Middle Eastern food offers a serious flavor blast, and what’s going on at the new Sahara Café and Hookah Lounge is a very delicious version of it. The chicken shawarma is so good it's almost unbelievable, and the kabobs—there are three kinds on the kabob combo platter—are gently-seasoned, soft and fragrant.

But it’s the little cups of super-potent garlic butter and the curious assortment of pickles served with some orders (one of the pickles was so pink that I verified its edibility prior to eating) that make the food tingle with its own electricity. Friends tell me these are the hallmarks of quality Lebanese cooking; my tastebuds tell me to fill my belly with it as often as possible.

As for the baklava and Turkish coffee, I want them three times a day, every day, for the rest of my life. And this is all after one meal, during the restaurant's first week in business, which is typically a shaky time for an eatery.

My stomach is so happy right now.