You know what my most frequently asked question is? Food. Restaurants. "Where should I take this girl on a date?" "My parents are in town; where should we go to dinner?" "It's my friend's birthday; where do you recommend?" Yep. I LOVE answering this question, and I knew I needed to create some resources to help more of you! So here is the first in my series of Dallas restaurant guides. You're welcome. I'm telling you where to go, what to order, and why...and I'm sharing tons of photos while I do it. Pet peeve: restaurant guides with no photos OR with other people's photos! SO I hope this is helpful for you, and I can't wait to see you out and about at my fave pizza spots in Dallas!
These three spots are my top three. Pizza, dessert, ambiance, all things considered...my top three. These aren't in any particular order, and they're my fave for different reasons, which I'll explain below.
Best Date Spot
Eno's Pizza Tavern
If you haven't been to Eno's, what have you been doing?! The Bishops Arts District has changed so much in the years that I've lived in Dallas, and Eno's has always been a staple! You HAVE to order the Pig Smiley pizza: local honey, Benton's ham, Eno's sausage, pepperoni. Honey on pizza? Yes, and you're going to love it. At pizza places, you definitely have to prioritize and pizza always beats salad in the battle for space in my stomach, but if you want a balanced aerial table photo like I do, then I recommend the Greekish Salad or the Spinach and Things, both pictured below.
If pizza is a cheat meal for you, then go big or go home and get the Bruschetta as an app. Why wouldn't you need more bread?? Worth it.
I wasn't on a date, but I did bring my gal pal Molly to Eno's for her very first visit and it was a magical afternoon! She was thrilled and I felt like I had done my good deed for the day by sharing the joy of Eno's with someone. Of course, the beauty of sitting out front at Eno's is being able to people watch, and at night, being able to enjoy the twinkly lights that line the streets in Bishop Arts. Perfect date vibes...or you can go alone and not have to share any of your pizza. Just a thought!
Don't miss drinks and dessert while you're there. ESPECIALLY if it's a date. I have a story about that, but I'll have to save it for a different time. Our server was explaining the dessert options to us and was saying "chocolate bag" and I was like well, we have to try that just because I don't understand what it is. It was literally a chocolate bag filled with fruit and vanilla ice cream, and it went nicely with the brownie sundae and salted caramel ice cream that we also ordered. I do recommend ordering them together because brownie to ice cream ratio is a delicate balance so it was nice to have a bag full of ice cream as backup.
best casual din
cane rosso
Up next, let's start with pronunciation. It's not "kayne"... it's "kah-nay." Does that help? Hope so. Either way you say it, just get there because it is legit. My favorite location is in Deep Ellum, but if that's not your scene, you're in luck because they also have locations near White Rock Lake, in Carrollton, and in Fort Worth.
My favorite thing about Cane Rosso is their "off menu" selection. In fact, you don't even need a menu. Just order the "Honey Bastard." That's all you need to know. I once went to a friend's birthday party at Cane Rosso with about 20 guests....every.single.person ordered/shared the Honey Bastard. So there's that. Housemade mozzarella, hot soppressata, bacon marmalade, habanero honey. Again with the honey on the pizza. (shrug)
Of course, if there's Burrata on the menu, I'm in. So definitely order the Burrata to start, along with the Capra 2.0 salad. Eat your greens, duh. I figured since I was supposed to be trying everything, I would branch out and try a "white" pizza, so we also ordered the Delia because "bacon marmalade" is a thing and it was calling to me; I wasn't disappointed and also enjoyed it for breakfast the next morning.
The secret to eating at Cane Rosso is to go with a group, hence being the best for "casual din." BECAUSE you have to save room for dessert and most people get scared when it comes time to order a dessert pizza. If it's a date or only 2 people, they might pull the "I'm full" card (not me, of course), but if you're with a group, you'll most likely have someone in the crew who will take charge and say YES to dessert (bless them). In which case, you can either order the Ladybird pizza or the off-menu "Ghetto Bird," shown below; it's the Ladybird with the addition of toasted marshmallows, so obvi that's an upgrade. You'll thank me later.
best Newcomer
Pizzeria Testa
Moving right along! You may have seen Pizzeria Testa on Lower Greenville recently- it moved in across from the Granada and is fairly new to Dallas, but they've been successfully operating their Frisco location for 7 years!
Pizzeria Testa is fantastic for groups! You heard me. Groups. I'll just leave that right there. I was excited to try a new spot and loved learning a little bit about the background of the owners, how they sourced and built the pizza ovens from Naples, Italy, and how some of their pizzas have less cals than a Chipote bowl! (Stop it! I know!) Pizzeria Testa features an open kitchen a dedicated "dough room," and of course, outdoor dining patio space, which is a must on Greenville!
Everything we had here was GOOD! When trying a new pizza place, I always go for the classic margherita pizza as a measuring stick, so of course we started there. I love that they have red and white base pizzas, so you also have to try the Primavera- fior di latte, prosciutto crudo, arugula, parmigiano, grape tomatoes, EVOO. I'm also going to recommend that you order a salad here because #balance; the Pancetta salad and the Kale Salad were both delish! I'm not normally a kale girl, but the lemon vinaigrette was amazing, and then you can tell people that you had kale for lunch. Just do it.
Be sure to try the Italian Sangria that is made fresh in-house daily! I'm not normally a fan, but I'll be back soon for more. AND you have to order the Tiramisu. They sell out of their specialty dessert so often at their original Frisco location that they actually don't allow employees to purchase it. It's that good. Sorry boutcha, fam. Turns out, since the Dallas location is still new, the Frisco employees drive down to Greenville to purchase Tiramisu on days off. Trust me when I tell you that you have to order it.
