After just one visit to Sonny’s Place (2168 Briarcliff Road, 404-982-0666), owner Sonny Azani will remember your face. After two visits, he’ll remember everything you ordered the last time you were there. By visit three, you’re family — complete with a little good-natured ribbing.

No stranger to the restaurant business — or the kind of wry-charm it takes to be successful — Azani retired seven years ago to raise his children after serving Atlanta for 18 years with his Jewish delis: Sonny’s Deli and Sonny’s on Ponce. But, while keeping house, Azani couldn’t stay away from food and found himself constantly watching Food Network. When his friend and future partner Franke Eghtesadi approached him with the idea to open a new restaurant on Briarcliff Road, Azani jumped at the chance. “The restaurant business is like being an alcoholic — you can’t stay away,” he says.

Despite being a self-proclaimed artist with corned beef and pastrami, Azani went in another direction with Sonny’s Place, which serves vegetarian, Middle-Eastern and Mediterranean food. “I have the same wife all my life, but I can change the food I cook,” Azani jokes.

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The other plate arrives with super crispy falafel that’s green on the inside from the loads of parsley.

Noms.

Just a tip: the falafel is the thing to get here. The shawarma just doesn’t do it for me unless it is Tuesday and they have the Cornish hen special.

There was no going back to store-bought pita after my first visit to Jerusalem Bakery (585 Franklin Road, Marietta, 770-419-1666). The smell of freshly baked bread filled the shop with an intoxicating aroma; the pita was puffed and fluffy with just the right amount of chew, a far cry from the stiff and collapsed stuff found on supermarket shelves. When Jerusalem Bakery opened an Alpharetta outpost with a full-on restaurant (4150 Old Milton Parkway, Alpharetta, 770-777-0193), I became an immediate regular thanks in part to the addictive and crunchy falafel. More excitement followed when I learned the owners had added on a restaurant to the original Marietta retail location. A narrow dining room and an open kitchen now accompany the bakery with its endless shelves of just-out-of-the-oven Middle Eastern treats. And the goodies, such as soft pizza-esque pies (meat, feta, or za’atar) can be bought and devoured on the premises.When it comes to sandwiches, Marietta’s kitchen has a little less finesse than Alpharetta’s. Falafel the size of jawbreakers have feathery bits of crispy crunch outside, but the gray interior lacks any discernable seasoning; more parsley would add pop. Two ever-present spits of shawarma (beef and chicken) rotate all day, ready for sandwiches or platters. The chicken shawarma tastes on the tough side. Most of its meat is dark and could benefit from being shaved more finely so the chewiness of the beautifully spiced meat can shine. Rolled shawarma wraps are built with the house-made pillowy flatbread and tend to be a safer bet than the platters. In the wraps, the meat gets a boost from a long list of the traditional toppings, including spicy chili paste, pickled beets and tahini.

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