When you don’t feel like cooking, and you’re in the mood for some Italian-American fare, if you happen to be in The Colony, Texas, why not stop by Goodfellas? They’ll make you feel right at home!
A Slice of History
Way back in 1992, The Goodfellas first restaurant was opened in Staten Island, New York. The founder, Scot Cosentino and his brother Mac, first introduced wood fired brick oven pizza. Pioneers to the time and area, after some time Scot was approached to start franchising the restaurant, as the pizza was so delicious and so popular. Not wanting to get tied into too much business, he decided instead to open what is essentially a pizza school.
Fast forward to present day and he is now teaching people how to prepare and bake his signature style dishes, including his fantastic wood fired brick oven pizzas.
“Those who train under him, go on to open their own independent Goodfellas,” Stephen Creme, owner of Goodfellas in The Colony tells me. “So, while you’ll find the name in a number of places, there’s no chain behind it – every Goodfellas is independently owned and operated…ours in The Colony is one of those independent kitchens.”
Here at Creme’s location, he’s pulled out all the stops when it comes to the sleek new interior they’ve invested in. Purchasing the restaurant a year and a half ago,
“we’ve upgraded the interior, moved to a modern point-of-sale system, and added a dedicated reservations coordinator for large group events – everything from wedding rehearsal dinners and anniversaries to birthdays and family reunions,” he proudly tells me.
“We’ve also built out private dining with presentation AV for corporate gatherings and business presentations, easily seating groups of up to 40 in a private space,” something that any business owner would gladly love to know about, should they need a corporate lunch venue.
And what they’re most proud of is that several of the ingredients served here at Goodfellas, are made fresh and prepared in-house. As he states,
“Cooking on a wood-fired oven takes real skill, and our staff are genuine artisans who take pride in every plate. Our pepperoni pizza is the runaway favorite (we recently switched to real beef pepperoni — a little more cost, but the quality is worth it), and the chicken fettuccine and our homemade jumbo mozzarella sticks are right behind it.”
Those Pizzas Though
And those pizzas are of course, the stars of the show. Though they have a plethora of choices on their menu, the pizza is what everyone should be choosing when they come in. With a ton of variation with the pizzas, there’s certainly something for everyone when it comes to flavor and toppings.
And the pizzas are so popular in fact, that on a typical weekday, they’re apparently churning out roughly 60 pizzas daily. On the weekends, more than 200 and sometimes, they’re even preparing 30 pizzas an hour when they get slammed. This should say something about the taste and quality of those Italian-American pies!
My Time at Goodfellas
Obviously, when you have the opportunity to have a glass of Italian wine, you take it – and so I did. The wine was quite honestly my favorite part of the dinner, and specifically because they opened a fresh bottle just for me. The Chianti Classico is always a good choice, but I went with T. Borgo Scopeto. Absolutely delicious and nothing else that night beat it.
Second only to this was the pizza of course. And which one was my favorite, you might ask? The Santino’s Supreme. Ground beef, pepperoni, sausage, ham, green peppers, black olives, mushrooms and red onion. The only pizza that came close to stealing my heart after this was the Spinach & Artichoke Pizza. Spinach and artichoke hearts, cream cheese, mozzarella, tomato, basil and Parmigiana Reggiano. This would have been my favorite had they put just a touch less cream cheese and added some sausage to it – I think the meat would have kicked it up a notch, but all in all, no real complaints about this pizza.
The entrees are in line with what Stephen told me at the beginning of my evening there. It’s very much like home cooked food, for those who don’t feel like cooking on a week night. Barilla is their pasta of choice, and Lisanti Food Services are responsible for some of the items that are served here – including the delicious cannoli and tiramisu we had for dessert – those were the best things after the wine and pizza.
The environment is very welcoming here, and the service and staff super friendly. Overall, my time at Goodfellas was relaxing and pleasant. And as a bonus the pizza was delicious! But my favorite part about Goodfellas is the Bible verses they distribute just about everywhere throughout the restaurant. First in the ladies’ room witch Scripture on all the different walls. Each pizza oven peel that is displayed on the front wall of the restaurant has different Bible verses, each describing love of others, and lastly on all their to-go pizza boxes the verse Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ, which strengthens me.”
A lovely touch for all their guests.
Why Visit & The Location
When asked, Stephen tells me there is one thing he wants my readers to know.
“It’s that there’s a lot to feel good about when you dine with us. The people cooking it are local and take real pride in their craft, and the business gives back to the community it’s part of. We regularly sponsor and donate locally, including partnering with The Colony High School Athletics and the North Texas Food Bank. The customers we most love serving are the ones who want to support local talent and local pride — that’s exactly what we’re here to offer.”
Goodfellas is also located in a fantastic spot. In the Grandscape district of The Colony, it’s about 30 minutes north of Dallas proper. Beat the hustle and bustle of downtown, and come visit one of the nicest suburbs of the metroplex. Just be sure to stop in to Goodfellas when you do. And when you do pay them a visit, make sure to let them know that Lisa sent you!
“Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart…” – Ecclesiastes 9:7
To learn more about Goodfellas Pizza Pasta & Vino in The Colony, Texas, click here
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