The latest on Phat Pug
Phat Pug Coal Fired Pizza in Perry Hall opened this fall with a great deal of promise and some good early reviews. The owner had ambitious plans to open two more pizzerias downtown in Federal Hill and Fells Point.
But day before yesterday I got this e-mail from LIVE reviewer Karen Nitkin: ...
Phat Pug’s phone has been disconnected, and I fear they are out of business. I had an extraordinarily incompetent meal there last week – the pizza-maker tossed two cheese pies in the trash because one had a hole in it and the other simply fell apart. The soda machine was broken, basic ingredients were not in stock, our (fairly simple) order was bungled, and the woman behind the counter was so baffled by the cash register that she actually drove to a bank to get money to refund me for the botched pies.
Seems to me that a pizza place that can’t make a cheese pizza and deliver a soda is bound for disaster.
I called last night to check one last time before I posted this, and indeed the message is that the phone has been "temporarily disconnected."
(Photo by Kenneth K. Lam)
Comments
I am a huge pizza fan and live in the area. I drove by on a Saturday morning at 11am and saw that (according to the hours on the door) they had just opened. But when I reached the door, it was locked and a sign said open at 1. So I went home and tried calling at 1pm. no answer. I tried calling until 3pm and finally gave up. I tried again at 6pm. When I asked to place an order, I was told they "were sold out until 9pm except for one small pizza left". I was completely confused. You cannot "sell out" of food on a Saturday evening if you expect to make it in ANY restaurant business. I did eventually try the pizza a few weeks later, which was good, but the inconsistency in the management will be (or has been) their downfall.
Posted by: Carey | December 19, 2007 6:33 AM
I am big fan of Grimaldi's pizza in New York so when I read about coal fired pizza in the Baltimore area I raced for Phat Pug. This is when I discovered that without good employees and quality ingredients the coal doesn't help. I didn't even bother to take home the leftover pizza. If, in fact, they are closed I am not surprised.
Posted by: Mark Knetzer | December 19, 2007 8:35 AM
i second grimaldi's & lombardi's. producing a charred smoky affect on the bottom of a crust in absence of flavor and culinary aesthetics is known as burned food.
Posted by: curious4food | December 19, 2007 9:50 AM
According to Warthog, they are open, but doing some kind of change to the phone system or something.
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/432806#3222360
Posted by: Jon Parker | December 20, 2007 6:55 AM