Fresh Pita Loaves...
Baking Going On Here...
Chicken and Feta Pies
Finished Za'atar
Fillings...
Fresh-baked anything is hard to come by in the Miami area, so when I first heard about fresh-baked Pita bread, as well as homemade za'atar pizzas and pies at Noor Bakery in Ft. Lauderdale (or is it Dania?), I ran. It is worth the trip if you are anywhere near there, especially on your way home from the Fishing Hall of Fame, which is right down the street and a crazed-tourist haven (for people who really love their fishin'). It is a quiet, off-the-highway kind of place, with a few pita-eaters there for lunch, and large take-out orders being custom-filled. Other than the pita, which has a crunchy dough, and as a wine writer might say, a long finish (it tastes, for lack of a better description, 'artisanal'); there are the za'atar pies (I call them pizzas but they're really just similar), which are fresh dough sent through the oven once, then topped with meat, cheese, etc., and sent through again. Za'atar refers to the Middle Eastern spice mixture that coats the bread, which contains the distinctive marjoram and sumac, as well as oregano and a few other things. To eat them, they are folded in half, and eaten like a slice of pizza or giant tortilla.
The chicken pies, as well as the feta pies, which are fresh dough wrapped empanada-like around the fillings, have that Middle-Eastern tang, that is best when eaten hot right out of the oven. Make sure you get there early, they do run out. It's just one or two turns off 95, so if you're heading up, or down, that way (Exit is Griffin Rd. West), stop in. Noor Bakery
4691 Anglers Ave
Ft. Lauderdale
954-986-1944