Quick bites

Last month in this space, I told you about Daniel's on Main, the Fuquay-Varina spinoff of the original Daniel's, a popular Italian restaurant in Apex. I noted that, in the Triangle, where few restaurants have been around long enough to have celebrated their 10th anniversary, the 15-year-old Daniel's qualifies as an institution.

By those standards, Amedeo's is a historic landmark. In the 4 decades since the Raleigh restaurant opened, its dining rooms have become a veritable museum of N.C. State sports memorabilia, and its pizzas have nourished generations of Wolfpack fans.

Last year, Rick DeAngelis, son of founder Amedeo DeAngelis, opened Amedeo's North (6006 Falls of Neuse Road; 878-7808; www.amedeosnorth.com) in North Ridge Shopping Center with his wife, Lisa. DeAngelis, who grew up in Amedeo's and worked there for more than 20 years, aimed to capture the essence of the original restaurant in his own venture. Needless to say, he brought the family recipes along with him. Virtually everything at Amedeo's North, from meatballs to marinara, is made from scratch using those recipes.

Based on a recent visit, I'd say DeAngelis succeeded. The New York style pizza fully lives up to the reputation it earned as the foundation of Amedeo's enduring success. The lasagna, a hearty amalgam of noodles, ground beef, Italian sausage, cheeses and house-made tomato sauce served up bubbling hot in an oval gratin dish, is every bit as soul-satisfying at the new restaurant as it is at the old one. The only disappointment I encountered was chewy, heavy-crusted calamari. But, to be fair, calamari was never a prime attraction at Amedeo's, either.

That's not to say that Amedeo's North is a clone. In a nod to its North Raleigh setting, the dining room is decorated with a collection of football helmets, banners and other sports memorabilia representing a wide range of teams from local high schools, the ACC and the Carolina Hurricanes. Rick DeAngelis has his own imprint on the menu, too, with a seasonal supplement that currently includes calzones, margherita pizza and an Italian twist on Tex-Mex chili that substitutes Italian sausage for the traditional beef.

The original Amedeo's filed for bankruptcy protection in January but is still open and working to regain sound financial footing. Meanwhile, Amedeo's North (which has no financial ties to the older restaurant) looks like a solid bet to carry on the family tradition.