In 2004, Bill Freeman and his buddy Francisco “Patxi” Azpiroz decided to open a restaurant together, and since that time, Patxi’s Pizza has flourished and grown into a local chain. The Lafayette location illustrates many of the reasons why.

First of all, the atmosphere is welcoming, from the outdoor patio to the casual bar and counter seating inside where regulars congregate to enjoy their grub. There’s also a more formal dining room that’s popular for birthdays, anniversaries, and other special occasions. Of course, this place wouldn’t be much of a pizzeria without some serious goods in the pie department, and regulars say that Patxi’s delivers in every sense of the term. Choose your preferred variety of Chicago-style deep dish, or traditional wood-fired, thin-crust pizza topped with traditional pepperoni, sausage, or Cadadian bacon. Alternatively, you may even want to go for something bold, like the barbecue chicken deep-dish pizza or the spinacini pizza with spinach, garlic, and roasted grape tomatoes.

CC-BY-2.0/Flickr/Geoff Peters