At Albadawi in Brooklyn Heights, water is served in a heavy jarrah, and as many ingredients as possible are sourced from Palestinian farmers. Everything at this Palestinian spot (the sister restaurant to Ayat), feels intentional, and you get the impression that a lot of effort went into the details. You’ll find some Ayat repeats on the menu here, but we suggest you try something new, like the ouzi lamb sitting on a potpourri-like pile of rice, almonds, peas, and herbs. There’s also a bamia full of pleasantly bitter okra, as well as eight flatbreads topped with everything from shawarma to pistachio. These are dangerously cheesy (Chester Cheetah voice), and therefore undeniably good—but they’re a risky move if you want to retain an appetite for the rest of your meal. We find that these flatbreads are best utilized as drinking snacks, which brings us to our next point: this restaurant is BYOB.

photo credit: Emily Schindler