Leftists can be so cute sometimes

[Imran Siddiqui]

Can we go back to Papa John's sucking? That is one thing (well, ok, along with Pizza Hut and Dominoes sucking) that can unite the NY/NJ and Chicago pizza folk!

[Hauldren Collider]

YOUR MOM SUCKS. I LIKE PAPA JOHNS. SO SUCK IT. SUCK.



I also like Vocellis. But mainly because they take Carnegie Mellon Meal Plan Monopoly Money.

[-Jrabbit]

Erie also kinda blows dick.

I meant to mention Erie! I've stayed in hotels there a few times. Truly depressiong. Not unlike Joliet.
Although I did find a great sandwich chain there - Schlotzky's.

[Kuciwalker]

YOUR MOM SUCKS. I LIKE PAPA JOHNS. SO SUCK IT. SUCK.



I also like Vocellis. But mainly because they take Carnegie Mellon Meal Plan Monopoly Money.

Vocellis is ****.

[Hauldren Collider]

They take Dinex. Don't lie. I KNOW you ordered vocellis when you were on the meal plan.

[Kuciwalker]

Oh, sure, I ate the **** out of that. It still sucks.

[dannubis]

American pizza is better than Italian pizza. They may have invented it but we codified it.

Ever been to the real Italy stupid ?

[Alexander's Horse]

I like McDonalds *shrug*

[dannubis]

Me too. But with moderation.

[regexcellent]

Ever been to the real Italy stupid ?

No, but I know someone who went there who called me in the middle of his trip to tell me how much the food sucked.

Like, you'd have a street with something like 4 sandwich shops that all sell exactly the same sandwich. Not chain restaurants. Maybe they all got it from the same supplier but I'm willing to believe they just lacked imagination. I don't remember what he said was on it but they were genuine authentic Italian sandwich shops but with absolutely no variety. And you take what's on it or you go home. There's no making it to order, at all. American chains like Subway and McDonald's got way more business from the locals, probably because Americans actually know how to run a goddamn restaurant. At American chains, the food was not only better but also about half the price, and they'd make it the way he wanted it. The service was awful at the Italian places. At sit down restaurants they'd charge him exorbitant amounts of money just for water (I suggested that they were using the language barrier to stiff him). Gratuities were included, probably because Europeans are poor and wouldn't tip if they weren't forced to.

He honestly told me that Olive Garden kicks the crap out of the fanciest place he went while he was there, for like 1/3rd the price.

[kentonio]

No, but I know someone who went there who called me in the middle of his trip to tell me how much the food sucked.

Like, you'd have a street with something like 4 sandwich shops that all sell exactly the same sandwich. Not chain restaurants. Maybe they all got it from the same supplier but I'm willing to believe they just lacked imagination. I don't remember what he said was on it but they were genuine authentic Italian sandwich shops but with absolutely no variety. And you take what's on it or you go home. There's no making it to order, at all. American chains like Subway and McDonald's got way more business from the locals, probably because Americans actually know how to run a goddamn restaurant. At American chains, the food was not only better but also about half the price, and they'd make it the way he wanted it. The service was awful at the Italian places. At sit down restaurants they'd charge him exorbitant amounts of money just for water (I suggested that they were using the language barrier to stiff him). Gratuities were included, probably because Europeans are poor and wouldn't tip if they weren't forced to.

He honestly told me that Olive Garden kicks the crap out of the fanciest place he went while he was there, for like 1/3rd the price.

I think you'll find that your friend is an inbred American idiot who wouldn't recognize good food if it kicked him in the face. Italian food is one of the greatest culinary experiences in the world, and saying it falls short of Subway is the clearest sign of idiocy that I've ever heard.

As for tipping, a) Europeans are not poor and b) France for instance uses a tip system as much as the US does, as do various other European countries. The important point here is that different European countries are actually different.

Oh and the water thing was almost certainly because they were using bottled water, not tap water. As for the service, the American plastic smiles and constant asking you if everything is super is not considered great service in Europe. We tend to consider that to be vacuous, annoying bull****.

[regexcellent]

I think you'll find that he went there thinking that he would be getting authentic Italian food, found authentic Italian food, and discovered that its authenticity didn't actually make it better. I'm not surprised that the Italians who were smart enough to leave Italy for America also were the best at making food.

What I mean by the service is not great is that they were inefficient, the food was expensive, and they didn't have very many options.

The Europe thing was just a dig; I know it happens to be Italy in particular that isn't all that wealthy.

His biggest complaint was the lack of variety. Even here in Rochester, a medium-sized city of no extravagant wealth, I have a choice between the cuisines of dozens of countries. Even if they are somewhat "americanized."

[kentonio]

I think you'll find that he went there thinking that he would be getting authentic Italian food, found authentic Italian food, and discovered that its authenticity didn't actually make it better.

It sounds like he went there expecting American Italian deluxe and couldn't deal with the fact that real Italian food is a very different experience.

I'm not surprised that the Italians who were smart enough to leave Italy for America also were the best at making food.

Spoken like someone who definitely hasn't visited one of the worlds most beautiful and culturally significant countries.

What I mean by the service is not great is that they were inefficient, the food was expensive, and they didn't have very many options.

Why would they have a lot of options? Great restaurants are those that cook their chosen range of dishes exceptionally well, not those that offer a thousand different variations. The options thing genuinely confuses me, I'd actually be very wary of any restaurant with a vast menu.

His biggest complaint was the lack of variety. Even here in Rochester, a medium-sized city of no extravagant wealth, I have a choice between the cuisines of dozens of countries. Even if they are somewhat "americanized."

He went to Italy and was pissed he couldn't find a good Indian?

The Europe thing was just a dig; I know it happens to be Italy in particular that isn't all that wealthy.

Depends on the part, some areas of Italy are extremely well off.

[rah]

Damn, I'm agreeing with Kentonio.
The only exception is where pizza is concerned. My wife an I are mostly Italian and my wife cooks a lot of authentic Italian dishes. I do some myself. (so we are quite familiar with the cuisine)
What they consider pizza and what we consider pizza are two totally different beasts. The american version is much more elaborate and better in my opinion. (not counting crappy chains)
And yes, we've been to Italy.

[MRT144]

I beg your pardon? They're perfectly welcome not to buy pizza from Papa John's. They're seriously missing out though.

Low brow taste in a low brow city.

**** like this just makes your insane hatred of NYC even more ridiculous. It's like you said "Hey NYC is known for having great pizza. Well to spite them I'm going to like something that is vastly inferior"