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I was walking along Salem Street today and came upon the gaudy new sign replacing La
Brace. It looked horrible and reminded me of something that belonged in a strip mall. Has anyone heard what this place is really about?
birdy30
Mar 18, 2008 08:33PM
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I saw that walking home last night (and thanks for the reminder- I was on the phone at the time, and couldn't for the life of me remember what used to be there. Which is a shame, because I actually liked La Brace a good bit).
Besides using the pizza boxes to block the windows, there was some other reason why I thought it was going to be a pizzeria, but I can't recall now. That being said, yes it's one more steak through the heart of the North End.
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"steak"? I thought you said it was going to be a pizza place!
The name of that place scares me as much as everything else I've just read (shudder).
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There is a pizza chain with that name in NY. Do the boxes give any clue to a connection.
http://www.paesanspizza.com/
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I wasn't referring to any other place by that name--just the rampant misuse of that word. I know...I have issues. I'm only wishing the best for the North End, y'understand.
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The boxes have a Winthrop address.
http://www.paesans.com
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and the menu on the site says they have:
"GOURMET ENTREESS"
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Yeah doesn't look promising at all does it.
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as well as "Not Responsible for Well Done Orders." noted just under the burgers. ???
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While the menu doesn't sound exciting, I don't mind the warning about well-done meats; that's fair and proper, in my book.
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I guess my ??? was asking about if they're warning that they always cook well-done, or if they do accidentally, they're not responsible?
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someone (whether or not they are in the know) just informed me that they get their burgers prepackage and prepared which would explain the warning.
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AND prepared!??!! What's next, a warning that the center of the burger might still be cold because the microwave didn't heat properly?
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I didn't believe that it actually said that until I checked out the website for myself!!!!! This has to be a joke. Does this mean if you order a burger med and it comes well you can't send it back?
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Can't cook it anymore than that (except charred to a crisp) so I guess not!
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I heard that the owner of Paesan's in Winthrop, MA had taken it over. I have spoken to people who have eaten there before and they had nothing but good things to say with their great food and large portions. If they can replace the previous lackluster service, i dont see how it couldn't be a step up from before. I caught wind of it opening in the first week of April, deffinatly going to give it a try.
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I am very wary of a place sporting a tacky bright red sign, with "steak tips in special Ah-So Sauce" on the menu. I kid you not. Alo "Turkey Tips with Italian dressing" and fajitas? Add Fettucine Alfredo described as "We do like Mama" This is a real dumbing down of the North End, and I for one am not feeling optimistic.
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Large portions are the last thing many of us need or want.
It really isn't what I look for in a place to dine.
But, good luck to them. Different people look for different things in dining spots. Perhaps they will find a niche.
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La Famiglia is still there and packing people in...... I was really hoping for a true brick oven pizza place in the neighborhood for when Regina is too much to deal with and a little more bar like than Antico Forno.
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I went to Paesan's in Winthrop today and picked up some brick oven pizzas. I got a cheese pizza and a pizza with sausage,ricotta, mozzarella and tomato sauce. I didn't care for both pizzas. The dough was very chewy, sort of rubbery. The sauce had plenty of herbs and was kind of bitter. I only went to Paesan's because I saw it featured on TV Diner. I didn't try any other items on their menu. I won't be returning to Paesan's.
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Has anyone been there yet? I walked by recently and they're open. It doesn't look too bad from the street, but I am still puzzled by the presence of Mexican items such as fajitas on the menu. And I could be wrong as it was only a quick glance, but I don't think I saw pizza on there. And I also heard two local passers by remark to each other "did you hear? they don't even have pizza".... "Whaaaaat?" as they walked by
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I refuse. I will be at Ernesto's
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The Mexican/pub food items on the menu were enought for me to toss the takeout menu..:) did get a laugh out of it.
awful signage
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on my way to ernesto's today, i walked over to look at the menu. looks like crap bar food: potato skins, steak tips, fajitas, bbq ribs, etc.
yuk.
and the signage is horrible. isn't there a neighborhood association to prevent that kind of thing?
i'm guessing they'll make some dough in the summer from tourists and then be done by winter.
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The sign is almost as bad as Bacco's.
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Walked by it the other day...the menu has zero identity. However, I bet they are hoping to attract the masses of clueless tourists that flock to the NE because there are plenty of those!!! That red sign is horrible.
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they aren't going to catch many tourists at that corner, and next to scaffolding which is sure to be there through the summer.
Also, I noticed that they covered nearly half of the front window with a big bin of bottled beers, and pushed alot of service stuff up into the front of the house, virtually making it look like a bar-back area. This place seems like a textbook for bad decisions, if they last two months it is by virtue of their capital alone
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When I was there the other day a tourist was checking out the menu and said out loud to his friend "hey, this place looks really good."
I'm sure that they'll get *some* foot traffic. Salem is one of the bigger streets in the area.
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This place looks like a train wreck. I too noticed the beer up front etc. I mean seriously, they have "wing dings" on the menu, thisis like a [Fill in Blank of your hometown] House of Pizza - although they don't serve pizza! The owner of La Brace is doing cartwheels he found some schmuck to take over his lease.
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I wouldn't be so sure she is doing cartwheels I got a funny feeling she is involved in the project, see her around the space a lot still.
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Walked by there again today and noticed something peculiar in addition to the entire window area being occupied by beer bottles on ice. There are two elevated buckets of champagne, seemingly by themsleves, about six feet high, off to the side near the front.
It looked like a P.A. system on an empty dance floor at a wedding.....only instead of a pair of speakers, it was a pair of champagne bottles in buckets.
Huh?
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i also noticed the other night they have what appeared to be tv screens directly in front of your face at the bar, and at least one table with a tv screen in the middle of it. It looked like a seen out of the film "idiocracy"
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So has anyone tried this place yet?
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I have to say I'm a little surprised by these posts. I'm wondering if any of you have actually eaten at Paesan's? I have and I couldn't be more thrilled. Food was excellent, generous servings with out going overboard. Atmosphere was comfortable/casual. Prices were reasonable. Exactly what is needed in the North End. I've dined in, had delivery & hear from a neighbor they can accommodate a decent size party without a hassle. If La Brace was your cup of tea then there are 100 other places in the area that I'm sure will be happy to over charge you and treat you poorly - you will find me at Paesan's!!
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However, this is your first post here on Chowhound, bridge1, so people who frequent the North End restaurants have no basis with which to judge what other places you go to and like, except this one post. So what else do you like? Where else do you go?
And if you read further upthread, it seems some people *have* been to the Winthrop Paesan's, and found it lacking. And I'm sorry - any place that touts itself as a "brick oven pizzeria" should *not* be serving Mexican fajitas! Period.
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And I think perhaps someone at Paesan's must be reading this: they've moved the bar-back area away from the front window pretty shortly after I posted about the poor layout. They moved it all of 10 feet away, in front of the side windows.
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