It’s June and love is in the air. Well, at Rudino’s last Monday night there was! A friend of ours got engaged and the groom-to-be surprised his new fiancee by throwing a surprise engagement party following the proposal. A bunch of friends met up at Rudino’s Rooftop Bar to congratulate the happy couple. What seemed like an unlikely meet-up location for such an event turned into a convenient – and fun – spot to celebrate.
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!
We’re on a quest to find some great-tasting NY Pizza. You know the kind: the slices are so big that you have to fold it in half, all the grease runs down your hand to your wrist, the cheese is ooey gooey on top of a great red sauce on that oh-so-thin crust. Mmmm makes me hungry just thinking about it.
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!!
Mmm, want a slice of hot, gooey cheesy pizza? Yes please!
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.