The menu at Zoës Kitchen is vaguely Greek, mostly chicken, and delightfully healthful.

Zoës is a chain that started in the Deep South before working its way west to us. It's not fast food, but it's not slow, either. And it's certainly not the usual heavy business-lunch fare. Consequently, even though it opened only in early December, word has spread through downtown Phoenix - especially among working women - and Zoës packs its tables at lunchtime.

The room resembles a cafeteria at an art museum, cheery but not cozy, with minimalist tables and orange, green and blue decorative wall panels. The tables seem intentionally close to each other, as if to encourage listening in on neighboring conversations.

There's no sit-down service: You order at the front counter and it somehow shows up at your table without your having to display a number.

And the food is clean and fresh: grilled chicken, usually skinless, fresh salads, pita sandwiches and everything sprinkled liberally with low-fat feta cheese.

The Greek salad ($5.95) could be a meal in itself or a side order, a pile of fresh greens, kalamata olives, cherry tomatoes, cukes, peperoncini, feta and green peppers with an oil-and-vinegar dressing on the side. Buried underneath the greenery is a mound of marinated red-potato salad.

The grilled chicken pita ($5.95) features skinless chicken with either a vinegary coleslaw or lettuce, tomato and caramelized onions. And feta, of course!

The quesadilla ($5.95) offers a twist on the Mexican classic by using - guess what? - feta, instead of Monterrey Jack, with scallions and spinach; the chicken is optional ($6.95) and highly recommended.

There's a grilled chicken plate ($6.95), again with skinless chicken, and served with brown rice pilaf and Greek salad. For Atkins dieters, a variation they call the Protein Power Plate ($6.95) skips the pita bread and rice, and instead serves the chicken over the marinated slaw, flavored with. . . . feta!

The only disappointment was the Mediterranean tuna pita sandwich ($5.95), because the combination of feta and kalamata olives left a salty aftertaste. But the disappointment was tempered by a pleasant side of pasta salad with basil and tomato and feta instead of the usual mayonnaise.

Now here's a conundrum: If you call at least 90 minutes ahead, you can order a Greek chicken dinner for four, a whole marinated chicken (with skin, this time, nicely marinated in oil and spices), a giant Greek salad and an equally hefty portion of rice pilaf for the surprisingly unhefty price of $17.95. Skip the rice and salad and it's just $7.95.

It's tasty and would be a perfect meal to pick up for the family on the way home from the office. Except Zoës asks you to pick it up 15 minutes before the 4 p.m. closing time. So, unless you eat dinner at 4:30 in the afternoon - which few people have done since Ozzie and Harriet - that chicken's going into the refrigerator at work before it makes the trip home.

Reach the reporter at (602) 444-8994.