Oh, yeah, latter days Paisan's was quite bad - no trace of the care / love / warmth of the original. Just a barely commercially viable beast on life support. I went at least once at the new (Monona Terrace) location and did NOT dig it in the slightest. Paisan's of my childhood (say, 1982…1990?) was a different place in terms of the food it served. Nothing fancy, for sure, but home-spun and lovely nevertheless. Classic Italian-American fare, plus that killer Garibaldi. I don't know exactly when it went bad, and it's entirely possible it went through good / bad / good / bad phases as owners and/or operators rotated through.
I love that you love this, and I hatehatehated Paisan's. Just awful. The last time I was there the food was literally inedible, and that's rare enough in a restaurant that it's notable. Porta Bella is so pretty, and we gave a half dozen chances (it was so close to campus, we were grad students in need of a place to hang out). But every time I'd get my hopes up, the food would come and bring them right back down.
I wonder how different the Paisan's you knew was from the one I encountered, years later? I have a feeling it was an entirely different restaurant, and I just arrived too late.
Perfect timing with this post, as I'm currently on my way back to Utah after a trip home to Madison. Made it to Michael's Frozen Custard and had brats on the Union terrace. Sadly no Pizza Pit.
Oh man Michael's + Union Terrace brats = a fantastic trip back home. I will be following your lead in the next week or two. I might even sneak over to Porta Bella to see how far off my Garibaldi actually was, otherwise it's been years since I've eaten one...
The very definition of "comfort food"! I still haven't found anything quite like it here in Minneapolis-St. Paul, although both Jakeeno's and DeGidio's have elements...
Oh, yeah, latter days Paisan's was quite bad - no trace of the care / love / warmth of the original. Just a barely commercially viable beast on life support. I went at least once at the new (Monona Terrace) location and did NOT dig it in the slightest. Paisan's of my childhood (say, 1982…1990?) was a different place in terms of the food it served. Nothing fancy, for sure, but home-spun and lovely nevertheless. Classic Italian-American fare, plus that killer Garibaldi. I don't know exactly when it went bad, and it's entirely possible it went through good / bad / good / bad phases as owners and/or operators rotated through.
I love that you love this, and I hatehatehated Paisan's. Just awful. The last time I was there the food was literally inedible, and that's rare enough in a restaurant that it's notable. Porta Bella is so pretty, and we gave a half dozen chances (it was so close to campus, we were grad students in need of a place to hang out). But every time I'd get my hopes up, the food would come and bring them right back down.
I wonder how different the Paisan's you knew was from the one I encountered, years later? I have a feeling it was an entirely different restaurant, and I just arrived too late.
Perfect timing with this post, as I'm currently on my way back to Utah after a trip home to Madison. Made it to Michael's Frozen Custard and had brats on the Union terrace. Sadly no Pizza Pit.
Oh man Michael's + Union Terrace brats = a fantastic trip back home. I will be following your lead in the next week or two. I might even sneak over to Porta Bella to see how far off my Garibaldi actually was, otherwise it's been years since I've eaten one...
Paisan's was a favorite in my family too. Love this :)
The very definition of "comfort food"! I still haven't found anything quite like it here in Minneapolis-St. Paul, although both Jakeeno's and DeGidio's have elements...