It's Decent Pizza in New England, Which is Rare Enough - Papa Ginos
Written: Sep 08 '04 (Updated Sep 08 '04)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Decent Pizza, Good Subs, Fairly Good Service, Multiple Locations
Cons: Typical quick-service chain restaurant, Small portions, Pasta dishes
The Bottom Line: The servings could be slightly larger and some of the flavorings could be kicked up a notch or two, but in general Papa Gino’s has some good choices
|
|
|
| jps246's Full Review: Papa Gino's |
Is this really the best pizza you can get in New England? God help me if it is.
Growing up in New York I had the luxury of great pizza almost everywhere I went – it really was the rare occasion that I came across a pizzeria or restaurant with a bad pizza. However, once I moved to New England (starting with Vermont, then to Maine and now in Massachusetts), I realized that the almost infinite choices of excellent pizza in New York were just a fantasy in New England.
I don’t know what it is, but it’s hard to get a good pizza here. On my trips back to New York, the first thing I ask my parents to do is order pizza so it’s there when I get there.
Enter Papa Gino’s, which to me is one of the better pizza places that is scattered throughout New England. It’s a chain restaurant that has locations almost everywhere in Massachusetts (though not in Boston), Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maine and New Hampshire. Its in the rest areas along the Mass Pike and you’ll find a restaurant in almost any good size town.
Restaurant Basics
You’ll find Papa Gino’s as either stand-alone restaurants or tucked away into malls and plazas. Either way the same basic design flows through all the locations (much like any chain restaurant) and once you’ve been in one Papa Gino’s, you know what to expect should you stop anywhere else. It’s sort of that old-world Italian look crossed with a fast-food restaurant’s furniture – I know, kind of tacky.
All of the Papa Gino’s have a lobby/ordering area where you can take a look at the menu board (which is the same for all the locations), where you can place your order, and where you can pick up your order. There’s no table service at Papa Gino’s if you’re sitting down, you’ll place your order in the lobby and they will call your number when it’s ready for you. If you’re ordering take-out you can call ahead and pick up the food, or most Papa Gino’s offer delivery service.
The restaurants I’ve been in throughout the Metrowest area of Massachusetts (west of Boston) and the others that I’ve been too along the Mass Pike or in New Hampshire have all been fairly clean. At times after a big group has left there has been some mess, but the staff seem to do a fairly good job at keeping their lobby and dining room clean. The bathrooms (at least the men’s room) could be slightly cleaner, though I’ve never come across one that I ran out of screaming.
The Menu
As you’d expect, you can get pizza at Papa Gino’s, but there are quite a few different choices available, not all of them are all that great.
The pizza is a thin-crust type pizza and the basic large cheese pizza comes in at $9.49. If you want additional toppings, they are a $1.50 each, so for people who like loads of stuff on their pizza, the costs can get high pretty quick. In addition to basic cheese pizza with additional toppings, they also offer several “specialty” pizzas with various kinds of toppings. The pizza isn’t bad, actually I kind of like it – but it’s nothing special. I don’t think that mass produced pizza can ever really be great. However, if you like the thin crusted pizza with not too much sauce and a good amount of cheese, you’ll likely enjoy Papa Gino’s pizza. The sauce could use a bit more of a kick and the pizza itself could be a little larger, but on the whole, it’s pretty good pizza for New England (well outside of Boston’s North End).
If you’re looking for something to start your meal with, there are a couple of different appetizers to choose from including breadsticks with and without cheese, garlic bread, chicken fingers, buffalo tenders, french fries and mozzarella sticks. Though if you do order an appetizer, make sure you request that it comes out first – too many times I’ve had the appetizer come out with the rest of the meal and we’re stuck with both at the same time. The appetizers range in price from about $2 bucks up to $9 dollars. My favorite is the cheese breadsticks – which are quite good.
Perhaps you really don’t want pizza, there are pasta dishes, along with subs and sandwiches. The pasta dishes are okay – and cover your pasta basics. You’ve got spaghetti, raviolis, chicken parmigiana, along with a couple of pasta “dishes” that include chicken and broccoli alfredo. The pasta is okay – I would never go to Papa Gino’s just to have their pasta, but occasionally if I’m there and I’m not in the mood for pizza, it’s an okay choice. I just find it fairly bland and the portions are not that generous – and quick-service pasta dishes never really do it for me. The pasta plates run between $5 and $6 dollars.
Want a salad with your meal? There are several different choices for you from the small side salad versions of a garden or caesar salad to the chicken entrée salads that they have. These entrée salads are bigger salads that can be a meal in of themselves and include a buffalo tenders salad, a chicken tenders salad and a chicken, bacon and cheddar salad. Once again they’re nothing to write home about, but the side salads especially, go well with the meals and have quality ingredients (I’ve never gotten a salad with wilted or bad lettuce). The two side salads are about $2, while the entrée salads are about $6 each.
Finally if you don’t want pizza, pasta, a salad or an appetizer, Papa Gino’s offers several different hot and cold subs, including a meatball sub, a chicken parmigiana sub, various cold-cut subs (like turkey, ham, roast beef, etc), and a steak and cheese sub that is really good. The subs are available in two sizes, small and large and either comes on a sub roll or in a pocket. The subs are actually quite good – and there is a good selection to choose from if you aren’t in the mood for pizza. The portions are also okay, though if you’re hungry, I would stay away from a small sandwich, you’ll be wanting more when you’re done with it. The subs range in price from about $4 up to $9 (for the lobster roll!).
I don’t think anyone living in Massachusetts would be much surprised by these prices, but for some items, the price definitely seems slightly high for what you get. To me, the pizzas seem small (even the large), the pasta dishes could be a bit bigger, and sometimes the subs seem a bit skimped on. Once you’ve eaten there a few times, you’ll get an idea of what will fill you and what won’t – in the meantime, don’t expect to get overwhelming portions with anything on the menu.
Service
Service is pretty good at Papa Gino’s. The employees have been friendly enough and if I’ve had an issue, they’ve been good at taking care of it. The service is also generally quick, even at busier times. The average meal takes about 10 to 15 minutes to prepare and I think the longest I’ve ever waited is 20 minutes for a pizza at the busiest times.
Take-out is fairly straight-forward. You can either call ahead or just stop in and order. You can also have the meal delivered if you are near the restaurant. I’ve always been within a few miles of a Papa Gino’s here in Massachusetts and I’ve never had a problem with delivery. They will generally give you an expected time for the delivery and the delivery guy (or gal) has been quick and pleasant.
If you’re eating in and you get an appetizer – make it clear that you want the appetizer first, otherwise everything will come out at the same time.
Promotions
There always seems to be some sort of promotion at Papa Gino’s and they’re generally focused around sports in New England. For example there’s currently the “Kicker Meal,” which is inspired by the New England Patriots. There are also discounts offered to holders of a Shaw’s reward card and AAA members.
It’s worth checking out their website (www.papaginos.com) or the advertising in the store before ordering to see what’s available – you might be able to save a few bucks.
There are also occasionally coupons in the newspaper and available in the restaurants.
Thoughts
Maybe I’m just nostalgic, but I miss New York pizza places and I judge everything here in New England on those, which means that quite often, they never measure up. Papa Gino’s however, does a respectable job producing a pizza that while definitely not NY’s finest, is good enough for me and is better than half of the various things that people call pizza in New England.
The servings could be slightly larger (the pizza seems especially small, with almost 2 slices making up a normal pizza slice in most other places) and some of the flavorings could be kicked up a notch or two, but in general Papa Gino’s has some good choices, especially in the pizza department, if you’re looking for a quick meal.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.