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The Perfect Pita, a Local Lebanese Chain Franchised by Attila Kan - Central Kitchen and Bakery is in Springfield


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Although this will end up in the 'lovable quirk' known as Multiple Locations, where all geographical reference is lost, it merits a mention.

I stumbled across the Perfect Pita mother lode on Fullerton Rd., which is walking distance from my home. I didn't realize it was anything other than a Perfect Pita lunch counter to feed the droves of workers in the industrial parks that surround it, but I went in today on a tip from a cashier at Giant who noticed I was buying tabouli and mentioned that Attila's had very good tabouli.

She was right. Attila's is the parent business, and Perfect Pita is its 15-shop chain in the DC area. But....the one on Fullerton Rd. is its central kitchen and bakery, so it has fresher bread and more cooks in the kitchen to pump out the goodies. I took a sampling of pita bread, tabouli, hummus and white bean salad, and I can declare it to be worth lots of return visits.

What I liked most was its uniqueness. They clearly have their own cherished recipes, so the tastes are very different and very good. The tabouli led with tomatoes instead of parsley, and the hummus led with tahini -- the sesame paste -- instead of chick pea puree. The white bean salad wasn't bad, but the tabouli and the hummus are addictive.

Except for these various dips and the bread, you almost wouldn't know it has any other Mediterranean food. The bread leads the sandwich lineup, and there is a gyro and a filafel and almost nothing else from the eastern Mediterranean. Oh well....that bread is good enough to eat by itself, and that hummus is really delicious.

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Twice this past week, the Perfect Pita sandwich place in Courthouse, Arlington was referenced to me; once by Arlington cops, and then the other day by folks I know who eat through this little neck of the woods.  They both described it as one of the best places to get sandwiches.  Had my first today;  a chicken pita.  Quite good.  I loved the pita bread and the crunchy cukes in the sandwich.

They have a variety of hummus with different flavors.  I'm a big fan of hummus in general, though I don't make it anymore, and frankly I never mastered it.  I enjoy cava and enjoy sabra.  Looking forward to working through perfect pita's variations.

On the takeout sandwich side, my first experience was a big winner on food quality, pita, and price.  I'll be back.

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At the heart of these places is the bread, baked fresh daily from the Fullerton location. I usually order the wheat pita, with ham, eggs and cheese for breakfast, or the ham and cheese for lunch. These are some of our areas best quick sandwiches, in my opinion, and I'll never hesitate if Perfect Pita is an option for a quick meal.

While pita bread is at the heart of this place, it is not a Middle Eastern restaurant per se. Some dips or some salads give it a hint of the Middle East, but this is a decidedly sandwich-y kind of restaurant.

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At the heart of these places is the bread, baked fresh daily from the Fullerton location. I usually order the wheat pita, with ham, eggs and cheese for breakfast, or the ham and cheese for lunch. These are some of our areas best quick sandwiches, in my opinion, and I'll never hesitate if Perfect Pita is an option for a quick meal.

While pita bread is at the heart of this place, it is not a Middle Eastern restaurant per se. Some dips or some salads give it a hint of the Middle East, but this is a decidedly sandwich-y kind of restaurant.

The pita they delivered to Arlington/Courthouse that day was very very good.  I'll be going back.  It was my first visit.  I've a hankering to try the different hummus variations as I already gobble up a good bit of sabra and cava, alternating between them.

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They are absolutely a good option for lunch. I haven't worked in Reston for a year, but I used to hit that location about once a month. BTW, most of their sandwiches are quite large. Half of one of their pita sandwiches would be enough for a smallish person such as myself.The spinach melt with chicken was my favorite, because it tasted good and it was much smaller than the others I'd sampled.

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I used to work in the Bailey's Crossroads area and this was a great lunch option. I haven't been in years so I'm not sure if the quality is the same, but I always used to shake my head at the people who were waiting in line next door at Subway. I miss it since I switched jobs.

I remember my favored options were the spinach melt and chicken and the turkey hummus veggie, and the breakfast sandwiches weren't bad either.

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Stopped by Perfect Pita Courthouse today and noticed two new elements.  They have different daily sandwiches on special each day and they had a sign about a 4% surcharge to cover CC processing fees.  In fact before I noticed the sign the cashier asked cash or credit card.   The written explanation blamed rising cash processing fees as the reason.

Not surprising:  payment fees are going up and the variety and volume of newer non traditional payment methods are increasing.

Back to Perfect Pita:   It remains my favorite hummus in the region—still better than my own.  I picked up a squeeze bottle of standard hummus and I’m going to try and discern the spicing that helps make it so great 

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On 12/20/2018 at 1:53 PM, DaveO said:

Stopped by Perfect Pita Courthouse today and noticed two new elements.  They have different daily sandwiches on special each day and they had a sign about a 4% surcharge to cover CC processing fees.  In fact before I noticed the sign the cashier asked cash or credit card.   The written explanation blamed rising cash processing fees as the reason.

An update on the notification on credit card fees or cash.   The current sign (noticed in 2 different PP retail locations) now states that there is a 4% discount if you pay with cash.   (I have no idea if they changed pricing in the last 3 weeks or not).

From the business side it doesn't surprise me.  The plethora of newer payment methods charge more than the traditional CC fees.   Processing fees are going up.

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I'm of the opinion that of all local store/supermarket hummos (es)  (i???)   (plural of hummos)  the "best" or certainly my favorite is Perfect Pita.  The basic includes a trace or more of jalapeno giving it a snappy flavor.  Now I have been eating/trying various store purchased hummos for quite a time and NOTHING comes close to the standard at Perfect Pita.

There are pita restaurants with comparable, equally good hummos.  There are thicker versions, other flavors etc.  But on a store bought basis nothing else comes close in my opinion.

After months of working on my own hummos I got sick of falling a significant level beneath that of Perfect Pita.   Okay....respite over and I'll be back to it shortly....but PP got it right with its standard version of hummos.

 

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