Daniel's Pizza Pasta <<

Metro Magazine
DANIEL'S RESTAURANT IS TRIANGLE'S BEST KEPT
CULINARY SECRET
Near the intersection of Highways 55 and 64 in Apex, just across the street from another brand-new shopping plaza, there's a little place that, at first glance, looks like nothing m ore than a local pizza joint.
To people driving around the north bend, Daniel's Pizza Pasta Cafe' is hidden from view, flush against a row of pines. From the south of the mouths of parking lot entrances spitting out dozens of autos at a time make it necessary for drivers to pay close attention to the road rather than trying to figure out why Daniel's parking lot is over-flowing every night. It's an easy place to miss, too, and many people have no idea it exists.
Those who lived in Apex before the population tidal wave of the late 1990s remember that OT's Barbeque, an Apex landmark as prestigious to its citizens as the Apex High School baseball team's 2000 state championship occupied the building for 17 years. Daniels' owners Janet and Daniel Perry say they still get old-timers coming in asking for a plate of BBQ, slaw and hush puppies to go, although they've been operating in that spot for more than five years.
If you've been lucky enough to stumble across Daniel's-and that's literally the only way to find it because the Perrys rarely spend a cent on advertising-you're probably already thinking about your favorite dish. Perhaps you can almost taste the creamy sensation that comes from penne with goat cheese and shrimp ($14.99), the fresh flavors of frutti di mare ($17.99) or perhaps a simple plate of baked ziti with meat sauce ($8.99).
It's the kind of place where diners sit in dim lighting and secretly order the same colorful dish every time they come back, but it's a secret that's O.K. with the Perrys, who set out to create a family, neighborhood joint where it's first-come-first-served and the recipes are comfortable and familiar.
"There are a lot of different styles you'll find at Italian restaurants these days, but most of our menu is filled with classic recipes," Perry says. "The way our menu reads, everything is sautéed. We actually don't even have a grill and that was done on purpose. Because of the way we prepare everything, my favorite dishes are the seafood fra diavlo ($18.99) and the shrimp Puttenesca ($14.99)."
One of the more interesting points in Perry's rise to running one of Wake County's most popular holes-in-the-wall is that he never set out to become a restaurateur. "We were thinking more like the typical corner New York pasta café with maybe an entrée to go and delivery service," he says. "Years ago when I was catering, if you told me I was going to open a full service restaurant, I would've told you you were crazy."
Perry was first introduced to Italian cooking while growing up in Queens borough of New York City. He started working for a local pizzeria delivering pies, poking around in the kitchen, asking questions, learning the intricacies behind the creating exciting, subtle sauces. The owners of that restaurant sort of adopted him and taught Perry how to run a pizza pasta café.
Following prep school, Perry enrolled at Johnson & Wales University's College of Culinary Arts in Rhode Island and was graduated in 1983. He later had tours of duty with regional New York favorites such as Prestige Caterers and a restaurant in Great Neck called "Larry and the Red Head." Through the 1980s and into the 1990s he didn't work under a well-known chef, as many culinary graduates prefer, but rather he honed his craft doing high-dollar catering jobs, such as bar mitzvahs and weddings.
In 1994 Daniel and Janet Perry decided it was time for a change. The couple opted for the Triangle for many of the same reasons other people move here-robust economy, wonderful weather and the potential to succeed as an entrepreneur. The Perrys opened the Pizza Pasta Café on Chapel Hill Road in Cary that same year and quickly outgrew its 11-table dining room.
"We had standing room only every day," Perry says. "We were doing a lunch buffet at the time, and dinner just evolved. There were people sitting on the curb with bottles of wine waiting for their table, other people sitting on their cars or in their cars. It was a very unique atmosphere."
Along the way Perry developed a passion for collecting wine, although he has had no formal training. Daniel's currently owns three wine cellars, housing two on premises in the Sonoma and Napa rooms. The third and largest cellar is at the Perry's home. And his knack for putting together a wine list hasn't gone unnoticed by industry observers; Daniel's has received an Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator every year since 1999. Perry says the magazine recently confirmed that Daniel's will receive the honor again for 2002.
"I have a real love of good wine," Perry says. "It's just something that evolved. Actually, I learned about wine through research and development" he jokes.
Daniel's still does catering daily to business customers and will do private parties with a couple of days' notice with full trays that feed up to 20 people ranging anywhere from $50 to $120, half trays feeding 10 people ranging from $25 to $65. Once per month Daniel's also hosts a wine-tasting dinner for 32-56 people. Details of its next vintage excursion are available by contacting the restaurant.
Janet says that she and Daniel don't have a lot of time to go out and experience other restaurants and chefs around the Triangle as often as they would like. But their staff, which they claim has remained intact for seven years, including head kitchen manager Jacquvalon Brown (he balks at calling himself head chef, saying the title is "too limiting" to encompass all of his day-to-day duties), is familiar enough with the Perrys' standard of excellence that the owners don't have to spend 16 hours a day on site.
But the Perrys do manage to cook at home quite a bit and are found of entertaining guests on weekends with some of their favorite non-Italian recipes.
"I like to try out a lot of different styles" Janet says. "I love Patricia Wells cookbooks and may cook out of that for a month, trying different things. We enjoy different types of cuisine and like to experiment with and experience them. We often have friends over for Sunday dinner, and we'll take all day to cook."
Perry says he is often asked if there are plans to expand the existing restaurant because of its popularity, which results in the front-of-the-house manager routinely telling diners their wait could be as long as 30 minutes-although it often takes less time. He says parking concerns are keeping expansion plans at bay and that nothing is currently in the works. However, Perry wouldn't rule out future additions.
"I don't know if I'd do anything differently because all of the things we've done are experiences you learn from," Perry says. "We were lucky. We didn't plan to be a full-service restaurant. The timeline was just correct for us."
If you decide to venture out and experience Daniel's for yourself, keep your eyes peeled. Some of the Triangle's business and social elite are known to be seen dining there from time to time. The rule of thumb at Daniel's is to allow them their privacy, and Perry declines to say who he considers a regular.
"We are a neighborhood restaurant, and I don't want them to feel pointed out here just because they are in the public eye," he says. "I want everyone to have the right to be as comfortable as anyone else who comes here."