by Sameerah Brown

Growing up as a kid, I remember how excited I used to get when my parents would announce that we were having pizza for dinner. Pizza night was always the best night. This month’s recommendation came from Jim Drewry of Franklin. He emailed me to rave about Fellini’s in Norfolk and how fantastic the food was, especially the pizza, and I wouldn’t be disappointed.

Michael Cavish Jr. opened the doors to Fellini’s in 1988. In 1998, Michael was murdered, and his family came together to find a way to keep the restaurant and his vision alive. The restaurant is run by his sister, Donna McCullough, along with Brett and Elizabeth Kloc. Fellini’s is an Italian-themed restaurant; their menu consists of salad, sandwiches, gourmet burgers, pizza and, of course, pasta. I had been to Fellini’s a few times before and tried their pasta dishes, and I was very pleased. But this time around I wanted to focus on their pizzas, especially since I hadn’t tried them.

Fellini’s offers a great atmosphere that is very family friendly. This month I decided to take my girls Sierra, 12, and Ivanna, 10, out for a pizza date night. We went on a Wednesday, which is their live jazz night with Wayne James.

Of course they wanted to order a cheese and pepperoni pizza, I gave them that look of ‘Really?’ and asked, “When was the last time you had a cheese or pepperoni pizza that was so good that you couldn’t wait to go back for another slice?” After they gave it some thought, they looked at me and said “Never,” and my response was “Exactly!” Fellini’s specializes in gourmet pizzas, and after reviewing their selections I successfully convinced my girls to try a few of them.

There were so many we wanted to try, we narrowed down our choices by drawing names out a jar. We ended up choosing the BBQ chicken pizza, white pizza and a Greek salad. Before I give you an individual review on each, I briefly want to mention the crust. I think we all would agree, that other than the toppings, the crust is honestly the best part of any pizza. I was absolutely in love with the crust at Fellini’s; it wasn’t too thick or too thin, it was absolutely perfect.

The BBQ chicken pizza had a tangy BBQ sauce topped with diced chicken, sliced red onions, smoked Gouda and mozzarella cheese. This one was my 10-year-old’s favorite, she basically ate the whole pie by herself! I’ve tried a few different BBQ chicken pizzas in my lifetime, and I will say that this one has made my top five. I only wish that it had a little bit more BBQ sauce on it. Ivanna said this pizza reminded her of a summer BBQ.

The white pizza has mozzarella, fontina, smoked Gouda and Romano cheeses with spinach sautéed in olive oil and garlic. This pizza was my oldest daughter’s and my favorite of the night. We found ourselves fighting over who was going to get the last slice. It was very flavorful and the garlic wasn’t overpowering, it was to die for.

The Greek Salad was to die for and was absolutely the star of the night for me. It came loaded with chunks of Feta cheese, olives, pepperoncini and sun-dried tomatoes. The Greek dressing was absolutely divine; it wasn’t oily like most Greek dressing that I’ve tried. It had a very nice creamy texture that coated my salad nicely.

A few other suggestions that I wasn’t able to try, but were recommended, included the Key West Pizza from Jim Drewey. This has shrimp, mozzarella, basil, tomatoes, red onions, fresh spinach and feta cheese atop a lemon butter sauce. Donna the owner recommended her favorite, the gourmet spinach, which has fresh sautéed spinach, caramelized onions, toasted almonds, mozzarella cheese and roasted garlic on an almond butter sauce. My waitress Renee, who was absolutely the best, suggested trying the Thai pizza, which has diced chicken breast marinated in a spicy peanut ginger sauce, green onions, sautéed zucchini, julienne carrots and roasted peanuts.

The next time you are in Norfolk or passing through, make sure you stop by Fellini’s and try their gourmet pizzas and Italian dishes, and make sure you tell me what you think.

Fellini’s is located at 3910 Colley Ave. They are open Monday-Thursday from 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; and Sundays from 4-9:30 p.m.

For more information, visit www.fellinisva.com.

Thank you, Jim, for your recommendation, my kids and I definitely were not disappointed.

If you know of a restaurant that you would like me to visit outside of Franklin, email your suggestions to thetravelingfoodie@tidewaternews.com. Let’s see where the month of March takes us, I have something special up my sleeve since that is my birthday month. Stay tuned, fellow foodies.