High off a fabulous first visit to A Sweet Factory, I trudged an arduous 20 feet to Jerusalem Halal Market. I was greeted with tons of canned, fresh, and frozen Middle Easter products (pomegranate syrup! baba ganoush! samosa! maamoul!) plus tons of basic dry good ingredients.

I picked some stuffed grape leaves, baba ganoush (is there really one official transliterated spelling?), and orange blossom water. I could have bought 1000 more things, but let's wait until I win the PowerBall.

Erm, perhaps you say, I go to Phoenicia for such things. Well, that's all well and good, and I have nothing against Phoenicia, especially the Westheimer location

BUT JHM's prices are much lower and they have a prayer room. I observed many patrons stopping in to, I can only assume, mediate or perform salah. It was quaint, stunning, and endearing all at once.

Among the patrons chattering in Urdu and Arabic, many clothed in hijabs, I stood out in my arguably ridiculous weekend uniform of sweat pants and a Disney hoodie. Nevertheless, I assisted readily by a friendly clerk and the checkout employee even waived the credit card minimum.

I really like this place.