SCHENECTADY -- "I lucked out," said my friend Amy, who was delighted with our visit to Simone's Kitchen on Jay Street. "This was a feast."

Amy prefers plant-based food and tolerates her carnivore friends. Finding food she likes is usually easy -- but the food often is not anything special.

And tofu? Simone's was "the best I've ever had," Amy said.

This carnivore found plenty to enjoy on Simone's menu, too. Let me tell you about it.

Heads up: The map software in my car sent me over the Western Gateway Bridge to Scotia. Amy fired up Siri, who directed us to the same place my car was going -- Jay Street in Scotia.

The Simone's Kitchen location in Schenectady -- Coxsackie was its first -- is airy, with a wall of plate-glass windows overlooking the pedestrian street. The walls are white, the concrete floor sleek and there's handsome wood furniture. It's what you'd get if a Chipotle married an Apple Store.

The assembly line, on the right as you enter, is supplied by back-of-the-house workers visible through a large window. I was surprised at how many there were and at the size of the kitchen.

The assembly line, like the kitchen, looks spotless, each section attended to by an employee, each component mapped out on the glass. Put your order in at the beginning.

Menus hang from the ceiling, tastefully designed in their signature medium blue, but they'll cheerfully hand one over if you ask. We did.

Simone's makes Mediterranean-inspired food. Choose a Mezza bowl ($11.85 big, $9.85 small) or create your own.

The Greek meatball bowl is composed of fresh greens, white rice, meatballs, potatoes, tomato salsa, cucumber salsa, cabbage slaw, hummus, tzatziki, yogurt and dill, pickled onions and fresh herbs.

You can get a chicken shawarma, falafel, tofu or Mediterranean burrito bowl, all for roughly the same price.

Turn one of their bowls into a wrap ($10.85) or pita pocket ($7.85). Or create your own combination.

Small plates include hummus with warm pita ($4.85), Greek meatballs with yogurt and dill dressing ($5.45), and kale tabbouleh ($4.85).

Try their fresh-baked pita pies with goat cheese ($5.65), za'atar ($5.25) or spiced meat.

House-made desserts are vegan. There's olive-oil cake, date brownies and baklava.

Their award-winning soups -- such as cauliflower chowder and Moroccan carrot -- are available. We didn't see them. If you don't, ask.

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For beverages try something different. I had their excellent and not overly sweet house-made pomegranate lemonade. The color was brilliant, cheerful and promised a lot. It delivered. Amy thought the cardamom iced tea was fantastic ($2.65 each).

Ordering was easy. The cheerful and patient employees answered all our questions and we watched our Mezza bowls being put together. Along the line I asked for my sauces on the side. No problem.

We checked out across from the fancy coffeemaker, next to the lovely display of their homemade desserts.

There was no one in line when we ordered, but that didn't last. At least twice the line got very long. "Fast-moving," Amy observed.

Many customers took food to go and the dining room filled up.

For those who are in a rush, there is a stainless-steel shelving unit by the door. I watched someone enter the restaurant, pick up a bowl and leave. Another bowl, labeled "Kyle," was ready to go.

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Our bowls were so attractive and appealing, colorful and so full of varied ingredients, I'd have to fill a shopping cart just to make one.

I had the chicken shawarma ($11.85) and tentatively picked at the green-and-grainy tabbouleh. Holy cow. Fresh mint jumped out. Its flavor is so welcome this time of year.

I liked the tabbouleh very much, eating most of it before moving on to the next thing. It had a tiny zing of salt. Just right.

The bowls start with a layer of greens topped with starch, protein and vegetables. The perfect greens of the shawarma were topped with a generous scoop of slender-grained delicate rice.

I'd watched a few scoops of chicken added on, then potatoes, the tabbouleh, pickled onions and tomato salsa.

There's not much you can do with a tomato in February, but Simone's makes the most of them, chopping and tossing them with dressing and herbs. You can actually taste the tomato, and it's good.

The potatoes were delicious as well. The cubes were seasoned and cooked on every side, maximizing the flavor.

The chicken had its own aromatic profile, and Simone's gets points for tender and still-warm meat. It was lovely. Each of the differently seasoned components combined into a beautiful, satisfying whole.

That's not counting the hummus, the creamy garlic and the tahini that's usually served over. I dipped the chicken into the cups as I went.

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Amy looked up from her Harissa tofu briefly and said, "It's so healthful and so delicious." Mine, too.

Amy had a good day.

"It's a feast," she declared. Tofu takes on the flavor of whatever you give it, and Simone's Harissa tofu bowl ($11.85) was the best she'd ever had.

The tofu cubes were so completely covered with herbs and seasonings you could hardly see any white.

"So delicious, so beautifully spiced. It's packed with flavor," Amy said.

Her bowl came with greens, quinoa, cabbage slaw, tabbouleh, garlic chickpeas, creamy garlic, yogurt and dill, pickled onions and fresh herbs.

"Boy, this is good," she said.

Amy constructs a healthy bowl most days for lunch.

"I am an amateur compared to this," she said, gesturing toward Simone's bowl. She stuffed a fresh pita half with the contents of her bowl and ate it up.

She was done in less time than I expected.

"Can we come back tomorrow?" she asked.

She liked the falafel snack ($4.95), four units topped with tahini, chopped tomato, crispy beets and parsley. There was an astringent flavor we couldn't place. Oregano? The menu says sumac. That must be it. It's also served with pita, which we brought home.

We topped off our meal with seasonal baklava, chocolate hazelnut ($7.90 for two pieces). It's lovely, syrupy without being cloying, with finely chopped nuts and layers of chocolate.

The tab for our meal came to $57.46 with drinks, tax and tip.

Simone's Kitchen just opened a third location in Stuyvesant Plaza. Owner Bashir Chedrawee said it's busier already than the other two locations. I can see why. Support a local business and have some great food.

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"It was worth the detour," said Amy on the way home.

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