Baltimore County is growing more diverse, and that means more delicious ethnic foods.

Gone are the days of either fancy Italian or fancy continental — Liberatore’s or The Oregon Grille. Immigrants are bringing the tastes of Asia, the Caribbean and the Middle East to the United States.

I love Middle Eastern food, and I’ve noticed more options in Towson, Parkville and Pikesville. Dishes vary depending on the country — Lebanese dishes tend to be yogurt-heavy, Persian dishes favor pomegranates — but they almost always include warm pita, creamy hummus and some manner of grilled meat. I took a tour around the Middle East via the Baltimore Beltway to sample some of the county’s offerings.

Villagio Cafe

6805 York Road, Stoneleigh/Towson; (410) 372-2200

This sweet Persian spot is a welcome addition to the York Road corridor. The orange flowers and Levantine décor make for a fun date night, but also not weird for a work lunch. The menu includes the usual Middle Eastern kebabs, but also Persian specialties like fessenjan, which is chicken and walnuts simmered in a pomegranate sauce. Villagio also has something I appreciate — an economical family-style tray combining grilled meats and rice. It’s under “Family Tour” on the menu.

I chose the Stoneleigh: beef filet mignon, chicken fillet and koobideh (lamb) kebab for two to three eaters for $38.97. It was more than enough for my family of three. All of the meat was delicious, but my favorite was the filet mignon. I also ordered the fessenjan, which was a tad cloyingly sweet and became separated from its oil after a day in the fridge. Villagio has desserts, but unfortunately I don’t know how they are. They forgot our Persian ice cream but kindly took it off my credit card when I called about it.

Halal Boys

400 Washington Ave., Towson — across from the old courthouse; (443) 683-6158

When I’m walking to County Council meetings, I often say “Ahalan” — Arabic for hello — to the Halal Boys. Hamad Karan is actually a grown man from Egypt. He and his family have been dispensing delicious platters and sandwiches from a food truck at the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and Washington Street for close to a decade.

The menu is straightforward — gyros or falafel, grilled lamb or grilled chicken, over rice or in a sandwich. If the weather is nice, you can grab a bench and eat in the courthouse garden. The portions are generous, so I often find the $11 spent on the platter is good for a couple of meals. Get the spicy sauce and be sure to say “Shukran” — thank you. This food truck is worth the trek to Towson. All cash, no website, no delivery. Make sure you feed the meter if you park downtown.

Damaskino Mediterranean Market

1704 Taylor Ave., Parkville

When was the last time three people could eat a filling meal for under 30 bucks? You can at Damaskino, where Sami Fallouh serves up the sandwiches of his Syrian homeland along with Middle Eastern spices, snacks and staples. It’s the only place I’ve seen Jordan almonds outside of a wedding reception in years. We ordered a za’atar pie, a cheese pie, a cheese and muhamarah (creamy walnut and roasted red pepper dip) pie, a schwarma pie (more like a sandwich), and the lahem be ageen beef and cheese pie for $28. You can order online and get delivery, but I ordered via phone and picked up. There’s nowhere to sit inside.

Za’atar is a blend of dried oregano, thyme, sumac, sesame seeds and marjoram. It’s Army green, and often added to chicken dishes as well as pita. Fallouh’s creation was akin to avocado toast with za’atar instead, and it was a bit too much za’atar for me. The cheese pie was good, though a tad salty. We loved the always-dependable chicken schwarma, as well as the fantastic lahem be ageen and cheese, a melty pizza-like creation. The meat is Halal, which follows Islamic dietary laws for a more humane slaughter. Sandwiched between a liquor store and a defunct church, Damaskino is a hidden gem that I will return to for a quick bite and grocery staples. Prices are excellent, and who can pass up a $5 sandwich?

Yesh Hummus and Grill

607 Reisterstown Road, Pikesville; (410) 484-9374

I’m constantly telling my college-age daughter not to waste money on a taxi for her burrito. But I wanted to try Yesh Hummus and Grill, and I did not want to drive to Pikesville at rush hour from Towson. I ordered delivery and our schnitzel, Jerusalem mixed grill and Israeli salad arrived via Door Dash about an hour later.

Yesh means “here is,” or “there exists,” in Hebrew. (Here is Hummus would be the rough translation.) It’s Kosher, which is similar to Halal in its specifications for how the animal is slaughtered, but also includes restrictions on mixing milk products and meat. Yesh had one of my favorite dishes, an Israeli salad — a dream of cucumbers, tomatoes and za’atar. I also appreciated that the sous chef called me because I forgot to specify which sides I wanted. (Yes, Israeli pickles and Moroccan spicy carrots, please.) I had middling expectations for an Israeli salad — November is not the tomato’s finest month. It overperformed, and the schnitzel was perfectly thin and crispy. The Jerusalem mixed grill, a gargantuan pita stuffed with spiced chicken and veggies, is Israeli street food at its best and was gone in minutes.

Falafel House/Syrianos Cafe

20 Allegheny Ave., Towson; (410) 337-5225

This downtown Towson restaurant is under new management and soon to have a new name (Syrianos, honoring the family’s heritage). Owner Nasser Masri and his daughter, Yasmina, have largely kept the food menu to chicken, lamb and falafel sandwiches, salads and platters. My daughter enjoyed her lamb schwarma, and my husband liked his kofta — spiced beef and lamb. I always order the chicken kabob here. It’s delicious and seasoned perfectly. They have added Middle Eastern desserts, and several options at that. Most places have baklava or rice pudding. Falafel House serves those and pistachio maamoul — a shortbread cookie — as well as basbousa — a semolina cake. There is also carrot cake and chocolate cake.

The restaurant offers homemade ice cream (I loved the chocolate) as well as smoothies. You can take it out or eat it there. One mainstay of the old management that I wish they would have kept: a free serving of vegetarian lentil soup while you waited. True hospitality, if you ask me.