This is only the second installment of my Worth the Drive West (De tabernis que valent illam carratam ad occidente) lunch series featuring my favorite finds between Westbury (Meyerland) where we live, and Sugarland to our southwest (thus avoiding the media-saturated although always exciting food scene within Houston’s I-610 Loop).

But I feel like I’ve already reached a zenith with this one and it’s going to be hard to beat.

Micheaux’s Southern Cuisine would already be at the top of my southwest Houston restaurant lists for the superb cookery, with a loving focus on classic southern dishes. But it was the overall vibe of the place, on two separate visits, where the super pro and warmly polite staff gave you the sense that they love working there — and they love the soulful food the kitchen puts out.

I’m a little bummed that they discontinued the shrimp po’ boy but that won’t stop us from going back.

Tracie swooned when I brought her home some of their black-eyed peas a few weeks ago. And she inhaled the red beans I ferried back last week.

Roast chicken, braised ox tails, smothered pork chops, meatloaf were just some of the entrées on offer with the spectrum of classic sides (don’t miss the mac and cheese).

I believe the Micheaux family’s catering business is their focus. We’re definitely eyeing the spot for our next big activism event at the house.

I’ve seen the restaurant packed at lunch with a local crowd. Haven’t visited yet for dinner but they stay open until 8 p.m.

My Southwest Houston, I’m discovering, is a land of churches, immigrants, and wonderful restaurants that devotedly nourish the community. I’ve got my eye on a Vietnamese sandwich shop for my next post in the series.

Stay tuned and please make the trip out to Micheaux’s (it’s pretty fast on the Fort Bend Parkway). It’s worth the drive west!

Now that I’m no longer traveling two weeks out of every month, I’ve been enjoying the home time and the Houston time.

Our family lives just to the southwest of Houston’s “Loop” where most of the high-profile and fine dining takes place. While we have ready access to the central dining scene, we are also just a stone’s throw from an archipelago of small municipalities in the western section of our megalopolis.

With more time on the ground and yawny with the however wonderfully vibrant culinary world inside the Loop, I’ve been treating myself to lunch out with one overarching criterion: the restaurant where I dine has to be to the west of me (not to the east inside the Loop).

One of my earliest finds has been the extraordinary Middle Eastern restaurant Kabab Shack and Grill.

From the outside, this joint looks like just another anonymous strip mall restaurant. But once you walk inside and notice that the cooks are impeccably outfitted in black chef coats and toques, it becomes clear that the venue’s focus is gastronomic excellence. The older gentleman at the counter, whom I imagine is the owner, reminded me of the old school kebab places I’ve frequented in France, Italy, and Israel.

I ate every last bit of my gyro-stuffed pita. The meat was wonderfully savory without being excessively salty. The lettuce, onion, and tomato were fresh, crisp, and flavorful. And the fries, perfectly dressed with spice and tahini, were among the best I’ve ever eaten.

The thing that blew me away about this place was the professionalism of the cooks and the manager/owner. The kitchen was so clean and orderly I thought I was eating at Boulud in New York. It took a minute for my order to come out (I was one of the first customers that day) and one of the cooks made a point to thank me for my patience. The older gentleman who took my order was cordial and warm.

I loved this place and can’t wait to explore more of the menu. My new series on west Houston dining: “Worth the Drive West.” Stay tuned for more.