Paisano's Pizzeria & Restaurant (1511 Route 22 West, Watchung Square Mall, Watchung, 973-755-1944, www.paisanoswatchung.com) rescued us on a recent Saturday evening dining excursion almost gone sour. Please don't misinterpret "rescued." There was nothing overly positive about our visit - the cuisine quality was decent and the service okay - but what's obvious to me is that this is an eatery that tries hard to be good and get better. The story in brief. My wife and I first entered a popular chain eatery on Route 22 in Union, only to be met with disarray when we entered - we waited about two minutes for a hostess and five minutes for a server -- and when we heard another customer shouting that he was promised his order would be taken 15 minutes prior, we got up and left. After that, we went to another popular eatery and, seeking a booth to be seated and being told only standard and high tables were available, we darted again. That's where Paisano's enters the picture, and I am grateful that we saw their sign. There was no confusion here, just a lot of busyness. A few things prior to speaking to cuisine. When you first enter and wish to dine in-house, there is a sign that reads that you can seat yourself. My thinking is you have a person, whether it be a server or counter person, bring you to your seats. I'm not sure if this is a regular practice; perhaps there weren't enough staff this evening to satisfy my suggestion, and everyone was overly busy. That brings me to my next point. While we dined our server, who was very nice, never stopped by our table and asked how things were. I will defend him a bit: he appeared taxed, taking care of many tables at a time. He would walk by and look at our table and take a peek and, I assume, seeing us eating felt all was fine. Always check in servers, at least once, and that "once" is not at meal's end. Now, on to the food. Lucille ordered an eggplant parmigiana sub ($9.95). It's pictured below, when it first arrived to the table, and after a few bites when she passed it to me. What made it extra tasty to me was the amount of oil (see the outside of the roll in the photo on the right). For my wife it was a bit overwhelming, and that I understand. I ordered the baked ziti Siciliano ($14.95) with ground beef and eggplant. I'm not sure where exactly the beef and eggplant were, because I saw none in my dish nor evident (unless very lightly) in the gravy. The entree was preceded by a very tasty Caesar salad. Paisano's also does a lot of takeout; there should be a revolving door for folks who visit for just pizza alone, and that sounds like a plan for the next time we're in the area.
Thank you, Paisano's Pizzeria & Restaurant, for being there when we needed you. We look forward to visiting again soon. Steve
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January 2023
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