Mallorca

 No matter what you say, Mallorca is still one of my favorite restaurants
 in Pittsburgh.
 - The hostess always remembers us, and makes us feel welcome.
 - The portions are large.
 - I LIKE sitting on the patio - even if it does sit on a smelly
 intersection - it's part of the South Side ambiance.
 - I love the red sangria.

 And for crying out loud, if you don't think the paella is spicy enough,
 order something that SAYS it's spicy - the Mariscada is almost exactly
 like the paella, but it comes in a spicy brandy sauce.

 My wife and I went to Mallorca the other night and I thoght I'd offer
 some commentary here.

 Service:
 The service was quite good.  After the Maitre'd came over and rattled off
 the specials to us in a thickly accented voice, a waiter explained what
 we didn't catch the first time.  The bussboys kept the water glasses
 filled, the waiter kept the wine glasses filled.  Our salads came so fast
 that they must have been ready in a cooler (But more on that later).  The
 rest of the meal came at a good pace, with little space between the
 courses.

 Pittsburgh seems to have a thing for tablesideservice.  I though that
 that was dead in modern dining.  The waiter cut and served a flaming
 portugese sausage, and served our entrees from a serving dish to a
 plate.  It was done well, but I'm not used to having much done tableside.

 Food:
 We were pretty happy with the food.  The house salads that came with the
 meal were definitely premade, however, and waiting in a cooler to be
 pulled and sent to the table.  The dressing on the house salad was a
 wierd one that I found interesting (sort of a spicy, tomatoe vinagrette)
 and Lee found unbearable.

 As appetizers, we shared the garlic shrimp and the grilled portugese
 sausage.  The garlic shrimp were definitely tasty and plentiful for the
 price ($7.95).  The Portugese sausage came to the table perched atop a
 flaming ceramic pig.  That in itself was worth the price.  The sausage
 itself was a little dry, and could have used a sauce to accompany it.

 For entrees. I had the goat, Lee had the paille.  The goat was really
 good.  It was approx 1/4 of a goat cut up and braised in a red-wine brown
 sauce, served with rice and limp vegetables on the side.  Its a pile of
 goat, to be sure, but it does take a little work to coax the meat away
 from all the tiny bones and pieces of bone.  The paille was good too.  A
 large platter arrived, filled with rice, seafood, and other meats.  In a
 $16.95 plate, there was a lot of seafood; 1/2 lobster w/claw, 5-6 ea.
 mussels and clams, a good portion of scallops and little shrimps, chicken,
 and sliced sausage.  The only drawback, again, was the presence of
 little bones in and from the chicken as well as shell pieces.

 At the end of the meal, the waiter brought us each a complimentary shot
 of Portugese almond liquer.  Much like Ammaretto in flavor, it is lighter
 and more drinkable.  The check came promptly when we asked for it.

 Overall, the meal was good.  With tip and a moderately priced CA Merlot,
 the bill came to approx. $100.  It wasn't a bad meal for the money, but
 it was more like an excellent meal for $50.  We've definitly had worse
 mealsin this price range, and better.  Hopefully, this isn't the best
 Pittsburgh has to offer.

 Bill