Restaurant Update

We heard a rumor that the Gino's Pizza at 548 Flatbush (near Lincoln) was going to expand into the open space at 546; that rumor is true.

I happened by when Gino was there and he told me that they are doing a major remodeling. They are going to take down the wall between the spaces and move the kitchen/ovens to the back. They are going to move the pizza to the expansion and turn the current space into a sit-down Italian restaurant. He also said that they might get a brick oven to make pizza in. All good to hear.

Gino gave me a timeline of one to two months, but that seems optimistic. It seems particularly optimistic because there is still a "For Rent" sign on the space next door, so I don't know if contract negotiations are even finished, much less preparations for the renovation.

In other restaurant news, the Crown Heights blog Nostrand Park has noticed the opening of a new restaurant on our the CH side of Empire. Essential Organic and International Cuisine, at 762 Nostrand on the corner of Sterling Street Place, is offering a polyglot menu. Nostrand Park explains:

[The owner explained] that the restaurant has three main chefs - one versed in Caribbean cuisine, one versed in Italian cuisine and one versed in organic cuisine.  Taking a closer gander at the menu, indeed the selection is much more diverse than we first recognized.   The offerings include portabello burgers, salmon swiss melt, hummus platter, veggie lasagna, fried chicken and stuffed red snapper (plus many more items).  Perhaps due to his background as small business lender at Chase, the owner was able pick up on the fact that people are "hungry" for a broader food choice on Nostrand.

Either this restaurant is open all day or, I strongly suspect, that the menu has a typo, since it says breakfast is served from 2-11AM. When we check it out, we'll give a more complete report.

Comments

[Brandon]

too bad Gino's pizza is awful...

[Aaron]

Yep - Gino told me the same a couple weeks ago. He also said he's considering going with a real brick oven. I think he wanted me to be impressed with the cost - he emphasized that it would be at leas 10K, but he also assured me it wouldn't change the taste of the pizza at all!

[jessica]

I was about to post "too bad Gino's pizza is so awful", but Brandon beat me to it.

Note also that the new Caribbean restaurant is at Sterling PLACE, not Street. That puts it on the other side of Eastern Parkway. It sounds kinda nice, but probably not worth the 30+ minute hike.

[Charles Star]

Good catch, jessica. Edited.

[Pete]

I think Gino's pizza is tasty.