Pretty Special: Pizza by Elizabeths

One beautiful Saturday, sometime ago, the dude and I went on a lunch date at a fancy pizzeria in Greenville, followed by a lovely stroll in the park. Pizza by Elizabeths is a pizza place co-owned by two Elizabeths (creative no?). They keep that theme going by naming their pizzas after famous Elizabeths of all time and decorating their walls with framed black and white photos of Elizabeths we know and love. This was my second time dining here and knowing they had outdoor seating, I wanted to take advantage of the gorgeous sunny weather by eating outside. Well, it didn't go as planned because I forgot there was a ceiling that covered any amount of sunshine there was that day. It was still a very serene atmosphere with a fountain, strings of white outdoor lights decorating the fake trees (at least I think they're fake), but we couldn't eat pizza in the dark.

 Pretty, but too romantic for afternoon pizza

So we ate inside, which is fine too because it's quite pretty inside. The decor was glamour meets vintage and made me feel feminine and happy, so I can look past their overpriced food. They have a rather swanky bar for those who just want to enjoy a nice cocktail. Actually one of the things that struck me the first time I ate here was their beautiful bathrooms! Next time, I will bring a camera in with me just to show people and prove I'm not crazy for saying, "I felt like a princess in there! It's like my dream bathroom." Each stall had a picture of an Elizabeth hanging above the toilet, mine was Shannon Elizabeth. Now I wonder if they do the same for the men's room. The dude refused to check it out since he didn't have to go, but I should have fed him more liquids so he could tell me if he had to pee in front of a beautiful Elizabeth. Next time...

Spinach & Artichoke Dip ($14): Dare I say it's better than Homegrown's?

Philly RW 2010: Estia was my first!

Continuing from the last post about Philly's Restaurant Week, here's my first RW dining experience!

 Estia's the one that started it all

You know what they say... You always remember your first! Honestly, this has to be my favorite out of all the restaurants I've been to during Restaurant Week in Philly. If you love Greek food or are in the mood for something new and different from the usual, I highly recommend Estia! I loved the beautiful decor, romantic lighting, candles & music, and awesome service. They even busted out the crumb scrapers and that's when you know it's legit! Everything about that evening was memorable. It's a great place to impress a date, celebrate a birthday, or just wine & dine with good friends! They have big booths in the back for special occasions and various table sizes to accommodate your party size. I believe you can also book the whole banquet room downstairs, which my friends and I got to see when we went to the bathroom (located downstairs). Before we left, a server (that was preparing to go home after a long shift) saw us taking pictures (my idea, of course) and gladly helped us with our photoshoot session! If you appreciate wonderful decor like I do and decide to check out Estia, don't forget to go downstairs (where the bathrooms are), because it's just lovely.  

Okay onto what you came here for: GREEK FOOD! To start, we got our first courses, Spread Pikilia, two plates of Octupus & Calamari, and a Greek salad. All the appetizers were delicious. Z's three spreads tomato, greek yogurt, mushroom (or eggplant), and pita bread was everyone's favorite. She was nice enough to share with all of us too. This is a great starter to get if you're dining with 2-3 people. Enchante and I both ordered the chargrilled octopus and stuffed calamari, and let me just say, most well cooked octopus I've ever had!  It was sliced so thin and was so crispy, I didn't even know I was eating octopus. We made Z, who does not eat any type of seafood, try it and she actually liked it too! Did it make her cross over to the fishy side? No, but at least she can say, "I don't like the taste of seafood, but I liked Estia's octopus!" On the other side of the plate was grilled calamari that was stuffed with Greek cheese. It was tasty, but didn't live up to its big brother, the Octopodi. I wonder if that's why the RW menu this year only offers the Octopodi... 

Spread Pikilia: tzatziki, htipiti, melitzano

(AMAZING! Everyone's favorite)

Octopodi & Stuffed Calamari

(New found love for chargrilled octopus because of Estia)