CRAFT PITA
The gist: At 2 years old, this Tanglewood cafe — from chef Raffi Nasr and his mother, Claudia, who’s Peruvian — is taking the Mediterranean sandwich-shop genre in a refreshing new direction.
The hook: Here’s an exciting example of the way scrupulous sourcing of local and regional ingredients can transform even casual, relatively inexpensive food. One taste of Craft’s stupendous chicken pita will show you why. The marinated and rotisseried bird, from Naked Truth Premium chicken, is a gently pulled fluff of pure poultry flavor — about as far from your basic frozen shawarma slices as it is possible to get. Everything else follows suit, from the colorful, vivid-tasting Middle Eastern dips and salads — in which local produce makes a difference — to the fabulous pink lemonade tinged with rose water.
What to order: Chicken pita; Akaushi beef kafta bowl with assorted sides and pickles; tabbouleh salad; labneh (yogurt) spread dotted with sesame seeds; babaganoush; rose water pink lemonade; Ixsir Rouge, Lebanese red wine.
Outdoor option: A couple of tables on the front sidewalk.
1920 Fountain View, 832-804-9056; craftpita.com