The name makes it quite clear: this is an eatery, not a dining room or an atmospheric ethnic restaurant. Its goal is to give you good food without the wait, which Babylon Eatery achieves through its solid menu of flavorful eats and expeditious service.

Expect Middle Eastern food served deli-style, a few steps above the average gyro shop. Place your order at the counter, pay for it, pick it up and you're done. The pretty standard menu features pita sandwiches, various meat kabobs and appetizers such as the vegetarian sampler (baba ganoush, hummus, tabbouleh, dolma, falafel, pita) and the potato chop (breaded potatoes stuffed with beef, onion and spices) cover most of the bases with pleasing results. The pita that comes with just about everything is rather flaccid: No complaining, though, since everything is less than eight bucks and you can bring your own bottle.

Track lighting and trendy lamps keep the space bright to flaunt how clean everything is. Now we know why the lighting is so dim in restaurants nowadays: because they're filthy.

Average cost: <$10