Pizza. You don’t usually associate Raleigh as being the pizza place. Well, Raleigh might not have great pizza – but as long as Lilly’s is in the city – we’ll have good pizza. When so many people recommend a place, I go with reservation. I hope it is going to be as good as everyone says, but have been let down in life with food choices of others, so I try to keep an open mind.
I was not disappointed. I went with a bunch of girlfriends on Memorial Day night. It is trendy, culture, eclectic place. Not Italian by any means. But, I loved the atmosphere. It was raining so we couldn’t sit outside, and I am wondering still if their a/c was broken because it was very warm in there. We arrived at 530 which was perfect because we were able to order our pizza and only had about a 10 minute wait in getting them. After 6, the wait is more like an hour if crowded. Note to consumer: go early!
It was hard making a choice, but room and I split one slice of their Big Star pizza: Homemade pesto, mozzarella, parmesan, gorgonzola, fontina, roasted red peppers & pistachios. Who would have thought pistachios on a pizza would be delicious. So so good. Also, I got their house salad: the croutons were made of pizza dough – how good is that. That’s a winner. Roasted pear vinaigrette – I was in heaven with that stuff. A dressing that I need to drink. That good. I tasted my friends stuffed mushrooms. Best I’ve had. Not too salty, so pretty to look at, and with pesto – can you go wrong? Roasted mushrooms filled with monterey jack, pesto, grilled shrimp and bacon. Topped with fresh basil!
So – note to self: split a slice, get a salad. Cheap and filling and delicious (if you can choose just one slice). Get there before 6pm. Enjoy yourself.
