Review of Ghigarelli's in Old Forge PA

If everyone is finished flaming each other, please allow me to say--
1. Thanks Tom for the review.
2. My first thought for location...because I didn't register the PA in the title... was that you were in Upstate New York for this stop.
When the shooting started I caught up with myself and noted the PA and all was well.
3. Readers would do well to consider doing a bit of homework rather than having someone else do it for them in the 'present tense'. Example...How many threads are there on this site asking for advice RE- Carolina BBQ joints near I-95? I would venture there are dozens...and if only the person would use the site search engine they would have a large number of sources presented in some form of order to answer their question.
4. I do review many places we stop on our trips. I have added a few to the formal list, but find that including them in a trip report is often more "useable" for some folks. I get some negative feedback at times, but that's really no big deal. It is the one or two that take the time to let me know they agree, or they want to try that place that makes my day and keeps me doing this.

My last suggestion is ignore the nay-sayers. Do what you want to do, and enjoy not only the good food, but the sharing of the news with those who DO appreciate the information.
AL

quote:

Originally posted by renfrew

Mosca, great post. I have never been and would like to go soon. Your review refreshed that notion for me and gave me a good overview of the choices out there. I would still hit all three, I think, just for the experience.

That is the type of restaurant review that makes Roadfood a good place to look at. Its a shame the thread digresses into the usual petty bull**** that seems to overtake this place.

LOL, renfrew, if you wanted to hit all three you wouldn't have to move your car. You could stand in front of any of them and throw a baseball through the window of the other two. Ghig's is at 511 S Main St, Revello's is at 502 S Main St, and Arcaro & Gennell's is at 443 S Main St... but don't forget Rinaldi's at 426 S Main, Brutico's at 432 S Main, Battista's at 405 S Main, and Calogero's, that loooooooong 3 block stretch at 843 S Main. And uptown you'll find Anthony's at 202 S Main, Brownie's at 201 S Main, Talarico's at 103 S Main, Augustine's Club 17 at 518 N Main. And those are the places on Main St. Off Main you'll find Salerno's, Sacchetti's, Sorrendo's, Paparazzi's, Nickie's Maxie's... that stretch of Main from Calogero's to Augustine's is less than a mile, and all those other places are only a couple blocks either way off Oak St, Keyser Av, or Moosic Rd. And THAT is why Old Forge is one of the Pizza Capitals of America; it is a place where pizza is celebrated.

quote:

originally posted by mr chips

Thanks for a well-written report, Tom. Hope your recovery is proceeding well.

Thanks, surgery has been delayed until the 16th for all kinds of tests. Prognosis is excellent, so I'm happy with that part anyhow.

For those who don't know, last month I was diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma. Through complete luck, serendipity really, it was discovered early, and all it is going to cost me is a kidney. But like many of us, I'm a guy who thinks moderation means not licking the plate, so the lifestyle change is going to be the hardest part.

Tom

quote:

Originally posted by albinoni

I have never seen such unacceptable responses to a legitmate question on these boards. Since I was curious about where Old Forge is, I think it's downright rude to praise a restaurant and then give a flippant answer to a poster who simply wants to know where the town is. Grow up.

Dear god....have you ever heard of Mapquest? Google maps?

Also, this is the proverbial gift horse you have smacked right in the mouth.

Be willing to do a little digging yourself

As far as growing, up, it's you that needs the growth time

quote:

Originally posted by Shara
I have never heard of expecting a poster with a reasonable and relevent question being told (and rather shortly at that) to go do a search--and I've been posting on forums for years.

Mosca is a very polite individual who provided you with a great deal of truly useful info, and the one piece of info you are all demanding he provide would have been easer to search for on the net than spend the time moaning about how you didn't get it here.

I find that very hard to believe that you've never evr in 5 years had to search for anything on the net, but I do believe based on your response that you always expect other people to do your searches for you

quote:

Originally posted by garryd451

2 hours to write a review....

2 minutes to write where the place is located.

LOL

2 seconds for readers like you to search for it with any of a variety of internet search tools

12 hours for readers like you to sit on your hands and wait for someone else to do it for you

A year or more for readers like you to finally figure out that Mosca has provided you with some real roadfood info, which is puportedly what everyone comes here for in the first place.

quote:

Originally posted by enginecapt

I'm still trying to get my head around the concept of jack cheese on a pizza. I don't think I can.

Yeah, on a site that praises the unique, the different, the special, the "not the same as everywhere else" who can tolerate a pizza with anything other than the "right" cheese?

quote:

Mosca is a very polite individual who provided you with a great deal of truly useful info, and the one piece of info you are all demanding he provide would have been easer to search for on the net than spend the time moaning about how you didn't get it here.

TJ, I have to confess that I did set this one off, although I don't mind having done it. It just ticks me off to take all that time to write it up and then have someone expect me to do their search for them. Sure, I could have stayed quiet or answered, but I think the point has been made: Google is your friend. "Search" is your friend. I am your friend, but I am not your secretary.

So now we can get back to the food.

enginecapt, not everyone likes the jack; those who don't like Old Forge style give that reason most often. For me, it wasn't a hard taste to acquire; by the second cut at Revello's (my favorite) I was laughing inside, thinking how could something so simple be so good? Like stanpnepa wrote, it's like a grilled cheese pizza, and the red cuts are like grilled cheese/tomato soup pizza. Now if you get 40 miles south, in Hazleton they use scamutz (scamorza), a mild smoked mozzerella, a bit chewier though. What can I say, it's a very regional place, NEPA.

No problem, Mosca

Ending tirade

Got to start thinking about what to do with my 2000th post - this one is 1999

quote:

Originally posted by garryd451

quote:

Originally posted by Mosca

Yeah, well whatever. 7 replies and all but one have been addressing the forum interplay rather than the subject. Just goes to show what's really important here. I took a couple hours to write a well reasoned and thought out review, and I get crap for expecting someone to use google.

2 hours to write a review....

2 minutes to write where the place is located.

LOL

I meant to ask you this before. On the Pizza as Roadfood, or Roadfood as Pizza thread, when you talked about the food in Niles were you talking about the food in Niles, Ohio or somewhere else?

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Hoffman

quote:

Originally posted by garryd451

quote:

Originally posted by Mosca

Yeah, well whatever. 7 replies and all but one have been addressing the forum interplay rather than the subject. Just goes to show what's really important here. I took a couple hours to write a well reasoned and thought out review, and I get crap for expecting someone to use google.

2 hours to write a review....

2 minutes to write where the place is located.

LOL

I meant to ask you this before. On the Pizza as Roadfood, or Roadfood as Pizza thread, when you talked about the food in Niles were you talking about the food in Niles, Ohio or somewhere else?

Yes, Niles michigan

quote:

Originally posted by Parses6

Do they serve pizza at the bar in Ghigarelli's? I love sitting at the bar drinking beers and eating. (although the smoke is a pain, I wish they would pass the no smoking law in Pennsylvania)

Yep, they serve pizza at the bar. But I'm not sure I would want to sit there. It looked pretty ingrown to me, not the kind of dynamic that would be easy to drop into. And Ghig's is the kind of place that would ignore a smoking ban. And it's in a town that wouldn't try to enforce it. People are pretty tight in NEPA.

quote:

Originally posted by garryd451

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Hoffman

quote:

Originally posted by garryd451

quote:

Originally posted by Mosca

Yeah, well whatever. 7 replies and all but one have been addressing the forum interplay rather than the subject. Just goes to show what's really important here. I took a couple hours to write a well reasoned and thought out review, and I get crap for expecting someone to use google.

2 hours to write a review....

2 minutes to write where the place is located.

LOL

I meant to ask you this before. On the Pizza as Roadfood, or Roadfood as Pizza thread, when you talked about the food in Niles were you talking about the food in Niles, Ohio or somewhere else?

Yes, Niles michigan

Oh, thanks. Now I won't have to look it up.

Lake Harmony? I seem to remember a Howard Johnson's to the right of the off-ramp from Interstate 80 west. Is that the place I'm thinking about?

Tom, I thought it was amazing how many replies our little hometown specialty did receive!!! Then again only about 10% were about the food!

Thanks for taking the time! And a speedy recovery.

Stan