spit for broiling. It’s correct and satisfying. Even better is a well-spiced falafel with just the right amount of crispiness; it’s one of the best in Austin. Souvlaki (here beef) tastes oddly like teriyaki, but is tender with nice charred bits. Tzatziki is as good as industrial-made tzatziki can be, and pitas are doughy and lightly grilled. But we’re mostly here for the company. “Weatherpeople have the only job where they can screw it up half the time and not get fired!” You laugh and nod. “You’re good people,” he says, “you can come back.” You’re good people, too, bub. And we will.