Shawafel!

Had an excellent lunch the other week in Stamford, CT, at Layla's.  I've been there before and always enjoyed the jovial feel of the place and the satisfying shawerma. A popular take-out place, it also has a casual dining room. This time, 3 of us sat down later in the lunch hour. The waiter suggested we just let him take care of us, so we put away the menus and before too long the food started covering the table top: a giant bowl of freshly made salad, some tabouleh, some baba ghanoush, really nice hummus, a bowl of mixed pickles, a bowl of homemade chili sauce, a mound of hot, freshly cooked falafel, a mound of mujadara, and then the meat: a giant platter of grilled lamb, marinated grilled chicken, and a heap of lamb shawerma with grilled onions. Family style and friendly, served with justified pride. A single, overly reasonable price was given for the whole thing, and we walked away full and happy. I wish more restaurants were like that.