F&D Italian Kitchen, Hourglass District

I tried this Italian restaurant on Curry Ford Road (opposite Claddagh's) on Tuesday for dinner. It has been open for seven months. It replaced another Italian spot (Peppino's?) that I evidently wasted my time on just before it closed. I guess this from the F&D people in Lake Mary. Therefore, I'm not surprised that I liked it. I changed a chicken parm or rigatoni Bolognese order to a due carni pizza (sausage and pepperoni) at the last second. I'm not sure what fate would have held if I hadn't, but, the pizza was great. The sole criticism could have been some bubbles (unpounded dough) in the crust. However, it was one of the better pies I can remember having in town. Nice char. Toothy dough with some richness (olive oil). Not tough. No residual flour. Nice and plentiful pepperoni and sausage (hot fennel seed). Thin. Nice cheese. Nice sauce. Not too much. Nice coverage. Some rosemary (maybe in the oil). Bigger than the usual personal size. 10"?. And freshly made. It cost $15. They have a Wednesday special where they sell a margherita for $7 or $8. They sell around ten styles of pizza. An arugula prosciutto pie next to me looked good. Stacked with fresh arugula. They had lasagna and spaghetti and meatballs and mussels served on a flat iron skillet (special price on Monday). Maybe ten more dishes. They serve beer and wine. I think they list the sodas at $2.50, but, my bill shows $3. Maybe they refill. They didn't. *I don't know if I have enough personal evidence/experience to expose a trend, but, this wouldn't be the first time a F&D restaurant billed me for an item higher than the menu price.  They didn't do much to the place. Maybe some paneling and some murals/stencils. I think the old place had their wood burning oven in the same place. It seats thirty (tightly) in the front room and the same on the enclosed patio. Both rooms were full at 6:30pm. They have five or so wait staff, but, they seemed overwhelmed for some reason. All in all, I was very pleased. I will make it a point to come back. F'in delicious.

*I gave one last drive by Never Never Naan. It was closed as usual. That will be my last attempt until some other new place requires my presence in the neighborhood.