Seattle: Broadway Pagliacci renovation

[mamster]

The Broadway Pagliacci pizza is a special place. In December 1995, before we were married, Laurie and I bought a Seattle Times in Portland, circled some rental listings, and drove up to Seattle with my dad to find an apartment. When we turned the car onto Broadway, we knew this would be our neighborhood. It has been, with only one interruption, ever since. That night, after finding a cheap one bedroom at 10th and Aloha, we had dinner at the Broadway Pagliacci.

Pagliacci doesn't serve the best pizza I've ever had, or even the best in town, but it's cheap and reliable, and I've probably been to the Broadway Pagliacci a couple hundred times since then. It's comfortable. I like to go during the day and sit at the counter along the south wall, where they always have many copies of today's Times and P-I to read. Once every two weeks or so, when I'm too busy or lazy to make dinner, Laurie and I will go and sit at one of the two-tops and eat pepperoni slices, or, better, The Works Primo, which is just a pizza with all of the normal toppings (pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, onions, green peppers, and olives, but no pesto).

At least, all this was true until recently. Around the second week of June, Pagliacci closed for renovations. They promised to reopen in time for the Gay Pride Parade last weekend, and they did, although the renovation wasn't really done. Now, with a new green neon sign in place, it's complete, and I can give my review: it sucks.

I don't fear change. Most restaurant renovations are welcome and long overdue. But let's count all the things they did wrong here:

1. They took out the fountain.

2. My preferred south counter is no longer a counter, it's a string of two-tops with a bench on one side. It's now much less comfortable to eat there solo.

3. The design is all mall. It looks like a Johnny Rocket's. The gayest neighborhood in town and they couldn't find a competent interior decorator? And I hope that poster of a guy eating a piece of a salami ad went to a good home. That thing ruled.

4. Something about the main entrance is wrong. I like that they've made the front more open, but the actual door is weirdly uninviting. It always looks like the place is closed if you're coming from the north.

Overall, they took a well-worn and comfortable place and made it gaudy, hard-edged, and dumb. On the upside, they now have a gelato case. It's a good thing I've been working on perfecting my homemade pizza, because I don't think I'll be spending much time at the Broadway Pagliacci anymore.

[Placebo]

I've always found the pizza at Paggliachi to be pretty much inedible but now the place is really ugly too.

[tighe]

I never much cared for Pagliacci's pizza, but the space was cool and I have some good memories of hanging out there when I was in high school. My suggestion for a near-by alternative would be Piecora's, equally funky interior and much better pizza, at least in my opinion.

[bbqer]

Since I moved to Seattle in 1988, I could never understand why Pagliacci continued to appear on "Best of Seattle" pizza lists. I still don't understand it, but now at least I can understand why some people like going there, from the ambiance noted in some of these posts. Still haven't found any pizza to come close to Chicago and Milwaukee where I formerly lived. Maybe some day....

[girl chow]

My suggestion for a near-by alternative would be Piecora's, equally funky interior and much better pizza, at least in my opinion.

Agreed about Piecoras, much better pizza, although the help can be a surly bunch (probably from too many body piercings). Piecoras was the first food I requested about 90 minutes after giving birth at Swedish a few blocks away (they don't let you eat during labor, it sucks). Thank God for Swedish's proximity to good eats.

I've always thought Pagliacci's was fine, but not great and I always liked the feel of the Broadway location. It sucks that they ruined it. However, I would trade anything to have a fugly Pagliacci's in my neighborhood. All we have is a Pizza Hut and a Domino's in suburban hell. Oh man I have got to move.

[tighe]

...Still haven't found any pizza to come close to Chicago and Milwaukee where I formerly lived. Maybe some day....

I've heard this often from people who have lived in the Midwest and/or New York and I find it completely plausible. I almost laughed out loud last night when my wife and I were at Pegasus Pizza on Alki (my nominee for best in town) and overheard someone at a neigboring table say, "people in Seattle are just SO into gourmet pizza." If that's true then why is there so much crappy pizza around??...

[trillium]

For an alternative view, I spent 8 years in Chicago trying to find pizza like I was used to eating in SF (the 4 college standards were Escape from New York, Celeste, Papa d' Oros and Pauline's for a splurge). I hate "Chicago-style" deep dish pizza (the big three are Gino's, Geordano's and Malnati's), and most of the thin crust stuff I tried in Chicago sucked, except for Pizzeria D.O.C. And they usually cut the thin stuff wrong...in squares. That sucked too. There's plenty of crappy pizza everywhere...

regards,

trillium

[Fish]

Pagliacci doesn't serve the best pizza I've ever had, or even the best in town, but it's cheap and reliable ...

So whose pizza do you like in Seattle ?

Now, with a new green neon sign in place, it's complete, and I can give my review:  it sucks.

Bummer ! We very very occasionally go there when we need something cheap, quick and somewhat tasty. I rather like Pagliacci (well, I did until I started making my own) and I have some good memories of pizza there, though mostly at the store on the Ave.

On the upside, they now have a gelato case.

Maybe the gelato makes up for it ? Mmmm, gelato !

It's a good thing I've been working on perfecting my homemade pizza ...

Care to share your secrets ?

- S

[mamster]

Well, the pizza at Cafe Lago is better, and I think I prefer Post Alley to Pagliacci. None of these is as good as the pizza at Really Nice's house. The only homemade pizza secret I have is to turn the temperature dial of my oven to broil and the selector dial to bake. This also reminds me to start a new thread on oven mitts.

I'm not going to boycott Pagliacci or anything, but they really did a number on the place.

[Placebo]

I have yet to have any pizza in Seattle that satisfies my cravings. There's pizza that I find enjoyable (Il Forno and Toscana, though the latter in part because they actually deliver to me) and there's some I still need to try (Cafe Lago comes to mind). I am, admitedly, a horrid pizza snob, having lived many years near Grimaldi's (formerly Patsy's) in Brooklyn. Dear lord what I'd do for a slice of that stuff right now. It's enough to make me want to go into business just to satisfy my own craving. I wouldn't mind a good chicago style pizza either but none of my ex-Chicagoan friends here have mentioned finding such a thing.