It seems to me like Geno’s East Texas ventures are an abomination to the Chicago originals. Almost all the reviews match the two experiences I had. Hostess was nowhere to be found when we walked in on a slow afternoon, when one finally surfaced she went up to the podium, grabbed something and walked off. When I saw her again I had to flag her down to get her to seat us. Drinks took fifteen minutes to arrive. I was prepared for the long wait for the pizza which is par the course but when it did come the waitress set a boiling hot pizza pan on the table directly in front of my then three year old’s reach. I had to block him and tell her to come back with the tongs to move it.
At that point the waitress disappeared. No refills, no welfare check, nothing. I had to get up and go to the bar and have them pull up my ticket and paid there. The waitress got nothing of course and I let the manager know, who was largely disinterested in what I had to say.
All that is the direct opposite of my experience at the downtown Chicago location that made me a huge fan of theirs. It’s a damn shame really, because I love Chicago style and it’s hard to find another place that does it right in DFW