Il Pappagallo Caffe

I’ve only had their cheesecake and it looked better than it tasted. The crust was so hard towards the edges that it required considerable force to break through it with a fork. Apparently the original owner had sold the place and the new owners decided to use cheaper ingredients while while at the same time boosting prices. One evening I looked through their window after they’d closed for the day and noticed a lot of trash piled up on one of the tables for customers. Pretty lax and unsanitary for a restaurant.

* Nasty guy *
Ok, this was just a random visit. The owner was behind the café bar and instead of asking what I wanted yelled at a young boy (who was perhaps 10 years old?) to, «get your ass back here and help the customer.» Um… Ok…
The kid was very polite and said, «How may I help you?»
I ordered a salami panini from the menu, and the owner yelled at the kid, «Go to the back and make the sandwich.»
The kid started to try to make the sandwich and the owner yelled again, «Not that bread — put it on a roll.» Oy…
The kid made the sandwich and brought it to my table. The sandwich itself was fine. It was on a crunchy Italian roll, the salami had nice spicing, and the cheese was mild yet flavourful. I could have done without the cheapo mustard and mayo though. The lettuce and tomato were standard fare. Overall it wasn’t terrible for a sandwich made by a kid getting yelled at. Photo:
When I got up to pay the owner yelled at the kid again, «Where the hell is his sandwich? Why didn’t you get it to him?»
I said, «I already got it. I’m just trying to pay you.»
He took the money and made some excuse about screwing up giving the right change when he shortchanged me by $ 2. What a jerk.
It was painful to listen to the guy yell at the kid… Really painful.
I hope that kid is ok and that the owner was just having a crappy day and taking it out the wrong way.

I used to come here whenever I needed a quick cheesecake fix during high school. I remember back in 2006, this place had really good cheesecakes and the slices were always generous. However I came in today and I have to say it really has fallen. I bought a slice of the strawberry cheesecake and paid by debit (they should have told me there would be a fee, I would’ve just paid cash) and was EXTREMELY dissatisfied for what I got. The cake had HUGE 2 inch chunks of cream cheese in it, clearly the person did not blend it properly or did a hasty job and just didn’t care. The best part comes the crust, it used to be crumbly and just soft enough to break but today I couldn’t even break it with a metal fork! How ridiculous is that? I regret wasting my money!

This has been my favorite place to get coffee and cheescake for over 10 years and I’m sure it has been for others older than me for MORE than that… thats why I’m sooooooo sad to say that I went into Pap’s lastnight and Pat, the owner was not there. Why? because he no longer owns this place. WHAAAAT? NOOO WAY! I’m in denial still. I kind of knew something was missing when I stepped foot into the place. It was much darker than usual, nobody was in there and just the whole vibe was gone. the lady wasn’t too nice either, I always liked the people who worked there before, especially Pat and his wife because they always smiled and always remembered you face. Their famous iced lattes with their secret syrup was no longer served… the cheescakes looked the same but not even close to what it tasted like when Pat’s wife made them, even though the lady insisted it tastes the same. I can’t believe my favorite spot whenever I was away from home for a long time, and my favorite place to indulge in a cheesecake, a slice or a whole is GONE, gone for good! If anyone knows what happened to Pat and his wife… if they opened a new place or just decided to retire please let me know!

A perfect alternative to Starbucks! In fact I prefer their hot drinks to Starbucks. And their cheesecakes! Their homemade cheesecakes are to die for!