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Before the restaurantification of Park Slope, locals feasted at homegrown spots like the Lebanese Laila. These days, despite the maelstrom of trendy choices, they still are. Laila has a blithely functional décor: Sturdy wooden tables, white-painted tin ceilings, and lazily spinning fans. The fare, though, is miles beyond functional and close to inspired. Bamyeh lamb stew offers restorative warmth with a meaty heft; its tomato broth, with tender nubs of okra, masks a red-hot pepper shimmer that leaves a pleasant tingling on the lips. Hunks of lamb part easily with a spoon’s gentle prod. A basket arrives with pita, naturally, but also with a wedge of crusty Lebanese bread, speckled with black nigella seeds. And while Lebanese cuisine woos the vegetarian palate with its creative spin on grains and legumes, Laila does so better than most. "Everybody comes for the meatless ouzy!" says the server, and it is a delectable doozy: a steaming, ginger-scented blend of rice, fava beans, diced vegetables, and almond slivers under a crisp filo bonnet. Finish off with house-made baklava or a walnut-crusted lady finger, which you can chomp on like a honey-filled cigar. — AnneLise Sorensen

Bamyeh with lamb $11.95; vegetarian ouzy, $10.95; falafel, $5.95