If there are two types of people in this world – those who eat dessert first and those who eat it last – then two other statements also hold true. First, that life is good (everyone is eating dessert) and second, that both types will be happy to dine at Argentina Cafe, a clean and cozy family-run spot near The Galleria where the first and last course of the meal hold equal appeal.

Since opening a little over a year ago, the cafe has grown popular with transplanted Argentines and area office workers who swarm the counter for quick and satisfying workday lunch. The concise menu offers a few different sandwiches, salads and hot plates plus an array of house made pastries.

As a dessert-first person, I have to say that I was only marginally more excited about the caramel rolls than I was about the authentic yet uncomplicated savory menu. Although the smell of full-blown steaks gilded with fried eggs being enjoyed by seemingly every other table in the restaurant was tempting, my father and I opted for a lomito and a sausage sandwich, which come with either fries or a salad. We also over-exuberantly ordered a beef empanada to go and a dulce de leche cake roll, which arrived at the table first.

The gleam of caramel in close proximity was too much to bear and we polished off the cake immediately, cutting the sweetness with an expertly made latte. For whatever reason, probably overt elitism, it came as a bit of a surprise that the coffee was so well done at such a modest enterprise, but as soon as the caffeine jolt hit, our prejudices were set straight.

As for the sandwiches, the lomito was perhaps the most tender sandwich beef I’ve ever encountered and the baguette it graced was chewy with a perfectly crackling crust. The sausage, or Argentinean choripan, was slightly spicy and the casing gave just the right resistance. Hours later, the empanada had maintained its delicate crust and the filling was robust and generously portioned but not overwhelming. Altogether, it was the kind of meal that reminds you how life’s simple pleasures, even the humble sandwich, can be among its best.

ARGENTINA CAFE, 3055 Sage Road at Hidalgo, 713-622-8877