Best Chefs in Pittsburgh: How Michael Troiani Carries on Family Traditions Through Food at Papa J’s
By Olivia Miller
Michael Troiani has been around the restaurant industry his whole life. As one of eight children, he jokes that “a Sunday dinner was like a restaurant event.” When he was 9, his father opened Papa J’s first location in Cranberry where he spent his youth cleaning tables and his later years in the kitchen before taking the reins of ownership around 2000. Since then, he has taken Papa J’s to new heights by opening their Strip District location that “activates the beautiful Twin Plaza building” and introducing new menu items, like authentic Italian carbonara and gelato.
The interpersonal nature of the restaurant business has retained Troiani’s interest more than anything else over the years. He says that it is “just as much the people business as it is the food business.” Being able to “welcome all walks of life of the city here and offer them hospitality” is something Troiani holds dear to his heart. He wants guests to “fall in love” not only with Papa J’s food, but also with each other as they visit for dates, wedding rehearsals, and baby showers. He is honored to be a “part of a lot of people’s memories” and fondly recalls still seeing regular guests from 1987 when the restaurant first opened.
Just like when he grew up, running Papa J’s Twin Plaza is a family affair. From taking gelato making classes with his girlfriend to teaching his children how to cook his family’s recipes, he is enamored with building community around the “common cause of providing an honest meal to people.” He proudly says his greatest accomplishment in his career has been assembling and working with Papa J’s 25 person team.
Troiani firmly believes that “quality is a scarcity” that can only be achieved through “attention and orchestration.” Through strategically planning everything from his menu items to the sources of his ingredients, it is evident that Troiani’s orchestration is second to none. He says that “any Italian restaurant is the product of the best of what is around” and touts cheese from the Pennsylvania Macaroni Company, sausage from Ricci’s Italian Sausage, and homemade pasta.
One of Papa J’s most famous dishes, and one of Troiani’s favorites, is their wedding soup, which he equates to “Italian penicillin.” The soup is a product of a lengthy process, one that includes three pots of water, but he takes pride in this saying, “Everything we do is the hard way because it’s the right way to do it.” This is true for their homemade pasta, for which Troiani is knowledgeable in the multitude of shapes and sizes they make, each with its own function and purpose.
In Troiani’s words, being a chef is much more than cooking good food, it is about selflessness, humility, and sustainability. To him it is “not a plaque with a certificate, it is about resourcefulness.” He believes that a chef “does not create waste” and takes every ingredient that comes in the restaurant as a challenge. He also believes that “a chef humbles himself on every occasion to give the customer what they want.”
To try a slice of Troiani’s Roman style pizza or sip a gelato cocktail, visit Papa J’s Twin Plaza location from 12pm - 9pm on Wednesday and Thursday, 11 am - 11 pm Friday and Saturday, or 11 am - 9 pm on Sunday. To see a full menu, visit their website here or you can call them with questions at 412-429-7272.
