Pizza Giardino @ Chijmes

It has been quite some time since I had pizza, so my gf and I dropped by another restaurant on the Palate program, Pizza Giardino, located at Chijmes. 

Prior to ordering, I told the waiter that I was going to use my AMEX card (bundled with Palate) and asked if there were any ordering requirements. The waiter just told us to go ahead and order, and said that yes, we could enjoy a 50% discount with the AMEX card. So we ordered one main course and two starters.

Lasagna Bolognese, $18

This was quite poorly done. I couldn't taste the pasta at all - it seems like it was just layers of cheese. And the cheese was a bit too hard. 

Affettato Misto, $16

This was definitely more interesting, though I would have preferred if they had told us the name for each cheese and ham. In my opinion, this was the best dish of the night, even though it wasn't really outstanding. No wait... I think the Corona beer I ordered was the best.

Misto Carne Pizza, $25

Comes with toppings of tomato, cheese, salami, ham, bacon, and Italian sausage. This was still all right, except that it was a bit too salty - not surprisingly given the combination of ingredients! I discarded most of the bacon though; it was almost 100% fat with very little meat.

When the bill came, another waiter told us that they couldn't give us the 50% discount, because the requirement was that we had to order two main courses. I told them that we had asked beforehand and were not informed of this. The waiter went to speak to his manager, but when he came back, it was still the same stand. 

I stood my ground. I told him that this was extremely unfair to me, because of two reasons: I had asked beforehand and was not informed, and even if he did not hear my question fully (which perhaps he didn't, because he looked a bit distracted and lost), he definitely knew that I was going to use the AMEX card (he did tell us that we could enjoy the discount if I used my AMEX card). So when he took my order, he should have told me that I would need to order two main courses instead. 

In the end, they relented and gave me the discount. Then again, I wouldn't visit this place again. The food wasn't good, and the service was definitely not satisfactory either.