Anyway, I made my boyfriend take me we finally decided to go the other day. It was hot outside so we weren’t able to sit out on the small patio area available. There were a few umbrellas but they were already in use. I sat down for a few minutes but the glaring sun was too hot so we went inside.

Lilly’s is a funky and retro cafe. I liked that they had posters up for local concerts and seem supportive of local starving artists (musically and otherwise).

Price wise, Lilly’s is up there with most non-chain pizza pie restaurants. A two-topping large (cheese plus your fave) will set you back about $15 while a large specialty pizza will cost a bit more, ranging from $19-23 depending. Lilly’s also offers a gluten-free alternative and several vegetarian options.

We each ordered a medium create-your-own. I was tempted with a variety of toppings (they have a LOT of toppings!) but realized once I created my Pièce de résistance with about 5 unique toppings I would have had to chuck out about $20 for a small pizza. I settled on extra cheese.

It didn’t take too long to make the pizza, but the wait for me was quite painful. The smoky atmosphere from the kitchen burned my eyes and my nose. If I didn’t know the smoke was from the food cooking I may have got on all fours to crawl out. By the time we left the restaurant, my hair and clothes smelled of burnt something.

The pizza was okay: it had a thicker crust than I was expecting. I had spent two years listening to two of my friends rave about how amazing Lilly’s pizza was and I have to tell you: it was a big let-down for me.  The top portion of the dough was pretty doughy tasting and appeared much more undercooked than my boyfriend’s was. The sauce was unremarkable and so was the cheese.

In all, I wouldn’t make the trip here for mediocre pizza. I have to tell you that I would be willing to give Lilly’s another try just in case it was an off day in the kitchen. However, I really didn’t care for the crust style, and I definitely didn’t enjoy the way-too-smoky atmosphere. I may have a more sensitive nose than others but the smoky atmosphere alone keeps me from returning. The restaurant would do well to invest in some sort of ventilation system!

Otherwise, everything here was organic or homemade, a welcome change to the prepackaged, ready-made or frozen ingredients other pizza joints might use. For me, the time and effort and cost wasn’t worth the trip or the food.

Our only other complaint was that there was no soap by the sink. The sink that is located outside the restrooms for everyone to use. That was quite a put-off when you start wondering how staff and other patrons wash their hands… Ew.

We arrived around 7:15 and the place was busier than I thought they would be. We have driven past the plaza a few times and it usually seems pretty empty, but that night we had to drive around a few times to find a parking spot.

Lafayette Village is really a unique place with several shops and restaurants. There’s a fountain in one of the courtyard areas and the way the building is designed, you really feel like you are in a European village.

We walked over to Paparazzi and were greeted by two hostesses. You could smell the woodfire grill cooking up something delicious and I couldn’t wait to see the menu. We didn’t have a reservation but were seated in less than five minutes (which is a bit of a miracle for a Friday night).

Our server arrived and launched into his welcome, handing us the menu and detailing the specials. I had to ask him a few times to repeat a few items he mentioned since he said the dish names with a bit of an accent and I had no clue what he was talking about.

He asked if we’d like a drink and I deferred to my date: “Hmmm, I don’t know. Are you going to get something?” He said he was fine and would start off with water and looked back to me for what my final choice was but the server muttered a “very well” and went off. I supposed I’d be getting a water as well, unless he could read my mind and was going to bring me the amaretto and cola drink I was craving (he didn’t).

I tried to find something familiar on the menu but didn’t have much luck. A lot of the items sounded good but had ingredients that I were unsure of. I hate to eat something if I don’t know that I’ll enjoy it, especially at a restaurant where I have to pay for something I end up not liking. I didn’t want seafood, pizza or steak and was hoping for a cheese-stuffed pasta. Fortunately one of the specials of the day was a 4 or 5 cheese ravioli so I decided on that and my date picked a chicken Parmesan dish.

Our server returned to take our order. I thought it was weird that he asked my date what he wanted first (I’ve almost ALWAYS been asked first what I want, and when I worked as a server, I also asked the female first out of courtesy.) and that he didn’t have eye contact with me when I placed my order. Whatever, I figure he’s just busy. Unfortunately he came off as pretentious.

We were so hungry and were hoping for some bread (other tables had a tin of what appeared to be bread, but it was a few minutes til we got one. It contained 3 slices of cold Italian style sliced bread, no butter). We also hoped there would be a salad with our meal but there wasn’t.

We devoured our bread and weren’t given a refill which was disappointing. Maybe they wanted to keep us waiting for our meals so we’d eat everything? Our meals finally did arrive and looked delicious. My sauce was wonderful – I think it was a vodka sauce. The ravioli were a little too al dente for my taste; had they been any more so I would not have been able to eat them. The cheese inside was heavenly though!

My date enjoyed his chicken and pasta. I took a taste but didn’t care for the sauce that was used. It was a red sauce with red pepper which isn’t something I was used to. If you enjoy that sort of sauce, you’d really enjoy this dish.

In all, eating at Paparazzi was a bit of a fizzle for us. Their slogan is “Where every guest is treated like a star.” Unfortunately, I felt more like the hired help. We had to wait for refills on our water, never got more bread and didn’t hear from our server sans order taking and delivery.

The atmosphere is really neat when you walk in, but the two-top tables are so large, you can’t hold an intimate conversation since you are so far away from each other. You have to speak loudly over the noise of other diners and it is likely those seated next to you would be privy to your conversation.

Another thing we did not like is the server and management staff standing against the wall behind our table. One set of managers (shirts, ties) appeared to be discussing business while the server just chilled out and kept an eye on the dining room. I felt like we had to hurry and eat so we’d be out of their way. I didn’t feel like I could relax at all. One server was filling the water glass at the table next to us and went too close to the top of the glass with the water level. Our server stood behind the patron making the “stop” motion (she didn’t see him because she was looking at the glass). The water didn’t spill but he took the glass away and brought a new one out filled within about a half-inch of the top.

This restaurant is a bit of a paradox to me: you’re supposed to be treated like a star and waited on hand and foot, but you gotta wait for a refill of water and don’t get seconds on bread – if you do I’m wondering if I have to ask for them? If not, please take away the empty bread dish. I’d really have liked a salad, too. If your management and staff are going to hang out in a casual manner and discuss business so close to your patrons, then make your restaurant more casual, not a presumptuous/stuffy/high class/laid back sort of place. I felt really confused by the whole experience.

Having said all that, I’d say the place warrants another trip in the future. This time I’ll bring my own bread to snack on while we wait, though.

Speaking of hitting the spot… we’ve been on the hunt for some really good pizza here in Raleigh. We still love Rudino’s for some good pizza, but when it comes to really good New York style pizza, we think we may have found the perfect place for us. It hits the spot every.single.time.

A few weeks ago while shopping at Triangle Town Center, we decided we were too lazy to go home and cook we wanted to eat out for dinner and thought we’d try Dominic’s NY Pizzaria. It smelled good outside and we hoped that was a sign of good things to come!

Like most NY Pizza places, they had some ready-to-heat-up slices in a front display case. I chose the garlic, spinach and cheese while two kids picked up regular cheese slices and my main squeeze ordered a Stromboli. I asked for a  side of marinara for dipping my pizza crust in since the pizza I ordered didn’t have red sauce on it. The guy behind the counter who took our order was super friendly and really nice.

We sat down in the nice eating area complete with NY style decor. We were able to watch one of the pizza makers hand-toss the pizza dough which was fun in and of itself. By the time our order arrived, we were practically drooling from the aromas of pizza dough, tomato sauce and garlic. We dived in to our pizza fest and washed it down with some cold bubbly soda.

Oh my have mercy the pizza was *so good* – really really really good! They have practically perfected the New York Style pizza flavor in their pizza sauce. The marinara sauce was chunky but not thick and was delicious. Everyone raved about their giant pizza slices (one slice was enough to fill up each kid. I ate about a slice and a quarter and was stuffed). My cute boyfriend tried to eat up all of his Stromboli but was also stuffed. We got a few to go boxes so we could have the leftovers for lunch (or breakfast!) the next day.

We’ve had the veggie pizza and cheese pizza twice since and still find ourselves craving Dominic’s pizza. If you want to give them a try, they are located at 5911 Poyner Village Parkway across from Old Navy in the Triangle Town Center Target plaza area. They have a limited delivery area and take online orders as well.

Check out their website here:  Dominic’s Pizza and then go have some yummy lunch or dinner as soon as you can.

The bar staff was quick to keep drinks coming to all the patrons of the evening – including mixed drinks and cocktails as well as pitchers of beer (don’t forget the congratulatory shots!) and the full menu was available for those of us who were hungry for more than the cake provided at the party.

The bartender was great and served up specialty drinks quickly. One round of drinks was one some of us never heard of (an Aunt Jemima – it smelled like blueberry syrup) and he took the time to explain the ingredients and made several drinks for the curious who wanted a taste.

The food was served up fast and hot and delicious as usual. We tried out one of their grinders and wow was it delicious, not to mention HUGE.

Rudino’s Rooftop Bar is a great place to hang out with friends or a date. You can dine/drink inside or out. Watch a game on one of the televisions or catch some live music depending on their schedule of events. Oh, and if you had your first date at Rudino’s and find yourself proposing two years later, an impromptu surprise with all your friends and family at the same spot is the perfect way to end your special and unforgettable day!

Several of our Twitter followers suggested Fuhgeddaboudit Pizza, located at 7321 Six Forks Road in the Celebration Station Shopping Plaza. We pulled in to the parking lot at about 6:00 and were surprised that the restaurant wasn’t packed at dinner time. We decided to eat in while many other patrons showed up for carry-out.

The decor of the restaurant is a treat in itself. If you’ve ever been to the Big Apple then you’d likely feel at home as pictures of old NYC adorn the walls as well as two subway doors and street signs. Oh, and graffiti.

You walk up to a glass case to select the pizza you’d like. First we opted for plain old cheese pizza and pepperoni pizza. That’s when I noticed the garlic poppers: little dough balls with a buttery garlic topping on them. I’m a huge garlic fan so I ordered that as well.

There were four people in our party, and of the 5 slices ordered, 4 drinks and 4 poppers, my total was a little more than $16 which I thought was pretty reasonable. I was a little worried about how long the pizza had been sitting out on display, but it didn’t look old so I figured I’d be okay.

We sat down at the table and were quickly served our pizza. Sure enough, you could see the grease forming at the top and the crust was super thin. I was excited to give it a shot!!!

What Fuhgeddaboudit boasts in atmosphere, menu selection and great pricing, it lacks in taste. Don’t get me wrong, the pizza was very good; it just didn’t have the flavor that I was looking for. Having said that, it ranks better than the other NY style pizzerias that I’ve tried in the past.

The garlic poppers though. WOW. Served with a robust and chunky marinara sauce, these little treats were a yum-fest in my mouth. I could probably eat a whole pile of them without thinking twice.

My one slice of pizza and 2 poppers ended up not satisfying my hunger, so I decided to try the pesto pizza. I found the herb they used to be overwhelming in little piles on the pizza while the rest was pretty tasteless. I ended up eating only two bites and threw the rest away.

The staff at the restaurant were very friendly but a little slow-to-get-to-it. I think one gal was training her co-worker, so that’s understandable. Our biggest “complaint” would be the soda fountain running out of syrup and we had to wait a good 20 minutes until they refilled it after we let them know.

I’ll probably give Fuhgeddaboudit another chance some other time to try out the rest of their menu, but this customer left feeling a little let-down last night in the flavor department.

So don’t write this place off yet, give it a try for yourself and let us know what you think!!

When it comes to hit-or-miss food experiences, Saturday night was a miss! We called ahead and ordered a calzone with pepperoni and sausage. The wait time was about 25 minutes so we hung out at the house for a bit before meandering over to the restaurant.

Stromboli’s was hopping with customers, both dine-in and carry-out. We had to wait an extra 15 minutes to get our food, but we didn’t get bent out of shape since there was a large group eating-in that night. We figured our food would be fresh and hot when we got home either way.

When we got home, we served up the calzone. We were disappointed because our food wasn’t very hot at all but barely warm. When we cut the calzone in two, we were again disappointed to see the layers of cheese, pepperoni and sausage were all in one spot of the calzone, leaving about 3/4 of it nothing but the dough.  We tried to cut open the calzone to make more of a pocket so we could redistribute the meat, but it didn’t work too well.

While the food tasted okay, it wasn’t the best dining experience we’ve ever had. You want your food to be hot and ready to eat, not warm and still needing assembly.

This trip wasn’t the best, but we’ll still give Stromboli’s another shot since we have had better times in the past.

We love to eat pizza in my family. It’s a great quick meal on those busy nights when you don’t have time to cook or if you’ve had  a long week and just want to relax during the evening and not have to cook and clean up.

The other night we decided we wanted pizza for dinner and decided to try Rudino’s. I’ve been to Rudino’s before: they have a fun rooftop bar, but I hadn’t had their pizza before. I called ahead to have the pizza ready for pick-up. By the time I got there, my extra cheese and pepperoni pizza was piping hot and ready.

I was surprised at the cost: a large 16″ pizza with two toppings cost about$5 less than I’ve paid at other similar pizza restaurants. Rudino’s pizza crust -which their website says is made fresh daily- is delicious. There’s plenty to go around for two adults and two kids, with leftovers to boot.

As of right now, I think it’s my favorite pizza in town!

Check out their website to check out their menu or to find a location near you.