There is something to be said for places that only do one thing, but do them exceptionally well. One place that has gotten its specialty down to a science is Dukagjini Burek (758 Lydig Ave.) in the Bronx, which only serves bureks (named for the Kosovo-born Albanian owner’s homeland). A burek is a a savory phyllo pie stuffed with meat and/or cheese, and is common throughout the Balkans. We have tasted many bureks throughout the years and we always look forward to the new one.
We knew we were in the right place when we saw several cars double parked in front of the bakery with people jumping out quickly to grab a piece of Burek while dodging the traffic cops. This shop is open every day from morning until night, and we actually ended up popping in for a slice for breakfast. Dukagjini is a counter-service bakery that sells bureks whole ($20) or by the piece ($5 – basically a quarter of a gigantic burek). The three varieties are feta, feta and spinach and beef and onion. You can mix and match your choices, and we opted for spinach. The ONLY other option is getting a side of yogurt ($2) or a cup of coffee. We went with spinach.
When we arrived, the shop was manned by two women, cutting pieces of burek to order amidst a sea of pizza boxes. There are a few tables to enjoy your burek, but most, including us, would prefer to take theirs to go. When home, we promptly tucked into our burek. The filling was light and flaky, and the spinach and feta filling was deliciously savory and salty, but not greasy at all. We have had many renditions of burek over the years and this is one of the best we have ever sampled!
Eating The World 