The nicest lady in the world owns Sarah’s Mediterranean Grill & Market (her teenage daughter is Sarah). She greets you heartily as you walk in and lets you peruse the coolers filled with both imported and homemade goods like feta, tzatziki, labneh, hummus, and baba ghanoush. Pita’s not made here, and the ones on sale are unremarkable, but do take advantage of the olive bar (about half the price of Central Market’s). There are rotisserie chickens to go (and, again they’re ridiculously cheaper than at HEB), but we’ve found them somewhat dry. Anyway, the thing to get here is tender, juicy, and beautifully spiced shawarma; sandwiched in some soft, thick pita with cucumber-cool tzatziki, it’s a little bit of heaven. Gyros are wonderful, and falafel is dense and crisp—grab a container of that homemade labneh, a minty, garlicky yogurt that’s amazing on everything, and dip it in there liberally.

You can eat your goodies in a basic seating area at the front, with a TV (and free Wi-Fi, although we’ve never really considered this an ideal working space). When you’re done, make sure to tell the owner how much you liked it; she might even throw in a free baklava for you—they’re impeccably layered and crisp, but not too dry, moistened with just enough honey and pistachio. They’re sweet, yes, but she’s even sweeter.