Went downtown with some out of town family yesterday to see what the place was like and have to say that we came away rather unhappy. The service was good, we were seated promptly (and they were busy!), the decor is awesome (can't wait till they open the garage doors upstairs), but the food sucked with a capital S, except for the pizza.
I got a 'regular salad with chicken' (couldn't have pizza) and it was a big plate...of chopped iceberg with 2 cherry tomatoes, 3 slices of cucumber, a pepperoncini, some carrot shreds, and some bland tasting chicken. Not complaining about the price, but it was blah. Also, it would have been better served in a bowl...lettuce got all over the table when I tried to mix in the dressing and every time I stabbed a forkful.
The Hub got a Philly steak and let the upstairs bartender talk him into the 'deluxe', which was a few bucks higher. What he got was a plateful of fake yellow cheese sauce, poured over a bun. He dug around and found what looked like a few teaspoons of chopped meat and a few strands of onion under the slog, but he couldn't taste anything but the cheese. Total waste of money.
Bro in law got a meatball sub and fries and the fries were stone dead cold. He sent them back and got hot ones in about 5-10 minutes but that never should have happened in the first place. The sub had very little flavor, which was surprising because the meatballs looked good. He said he could taste the sauce and bread and that was it.
12 yr old Grandkid got the wings and garlic cheese bread Junior meal and he liked it. The others tasted the bread and said it was good but nothing you can't get anywhere else.
My sister was the only one who was satisfied with her meal...a medium pizza with pepperoni, mushrooms and onions. She and I were in Chicago for Lollapalooza last summer and we got a pie from a restaurant downtown that was to die for. She feels that Pizza Papali's was almost a dead-ringer for that one...great crust, tangy-sweet sauce, spicy peppereoni, pretty much a perfect pie. We all had bites and agreed it was very good, and a large would have probably fed the 5 of us. They took home 4 of the 6 pieces because by the time her pizza came, the rest of us were pretty much done eating (the server did warn her that it would take at least 1/2 hour and it took 40 minutes).
So, to sum up, if you go to PP's, get a pizza. If yer in a hurry and want to eat in, order ahead and it'll be mostly ready when you get there. To be fair, we've had to pull this trick with the Original Gino's, too, but they're both worth it. :)
fin
Please elaborate on the doors. I take it this is that 'upscale' pizza place downtown everyone was raving about a while back (one in Detroit, etc.)
Yah, they have 3 large brand new garage doors that will open on the Huron side when the weather is good. My gkid pointed them out to us and and asked the server if they really opened. There's a heavy rail just outside of them, not a balcony, but it will be cool to sit up there and listen to the ball game, lol.
That's too bad nana. We went on a Friday lunch hour when it was packed and got in and out no problem. We both got the personal 6" w/ salad for 6.50. The salad was great and so was the pie. Give it another shot, but thanks for the heads up. There are places where one shouldn't stray from the "specialty" I suppose.
Sorry to hear that. But I agree with Ryan. You don't go to Mancy's and order the baked chicken.
I went on Thursday with three other guys and I have to say that the deep dish "cheeseburger" pizza was excellent. One of the guys called ahead and it was ready about 10 minutes after we arrived. I made the mistake of having three pieces though and was stuffed the rest of the day. Thumbs up.
slowsol summed it up pretty good.
Just curious - why go to a pizza place with a group, if only one person wants to order pizza? Seems like another restaurant might have been a better choice for the group this time around. (Saving a trip to Pizza Papalis for a time when most everyone in the group is ready to enjoy a pizza.)
I am glad to hear that the pizza got a good review. I've always heard rave reviews about the Greektown location, but haven't made it there yet. (When I'm in Greektown, I take advantage of some good authentic Greek food.) Looking forward to trying the Toledo location soon.
so the point of this thread was to let us know the pizza place has good pizza? ;)
lol, yeah, upso, I guess. :)
The thing is, mom2, this was a surprise visit from the out-of-towners and they wanted pizza. 3 of us had had Marcos the nite before, plus, I'm trying to stick to a paleo diet, and pizza 2 days in a row is not on it (it's not even on it once, lol, I have no willpower). We hadn't been there, it was close to home, and I figured they would have something we all could eat.
The pizza there is AMAZING. If you are going to a pizza place almost anywhere you go and you don't order a pizza you most likely will come out disappointed. Sorry to hear you weren't impressed. Just remember to order the pizza when you go there again, or if not pizza some wings cause those were actually pretty good as well.
but people have different tastes, as well,jp. Hard to believe anyone can do any better than Gino's.
Yes, Gino's, love there pizza. After my hockey games at the Ice House we would walk over to Gino's and It never got old.
Ive been there several times. I like the pizza, but I do think they skimp on the toppings as compared to some of the other better pizza places around
yeah... Darkseid.. obviously taste is an issue.. as i've had nothing but bad experiences at Ginos
I'm glad to hear that at least one place in Toledo has Philly cheesesteaks that actually are made like Philly cheesesteaks. I've been wanting a Wiz n' With for a while.
Well, admittedly, upso, I used to frequent Gino's quite regularly through the years, but haven't eaten there for quite a while. Hell, most Everything else has went downhill in qualty due to cheapening of material/ingredients used, they may not be any different.
Both the hub and I are westsiders, OWE and Willys areas, and we have both eaten Ginos since we were kids. It has changed slightly over the years, not as greasy as it used to be, but it's still awesome, the taste has not changed that much. We've had it at least once a month since they opened over here on Woodville. Good stuff, Maynard.
Hey, ifXthen, is it really supposed to be drowning in cheese sauce and have very little meat?? Hard to believe such a huge reputation could be built on the goop the hub had on his plate. yuck. Even Steak Escape is better than that!!
Anybody ever been to Mr. Hoagie up in Adrian?
No wonder that the food sucks. It was probably being prepared by some of the "guests" of the Cherry Street Mission who applied for and were hired to work there.
The best Philly Cheesesteak sandwich in NW OheilO was at a little hole-in-the-wall place in Waterville called The Wooden Gate, they only had limited hours, and I doubt if they're even there today, but boy, was it awesome. I devoured MANY through the years.
Moral of the story, do not order non-pizza items off the pizza menu, less you be labeled as a lowly homeless person by some douche named "Harley".
In other words, pizza at Pizza Papalis doesn't suck.
I never said that homeless people are "lowly". I merely stated that a number of "guests" of the Cherry Street Mission are employed at Papali's. That is a fact.
All the more reason to patronize the place. I like seeing a business giving someone down and out a shot.
Viva Pasalis!