The Middle East Best Food

"Blink and you might miss this tiny Levantine market and deli while chugging along Coral Way. If you do, let your GPS recalculate and circle back to what’s about to become your new favorite lunch spot. Middle East Best Foods makes one of the tastiest shawarma wraps in Miami. It comes on their own homemade pita with a shower of zaatar that feels more like an August thunderstorm (i.e. very generous). Also make sure to grab a spinach pie, which has soft, fluffy dough encasing a lemony spinach and onion filling. This is a tiny store, and every millimeter of space is packed with food or something to cook food with, so it’s mostly a takeout operation. But there are two tiny tables near the front where you can eat and read all the old newspaper clippings from the owner’s past life as an acclaimed chef in the Middle East." - carlos c olaechea, ryan pfeffer

"Middle East Best Food might sound like Google keywords, but they will also lead you to this tiny market on Coral Way. The Palestinian shop is run by a single man who makes a chicken shawarma wrap covered in a seasoning called “parsley chicken shawarma” that’s available for purchase and should be spread on all your future chickens. There are only two tables, so it's better for takeout and some grocery shopping while you wait for your food. Browse through Palestinian canned pickles, dry herbs, or that shiny hookah you secretly always wanted. But if you come on a day when it’s empty, you should sit, have lunch, and listen to the owner’s life story for an hour. While you’re there, order all five flavors of his housemade baklava lady fingers (our favorite is cashew nut)." - mariana trabanino, ryan pfeffer

"The Middle East Best Food might sound like Google keywords, but they will also lead you to this tiny market on Coral Way. The Palestinian shop is run by a single man who makes a chicken shawarma wrap covered in a seasoning called “parsley chicken shawarma” that’s available in store and should be spread on all your future chickens. There are only two tables for dining in, so this place is better for takeout and some grocery shopping while you wait for your food. Browse through Palestinian canned pickles, dry herbs, or that shiny hookah you secretly always wanted. But if you come on a day when it’s empty, you should sit, have lunch, and listen to the owner’s life story for an hour. While you’re there, order all five flavors of his housemade baklava lady fingers (our favorite is cashew nut)." - Mariana Trabanino

"The Middle East Best Food has been warming Coral Way since 1989. It is small shop selling spices and other staples where owner Ali Aziz’s also showcases his Palestinian heritage through nutty pastries and colorful cuisine. He’s present daily, greeting visitors with a well-priced rotating menu of mezze, sandwiches, pies, and a variety of baklava." - Juliana Accioly