"Two doors down from Sayar Market, just past the Subway sign advertising footlong pretzels, I found Beyrut Espresso, a Lebanese cafe and bakery whose window signs promise falafel and hummus and whose display cases hold sticky Levantine sweets like baklava alongside American cheesecakes and tiramisus made from scratch. Owner Linda Fayad, who moved from Lebanon more than 20 years ago, opened the shop in 2021 with a coffee-and-sweets menu and, after repeated requests from customers, expanded six months in to include savory favorites such as za'atar mana'eesh, falafel, and shawarma as well as Moroccan dishes like couscous and bastilla. Inside, ornate colorful coffee sets top the cases, and Fayad even supplies Moroccan breads to Sayar Market and orders ma'amoul cookies straight from Lebanon for holidays—an intentional effort to give the local Middle Eastern community a sense of home—while preparing bakery preorders ahead of busy periods like Eid al-Adha." - Laila Ibrahim