Welcome back to the 100 Delightful Things in Worcester Project, 2017 #RHPFF edition \o/ This year the lovely Rabbit Heart Poetry Film Festival interns, Sarah Meigs & Alli Jutras* are taking the reins & bringing us the good stuff. This week we all got together in the office kitchen and made chips with pita from Worcester favorite, George’s Bakery.
xoxox,
Apple

Among the mini marts, apartments, and coffee shops located on Grafton Street lies a white and red adorned building exhibiting the name of one of Worcester’s most beloved spots: George’s Bakery. The establishment has been around for 65 years and has been a Worcester favorite for many residents. The bakery has flourished under the ownership of two different Georges since its opening. The store was named after its original owner George, who unfortunately passed away last year. The ownership was then passed down to another George (unrelated to the original one), contributing to the tradition of George owners.

George freshly bakes his bread every morning, one of the reasons why it always tastes so fresh and delicious. He arrives at his store around 1 AM and stays until 6 AM. His days are spent sleeping and preparing for his busy early morning routine.

The store has a super friendly environment, with Mediterranean food lining the walls, and cheese, pies, dips, meats, and bread freshly stocked behind the counter and stacked on the shelves. You can tell that the quality of the food is spot on, and that when you buy anything at George’s it contributes to maintaining the success of the business and its products. The employees are always chatty and kind, always putting customers in a good mood and bringing a smile to their faces. In bold letters on the menu, it even states: “In the place of good food… we shine!” And that it does.

Rabbit Heart is a huge fan of George’s products, hence our recipe** and enthusiasm for the business. We love Worcester businesses that make our city a happy place, and George’s is definitely a contributing place. After stating on Instagram that George’s has the, “best pita bread ever,” a Rabbit Heart follower enthusiastically agreed in the comments.

Let us know if you try out our pita chips recipe, and visit 308 Grafton Street to purchase the famous pita bread and other treats. George’s hours are 5 AM-7:30 PM. And if you go early enough, maybe you’ll even catch a glimpse of George.
~Sarah

*#TeamSalli FTW! Thank you Clark LEEP Program!

** Homemade Pita Chips
Notes: none of the quantities on this are really exact – actually, there are no quantities specified at all. You’ll have to eyeball it, depending on how many pita loaves you use and what kind of seasoning you choose. Also! Watch over the chips in the oven the first few times you make this – we found out our oven has some hot spots and fluctuations in temp, and that it isn’t always clear if our chips need 4 minutes or 5. Also also! If the pita is a little stale, it’s still good for chips =)

You’ll need:
– Loaves of George’s pita bread – we love George’s because they’re thinner than most other brands, and make for a delightfully crisp chip. Also, they’re sugar free! Three bags of the small loaves gave us about two bags of chips (#thrifty!)
– Your favorite olive oil
– Seasoning – we used Old Bay (YUM!) and sesame seeds for the video, but in other batches we’ve also used: garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika and, for a sweeter chip, cinnamon and a light sprinkle of sugar. Also lovely: just a sprinkling of sea salt and a few grinds of black pepper. And we’re about to enter pumpkin spice season, too – I bet you could go that direction with some pie spice and a touch of brown sugar (#goals)!
– A big bowl
– Kitchen shears (or, you know, a pair of kitchen-clean Fiskars ~.o)
– A cookie sheet
– Foil (you don’t have to cover the cookie sheet, but it certainly cuts down on cleanup)
– A cooling rack on top of a towel

1. Preheat the oven to 400° with your rack in the middle position. Dress your cookie sheet in foil to get it ready. Set out your cooling rack on a kitchen towel (so that you don’t end up with stray sesame seeds all over your counter – those suckers bounce, y’all).
2. Split the pita loaves into halves by tearing along the crease. Cut them into triangles into the bowl.
3. Once the pita has all been cut and you have a big pile of triangular goodness, scoot them edge up, and drizzle in some oil. It shouldn’t be super  greasy, but you do want all the chips to get oiled so your seasoning sticks. Mix it up! PRO TIP: If you’re doing a big big batch, it might help to dump the contents of the bowl onto your cookie sheet for this part, and then, once it’s all mixed up, put it back in the bowl.
4. Spread some of the greased pita triangles out on the cookie sheet in a single layer. Season them the way you like =)
5. Bake in the oven for ~5 minutes (see notes above) until they’re golden brown. Remove from oven, and transfer chips to cooling rack
6. Repeat steps 4-5 until you’ve baked all your chips. Once cool, they can be stored in a zip bag, or even right back in the pita bag. If they’re protected from humidity, they’re good for 4-5 days.
Enjoy by themselves or with your favorite dip (spinach dip is amazing with these, as is cream cheese. Cottage cheese is pretty great too. Or tuna salad, even).
~Apple