quote:Originally posted by stromboliluvr
I called the number on the pasquales web site (205-981-4499) and was told that the Hoover store plans to remodel and reopen around December 1. YEAH!!!!
That is indeed good news. I hope the termination of Mr. Sellers means Pasquales will be back on firm footing. I hope to visit the Hoover location at Christmastime, when we'll be visiting family.
On a more local note, I finally made it to the Pasquales up the road from us in Gainesville, GA. It was a "vintage" location, shall we say with a '70s era sign logo-wise, so I expect it's been in business there for quite some time. Could use a little sprucing up, but it was clean, just a little shop worn, and in a nice part of town.
The furniture--the booths with the wrought iron grill work--reminded me of the old Eastwood Mall Pasquales decor, so I guess that is standard issue for a Pasquales of that era.
I hadn't had a Pasquales pizza in quite some time, so I ordered an Italian sausage pizza. It was good, but the sausage was not quite the same as in the old days (but then what is?). It was in bigger chunks than the more finely crumbled version I remember from my youth. But, still, a good pizza.
The garlic bread loaf was just as I remember it--nice and yeasty with generous slathering of garlic butter.
But the best part of the visit was my ordering five Hoagies to go. That caused some murmering in the kitchen, so I told them I was from out of town. Our waitress replied that some guy from Atlanta occasionally comes in and does the same.
So I took my treasures home and froze four of them for much anticipated future meals and had the fifth one for dinner that night. It was delicious, tasting exactly like the Hoagies I remembered from the '60s and '70s. They obviously have a corporate recipe for this venerable Italian sandwich and it hasn't changed one bit--a good thing in this case!
I've always maintained that the sandwiches--Hoagie and Stroboli Steak are the true crown jewels of the Pasquales line-up and should be more prominently promoted by the restaurants.
Looking forward to visiting the Hoover location next month and, please, Pasquales managment, if you're out there reading this thread, please consider building a Pasquales on the site of the former Eastwood Mall, now occupied by the new Super Wal-Mart on the same site. I'm sure it would be a hit for all those baby boomers who fondly remember the original Pasqales at the late Mall, right next to Winn Dixie and the Mall Theatre.
