Pignetti's to add second location in Waco

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Edmond Bear
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6:34a, 9/7/21
Temple based Pignetti's is opening a second location in the Phoenix Ballroom building in downtown Waco.

From the name, I assumed Italian BBQ. But, I was wrong, it is upscale Italian.

https://wacotrib.com/business/local/pignettis-italian-to-open-in-former-phoenix-ballroom-in-downtown-waco/article_88d211c6-fad5-11eb-859e-a796cf26f5e0.html
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southtexasbear
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7:37a, 9/7/21
That is a NICE building. The interior will fit perfectly. Looking forward to it
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Yogi
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10:39a, 9/7/21
Yeah, but I wouldn't say that it is 5-star above anything Waco has already.

Waco already has some good high quality dining options, including Italian options.

And I hope Portafino's is able to absorb the competition because they are a great option downtown, and I always appreciate the service I receive there.

"Smarter than the Average Bear."
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CorsicanaBear
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1:34p, 9/7/21
Portafino and Pignettis will not really be competitors. Different markets. 135 Prime is not poaching Salt Grass' market.

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Robert Wilson
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In reply to CorsicanaBear • 3:28p, 9/7/21
CorsicanaBear said:
Portafino and Pignettis will not really be competitors. Different markets. 135 Prime is not poaching Salt Grass' market.
Yep.

DiCampli's and Pignetti's will compete a bit, but they are in totally different parts of town, and there is ample room for both. Downtown really needed a nice Italian place. Has needed one for a long time. This is a solid add.
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CorsicanaBear
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In reply to Robert Wilson • 3:45p, 9/7/21
Moroso will also be in that mix. Yet a third part of town.
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Robert Wilson
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In reply to CorsicanaBear • 3:53p, 9/7/21
CorsicanaBear said:
Moroso will also be in that mix. Yet a third part of town.
Agree. Moroso probably a little more casual, little lower price point, but in a similar mix. Good to have 3 of them to spread the crowd around. DiCampli's and Moroso's are always busy at dinner, at least when I show up. I'd also rather eat downtown generally.
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Grinnin bear
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6:01p, 9/7/21
An upscale restaurant across the street from the Salvation Army will make for some interesting parking lot encounters.
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Robert Wilson
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In reply to Grinnin bear • 6:22p, 9/7/21
Grinnin bear said:
An upscale restaurant across the street from the Salvation Army will make for some interesting parking lot encounters.


Have an Austin-Esque flavor to it.
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forza orsi
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In reply to CorsicanaBear • 6:28p, 9/7/21
CorsicanaBear said:
Portafino and Pignettis will not really be competitors. Different markets. 135 Prime is not poaching Salt Grass' market.


I agree that Portofino and Pignetti's aren't really going after the same customer. If they do it like the Temple one, it has a really good wine list with a lot of variety. The food is high quality but, IMHO, probably not as good as Di Campli. On the other hand the wine options are better and we don't have enough places that do that well. We drive to Temple for it occasionally, so I'm sure we'll be at the Waco location a good bit more. Moroso's and Di Campli's are favorites, but it's nice to have a good quality Italian place downtown.
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BylrFan
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11:24a, 9/8/21
is this comparable to Olive Garden? In terms of price and food selection?
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hill02
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10:00p, 9/8/21
Pignetti's is excellent. My wife and I met and married in Temple and Pignettis did our rehearsal dinner. This is a great add for Waco.
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Mr Tulip
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10:27a, 9/10/21
Yep. It's kind of the go-to "romantic dinner" place in Temple. Not too large, lots of wine selections, and top notch food. Given that it's in Temple, it's not as stuffy and strait-laced as I'm ascribing, but dress-up is appropriate.

It'll be interesting to see how it translates to Waco, simply because this quality of dining is talent dependent.
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whitetrash
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10:43a, 9/10/21
Quite a few of us on here have been to Pignetti's in Temple, but I'm guessing I'm one of the very few who went to Pignetti's in its original location in Houston back in the late 1990s (just west of downtown, on W. Dallas or W. Gray IIRC). Down there it was nice, but it was just another spot in a city full of upscale Italian restaurants. It resurfaced in Temple a few years later with the same logo, same menu, etc. and it was in a class by itself.
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southtexasbear
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In reply to whitetrash • 11:03a, 9/10/21
whitetrash said:
Quite a few of us on here have been to Pignetti's in Temple, but I'm guessing I'm one of the very few who went to Pignetti's in its original location in Houston back in the late 1990s (just west of downtown, on W. Dallas or W. Gray IIRC). Down there it was nice, but it was just another spot in a city full of upscale Italian restaurants. It resurfaced in Temple a few years later with the same logo, same menu, etc. and it was in a class by itself.
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74Bear
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7:33a, 9/13/21
IMO, Olive Garden and Pignettis are nothing alike. Pignettis is far better. My wife and I drive to Temple to eat at Pignettis for lunch a couple times per month. It is closer to Johnny Carinos in our opinion. There you get olive oil with the herbs and spices with homemade bread instead of just bread sticks.
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Yogi
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In reply to 74Bear • 1:48p, 9/13/21
74Bear said:
IMO, Olive Garden and Pignettis are nothing alike. Pignettis is far better. My wife and I drive to Temple to eat at Pignettis for lunch a couple times per month. It is closer to Johnny Carinos in our opinion. There you get olive oil with the herbs and spices with homemade bread instead of just bread sticks.
Olive Garden is the Arby's of Italian Restaurants, LOL

Pignetti's is good.

I often go to the Temple location. Thursday's is the wine special. It's pretty generous. You can order bottles at their retail market prices.

And the regular prices aren't terrible. I think the base for the Black Truffle Sachetti is around $20.00 and then with a protein, you're still getting in at under $30.00.

Even their filet is $38.00, which is still less than La Riv.

I think the prices are good because even though they are slightly higher than most dining options in the Waco area, they are still reasonable enough that you'll feel great going there.



"Smarter than the Average Bear."
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trey3216
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In reply to 74Bear • 3:24p, 9/13/21
74Bear said:
IMO, Olive Garden and Pignettis are nothing alike. Pignettis is far better. My wife and I drive to Temple to eat at Pignettis for lunch a couple times per month. It is closer to Johnny Carinos in our opinion. There you get olive oil with the herbs and spices with homemade bread instead of just bread sticks.
It's way better than Johnny Carinos. lol
Mr. Treehorn treats objects like women, man.
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forza orsi
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In reply to trey3216 • 3:31p, 9/13/21
trey3216 said:
74Bear said:
IMO, Olive Garden and Pignettis are nothing alike. Pignettis is far better. My wife and I drive to Temple to eat at Pignettis for lunch a couple times per month. It is closer to Johnny Carinos in our opinion. There you get olive oil with the herbs and spices with homemade bread instead of just bread sticks.
It's way better than Johnny Carinos. lol

My thoughts exactly! Not in the same league at all. Including food, wine, service, and ambience. Pignetti's is a date night place. Carino's was a weeknight don't feel like cooking place, and was also before we had a couple of (soon to be three) better quality Italian options.
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trey3216
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In reply to forza orsi • 3:37p, 9/13/21
forza orsi said:
trey3216 said:
74Bear said:
IMO, Olive Garden and Pignettis are nothing alike. Pignettis is far better. My wife and I drive to Temple to eat at Pignettis for lunch a couple times per month. It is closer to Johnny Carinos in our opinion. There you get olive oil with the herbs and spices with homemade bread instead of just bread sticks.
It's way better than Johnny Carinos. lol

My thoughts exactly! Not in the same league at all. Including food, wine, service, and ambience. Pignetti's is a date night place. Carino's was a weeknight don't feel like cooking place, and was also before we had a couple of (soon to be three) better quality Italian options.
Carino's to me was like Olive Garden, but with extra fake butter and tricked up MexItalian drinks/appetizers. Nothing really good or original about it.

Pignetti's has a lot more of the stuff my grandparents and great aunts used to cook. A lot more flavorful because the ingredients they use. So nice to have them and Moroso/Di Campli's in town along with Luigi's/Portofino. Our market is finally being served solid to great Italian food.

Now, if we could just get closer to the coast...
Mr. Treehorn treats objects like women, man.
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Mr Tulip
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3:52p, 9/13/21
I don't spend a whole lot of time in upscale restaurants the whole. I like to cook, and I don't much care for other human beings generally. I like to eat, and know what I like, so I usually end up making it myself.

I don't mean disrespect, but there's a difference in restaurants that employ cooks who take the ingredients sent to them, cook the food the way they were told at the temperature they were told to the time they were told (a method that produces consistent results), and a chef who understands what the ingredients do, selects the ones he likes, and creates a dish based on the interplay of the components.

There's a couple of places in Waco that think that turning the lights down and charging high prices makes them upscale. Pignetti's is not one of those places. They're not cheap dining, but the dish that arrives will be an expression of the chef's skill. I enjoy studying wines (ok, I like to drink), so I didn't really test the server's ability to recommend one. I'm confident they could bring me a good pairing, however.

It's currently very much worth the effort to book an online reservation and make the 30 minute drive to Temple when I wish make an impression on my date (ok, my wife of now 26 years). I'd eagerly try a new one in Waco - understanding that the quality is dependent on the chef at the controls. With Pignetti's reputation, I'm confident they can pull it off.
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BaylorHistory
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In reply to Mr Tulip • 2:38p, 9/14/21
Mr Tulip said:

There's a couple of places in Waco that think that turning the lights down and charging high prices makes them upscale.
You can call out Diamondbacks by name here, it's a safe space.
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Yogi
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In reply to trey3216 • 1:39p, 9/24/21
trey3216 said:
forza orsi said:
trey3216 said:
74Bear said:
IMO, Olive Garden and Pignettis are nothing alike. Pignettis is far better. My wife and I drive to Temple to eat at Pignettis for lunch a couple times per month. It is closer to Johnny Carinos in our opinion. There you get olive oil with the herbs and spices with homemade bread instead of just bread sticks.
It's way better than Johnny Carinos. lol

My thoughts exactly! Not in the same league at all. Including food, wine, service, and ambience. Pignetti's is a date night place. Carino's was a weeknight don't feel like cooking place, and was also before we had a couple of (soon to be three) better quality Italian options.
Carino's to me was like Olive Garden, but with extra fake butter and tricked up MexItalian drinks/appetizers. Nothing really good or original about it.

Pignetti's has a lot more of the stuff my grandparents and great aunts used to cook. A lot more flavorful because the ingredients they use. So nice to have them and Moroso/Di Campli's in town along with Luigi's/Portofino. Our market is finally being served solid to great Italian food.

Now, if we could just get closer to the coast...
Don't you be knocking Carino's now...
"Smarter than the Average Bear."
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Old300Bear
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In reply to trey3216 • 4:06p, 9/24/21
trey3216 said:
forza orsi said:
trey3216 said:
74Bear said:
IMO, Olive Garden and Pignettis are nothing alike. Pignettis is far better. My wife and I drive to Temple to eat at Pignettis for lunch a couple times per month. It is closer to Johnny Carinos in our opinion. There you get olive oil with the herbs and spices with homemade bread instead of just bread sticks.
It's way better than Johnny Carinos. lol

My thoughts exactly! Not in the same league at all. Including food, wine, service, and ambience. Pignetti's is a date night place. Carino's was a weeknight don't feel like cooking place, and was also before we had a couple of (soon to be three) better quality Italian options.
Carino's to me was like Olive Garden, but with extra fake butter and tricked up MexItalian drinks/appetizers. Nothing really good or original about it.

Pignetti's has a lot more of the stuff my grandparents and great aunts used to cook. A lot more flavorful because the ingredients they use. So nice to have them and Moroso/Di Campli's in town along with Luigi's/Portofino. Our market is finally being served solid to great Italian food.

Now, if we could just get closer to the coast...




I would almost commit mayhem for some shrimp skillitini from Carino's.
Fred Barber
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CTbruin
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6:23p, 9/24/21
Carinos was our go to place for years. Outstanding happy hour.

And Wine Dinners we're awesome.

We ran into Art Briles there often at happy hour. He and wife had a special booth in the bar.
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4th and Inches
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8:12p, 9/26/21
Hopefully they are as good as you guys say.. gonna be tough to pull me away from Fazolis

Seriously, I would love an old school italian place like you find on the east coast(shout out to Gorgios on Pine in Philly)
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trey3216
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In reply to 4th and Inches • 8:24p, 9/26/21
4th and Inches said:
Hopefully they are as good as you guys say.. gonna be tough to pull me away from Fazolis

Seriously, I would love an old school italian place like you find on the east coast(shout out to Gorgios on Pine in Philly)

Mr. Treehorn treats objects like women, man.
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Yogi
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In reply to 4th and Inches • 9:20a, 9/27/21
4th and Inches said:
Hopefully they are as good as you guys say.. gonna be tough to pull me away from Fazolis

Seriously, I would love an old school italian place like you find on the east coast(shout out to Gorgios on Pine in Philly)
Like the kind of place you walk into, they pat you down for weapons, ask you what family you're from and then pop open a bottle of Sangria.

No one else ever been to Little Italy during the evening a few years back?
"Smarter than the Average Bear."
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Bexar Pitts
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In reply to Yogi • 9:32a, 9/27/21
Yogi said:
4th and Inches said:
Hopefully they are as good as you guys say.. gonna be tough to pull me away from Fazolis

Seriously, I would love an old school italian place like you find on the east coast(shout out to Gorgios on Pine in Philly)
Like the kind of place you walk into, they pat you down for weapons, ask you what family you're from and then pop open a bottle of Sangria.

No one else ever been to Little Italy during the evening a few years back?
Way back "in the day," very similar experience in a few New Orleans establishments. Some colorful characters were always around.
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Weston Rogers
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In reply to 4th and Inches • 1:40p, 9/27/21
4th and Inches said:
Hopefully they are as good as you guys say.. gonna be tough to pull me away from Fazolis

Seriously, I would love an old school italian place like you find on the east coast(shout out to Gorgios on Pine in Philly)
Can always head up to Dallas and get some toasted ravioli from Campisi's on Mockingbird if you want that vibe.
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Bexar Pitts
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In reply to Weston Rogers • 1:49p, 9/27/21
Weston Rogers said:
4th and Inches said:
Hopefully they are as good as you guys say.. gonna be tough to pull me away from Fazolis

Seriously, I would love an old school italian place like you find on the east coast(shout out to Gorgios on Pine in Philly)
Can always head up to Dallas and get some toasted ravioli from Campisi's on Mockingbird if you want that vibe.
If you're old enough, you might remember it as " The Egyptian." Been there buku times. There was no telling who might drop in.
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Robert Wilson
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In reply to Bexar Pitts • 11:11p, 9/27/21
Bexar Pitts said:
Yogi said:
4th and Inches said:
Hopefully they are as good as you guys say.. gonna be tough to pull me away from Fazolis

Seriously, I would love an old school italian place like you find on the east coast(shout out to Gorgios on Pine in Philly)
Like the kind of place you walk into, they pat you down for weapons, ask you what family you're from and then pop open a bottle of Sangria.

No one else ever been to Little Italy during the evening a few years back?
Way back "in the day," very similar experience in a few New Orleans establishments. Some colorful characters were always around.


Mosca's
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BaylorHistory
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In reply to Robert Wilson • 9:18a, 9/28/21
Robert Wilson said:
Bexar Pitts said:
Yogi said:
4th and Inches said:
Hopefully they are as good as you guys say.. gonna be tough to pull me away from Fazolis

Seriously, I would love an old school italian place like you find on the east coast(shout out to Gorgios on Pine in Philly)
Like the kind of place you walk into, they pat you down for weapons, ask you what family you're from and then pop open a bottle of Sangria.

No one else ever been to Little Italy during the evening a few years back?
Way back "in the day," very similar experience in a few New Orleans establishments. Some colorful characters were always around.


Mosca's
No wonder it closed

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Bexar Pitts
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In reply to Robert Wilson • 9:59a, 9/28/21
Robert Wilson said:
Bexar Pitts said:
Yogi said:
4th and Inches said:
Hopefully they are as good as you guys say.. gonna be tough to pull me away from Fazolis

Seriously, I would love an old school italian place like you find on the east coast(shout out to Gorgios on Pine in Philly)
Like the kind of place you walk into, they pat you down for weapons, ask you what family you're from and then pop open a bottle of Sangria.

No one else ever been to Little Italy during the evening a few years back?
Way back "in the day," very similar experience in a few New Orleans establishments. Some colorful characters were always around.


Mosca's
Bingo. Gravel parking lot..Out of the way on 90 in Westwego...Italian Clam or Shrimp salad 'to die for." :-)
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Robert Wilson
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In reply to Bexar Pitts • 11:09a, 9/28/21
Bexar Pitts said:
Robert Wilson said:
Bexar Pitts said:
Yogi said:
4th and Inches said:
Hopefully they are as good as you guys say.. gonna be tough to pull me away from Fazolis

Seriously, I would love an old school italian place like you find on the east coast(shout out to Gorgios on Pine in Philly)
Like the kind of place you walk into, they pat you down for weapons, ask you what family you're from and then pop open a bottle of Sangria.

No one else ever been to Little Italy during the evening a few years back?
Way back "in the day," very similar experience in a few New Orleans establishments. Some colorful characters were always around.


Mosca's
Bingo. Gravel parking lot..Out of the way on 90 in Westwego...Italian Clam or Shrimp salad 'to die for." :-)
Great old place. Oysters Mosca was a helluva dish.
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