Last week, a friend suggested that we meet for lunch at Papa J's Mercato in the Strip. Given the bad press the place has received on pgh.food, I almost suggested we choose another location. But I figured I see for myself what the fuss was about. Anyways, the condensed version is that I'd go back. I'd prefer it if they had more tapas-sized portions so that you could try more things, but I enjoyed what I had (the white pizza and the black bean soup). I wasn't that distressed by the automatic gratuity. First of all, I had been warned by posts here that that is their practice. Second of all, I normally tip 10% (or more) for buffet service. And at least on our visit, the wait staff was very solicitous. My pizza, bowl of soup (no cup unfortunately), and diet coke came to $12 with gratuity. Not a particularly cheap lunch, I know, but the soup tacked on almost $4. Given that I regularly spend $7 or more at most places here on the South Side for lunch, I didn't find the price horribly outrageous. On the other hand, Papa J's is a cavernous place that was suprisingly "underpacked" for a Friday lunch. They may be too big of a restaurant to risk missing more mass market appeal. Beth Mazur "Whatever you fear, whatever you hide, whatever MAYA Design Group you carry deep inside...there's something more Pittsburgh, PA than this." [email removed] -- October Project www.maya.com/Local/mazur
Pittsburgh, PA
Papa J's Mercato
I have to agree with what Beth said. Also, if you're going out as a big group, Papa J's is perfect, for two reasons: 1. Seating will not be a problem. We sat a group of more than 20 without a hitch. 2. Since everybody gets their own little tab and pays for what they eat, the "settling the bill" negotiation is eliminated. A VERY big plus, IMHO. And, once you order your food, the waitstaff will get it to your table once it is ready, so the 10% gratuity is not *that* unreasonable. In brief, if you're a large group, the advantages easily outweight the disadvantages. Cheers, Maha ---------- Natesan Mahasenan Engineering & Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890, USA Tel: (412) 268-5617 (Office), 421-8442 (Home), 268-3757 (Fax) Web: http://www.epp.cmu.edu/~maha/home.html "I always strive, when I can, to spread sweetness and light. There have been several complaints about it." - P. G. Wodehouse
Excerpts from netnews.pgh.food: 8-Apr-96 Papa J's Mercato by Beth [email removed] > Anyways, the condensed version is that I'd go back. > > I wasn't that distressed by the automatic gratuity. First of all, I had > been warned by posts here that that is their practice. Second of all, I > normally tip 10% (or more) for buffet service. And at least on our visit, > the wait staff was very solicitous. > > My pizza, bowl of soup (no cup unfortunately), and diet coke came to $12 > with gratuity. Not a particularly cheap lunch, I know, but the soup tacked on > almost $4. Given that I regularly spend $7 or more at most places here on > the South Side for lunch, I didn't find the price horribly outrageous. > On the other hand, Papa J's is a cavernous place that was suprisingly > "underpacked" for a Friday lunch. They may be too big of a restaurant to > risk missing more mass market appeal. The Mercato is a novel idea. Will Pgh. be accepting of it? It is a hard food concept for Pgh-ers to accept--charging for every little thing (including refills for iced tea), and charging a service fee. We've been there 6-7 times, on week nights and weekend nights (never for lunch, though). On the week night visits, the wait staff is, in Beth Mazur's words, very solicitous. I didn't mind the 10% service fee; in fact, left additional gratuity at the table. Weekend nights, are a different story -- at least on the nights we visited (one in December, one in January, and one in February) All nights were bitterly cold, some very snowy, yet the place was packed. Long waits for tables, long lines at the food bars, and little or no attention by the wait staff. The wait staff couldn't get customers' food from the food bars, so customers were waiting at the food bars themselves, and this added to congestion. Under these conditions, it is a little tough to willingly pay a 10% service fee -- i.e., when you get no service at all! And when you consider that the same food (which is good) is available at other Papa J restaurants for 10-20% less cost, with no service fee, why go to the Mercato at all? For the novelty? Maybe, but how long can that last? Some mass market appeal would certainly be worth developing. One last thing, sort of off-subject. I've been reading "pgh.food" for a couple of years and I have only noticed a couple of times that a restaurant owner/managers/wait staff responded to comments posted here. Does anyone think they "lurk" here, reading this stuff, and do you think it has made Pgh restaurants any better? If this is a virtual community, and if they do read the bboard, why aren't they more openly participative? I'd like to read what owner/managers/wait staff think about what we think about their restaurants, or other restaurants, or pgh restaurant customers etc... Are any restaurant professionals out there and listening?