Paisan's --- Pizza, Pasta, and Primo Dining
It was a bitterly --- and I mean bitterly! --- cold Saturday night. The downtown area was pretty quiet. There were parking spaces available in Paisan's free (after 5pm) underground parking. So you can imagine my surprise when we walked in the front doors and were greeted with a lively, crowded bar area and a wait time of and hour and ten minutes (no reservations Friday or Saturday) for dinner.
To their credit, the Paisan's bar has lots of seating. In fact, it's the kind of bar where you can hang out with friends at comfortable window-side tables even after your dinner. And again, to their credit, it didn't take nearly as long as the host had suggested it might to get a table in the dining area. We'd spent only fifty minutes in the bar sipping our beer and wine before being called to a very intimate booth in a cozy nook. If you are going to dinner to see and be seen, Paisan's is not the place for you --- except for the bar area, of course, and unless you are lucky enough to land one of the primo tables in the small dining room overlooking Lake Monona. But if you like an intimate dining experience where you can actually hear the conversation at your table, and not be distracted by other diners, Paisan's is perfect.
The menu is Italian fare all the way. Their signature dish is the thin crust pizza, served with any of a numerable variety of toppings. Hubby chose the 3 Meat Cannelloni (one each of chicken, Italian sausage, and ground beef). I had the Ravioli Florentino, a delicious plate of large, puffed ravioli stuffed with cheeses and spinach, and topped with a generous helping of tomato sauce. Our vegetable side salads were composed of a base of ice berg lettuce, but had large chunks of tomato, cauliflower, broccoli, cucumber, and shredded carrot, all quite fresh.
This is a restaurant we'll go back to. In fact, we'd especially love to back in one of the balmier seasons, and hope for a chance to eat in the room with the lake view.
Paisan's is located at 131 West Wilson Street.
For more info and a chance to check out their menu, go to: www.paisansrestaurant.biz
