This is a salad that begins innocently, like meeting your best girlfriend for a drink on a Thursday night. And then she might find herself on your rooftop, without shoes, dialing questionably and being tucked in for the night on your couch.

Both options are enjoyable.

One is much better.

I had this salad with my friend Shanna in New York during the hurricane at our beloved Hummus Place on the Upper West Side, where we found power and olives and girlfriends and laughs. It’s a virtuous pile of chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions and parsley, with olive oil, lemon juice, and Za’atar. And it is fantastic, just like that.

To be very good, you can eat it alone or over righteous grilled chicken.

To be semi-good, you can spoon it over an omelette made with feta.

To end up on the roof without shoes, you can pile it on top of falafel, feta, tahini, and kalamata olives then roll the entire assemblage into grilled pita bread.

I’m for the rooftop, every time.

Recipe here.