Fort Lauderdale is next on the list for Peppi's Pizza, the Design District pizzeria that has become one of Miami's most talked-about slices. The shop now lists a Fort Lauderdale location as coming soon at 1930 E. Sunrise Blvd., Suite 9. It will be the brand's first shop in Broward County.

From the Design District to Sunrise Boulevard

Peppi's runs two places in Miami today. The pizzeria sits at 3620 NE 2nd Ave. in the Design District, open Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 10 p.m. A sister counter, Peppi's Steaks & Hoagies, serves cheesesteaks and hoagies inside the Brightline station in downtown Miami. Fort Lauderdale and Kendall are both listed as coming next.

For Broward, that means a short drive instead of a trip down I-95. The East Sunrise Boulevard address puts it within easy reach of Victoria Park, Coral Ridge and the beach neighborhoods east of Federal Highway. Peppi's has not posted Fort Lauderdale hours or an opening day yet, so watch its locations page for the switch from coming soon to open.

The pies

The menu is a love letter to the East Coast pizzeria. The base pies run $25 to $26: a red pie with mozzarella, Parmesan, oregano and basil; a white pie built on roasted garlic and herb cream with ricotta; and an Upside Down pie that layers the cheese under the sauce with shaved garlic. The standout is the Sicilian Tomato Pie ($26), with fire-roasted tomatoes, Parmesan, oregano, basil and what the menu happily calls really good olive oil. Add stracciatella for $7. Toppings on the Upside Down pie, from mushrooms and sausage to roasted long hots, are $3 each, and a classic Stromboli with mozzarella, red sauce and two toppings is $25.

The specialty pies are $27 each: pepperoni with hot honey and ricotta, a Spicy Vodka Pie with the house vodka sauce and nduja, a mushroom and stracciatella pie with truffled cream and arugula, and the Hawaiian Proper, which swaps ham for pancetta and porchetta and adds pickled Fresno peppers to the pineapple.

Cheesesteaks, too

Peppi's leans hard into the Philadelphia side of the Northeast. The cheesesteak ($20) is shaved ribeye with fried onions and your choice of Cooper Sharp or Cheez Whiz. The Italian Roast Pork ($20) brings porchetta, broccoli rabe, sharp provolone and roasted long hots. There is even a Cheesesteak Stromboli ($26) that rolls ribeye, fried onion, Cooper Sharp and mozzarella into one loaf.

Other sandwiches include a chicken cutlet with fresh mozzarella and balsamic, a spicy cutlet with hot soppressata and long hot mayo, and the Old Italian, stacked with Genoa salami, prosciutto, pepperoni, cappy ham and sharp provolone, each at $20.

The rest of the table

Small plates include garlic knots ($11), crispy calamari with hot cherry peppers ($17), mussels with garlic, chili, Pernod and cream ($17), fried mozzarella with vodka sauce ($14) and meatballs with whipped ricotta ($17). The Boardwalk Fries section offers Old Bay fries with Cooper Sharp whiz ($9), Parmesan truffle fries ($11) and loaded fries topped with ribeye and cherry peppers ($14). For a full dinner, there is rigatoni Bolognese ($23) and a chicken Parmesan ($29). Dessert is pistachio and chocolate chip cannoli ($7), a rotating gelato and sorbetto ($7) and an affogato made with La Colombe espresso ($9), and the espresso itself is on the menu for $6. In other words, this is a full sit-down Italian American dinner, not just a slice counter, which is exactly what makes a Broward outpost worth waiting for.

What to do now

Until the Sunrise Boulevard shop opens, the Design District is the place to try it, and the Sicilian tomato pie plus a cheesesteak makes a good first order. When Fort Lauderdale opens, expect the first weeks to be busy. Follow Peppi's on its locations page for the opening date, and plan a weeknight visit if you want to skip the line.