Tino’s Pizza Co: A Review

Operating a restaurant under normal circumstances is pretty daunting. Operating one under the current pandemic circumstances is nothing short of heroic.

Last week my two little guys headed to the beach in Ocean Grove NJ for the day. Before we hit the beach we needed lunch. In summers past, this would have meant quickly grabbing a slice somewhere. But we are in the middle of “a new normal” as they say, so eating out requires planning, logistics and of course masks.

Tino’s Artisan Pizza in Ocean Grove has risen to the occasion.

Ordering

I chose to scope out the menu online first so I didn’t have to try to read it at the restaurant while wrangling two kids, but they do have a menu posted next to the door. Since at the time of this writing there is no dining indoors in NJ (I think that’s changing very soon) there is a table set up as you walk in with an employee to take your order. You can also order online. Once your order is ready it is packaged and placed on the table with your name on it. Masks are required to enter.

Seating

There are plenty of nicely spaced tables out front to sit and eat. Plus, your view is the beautiful town of Ocean Grove so you really can’t go wrong there!

Menu

The menu features an extensive amount of classic and modern Italian dishes, sandwiches, salads, pizzas and desserts. I thought their menu might be limited due to the current situation, but no, they are operating full tilt. If it’s on their regular menu, they’ve got it! There are also vegetarian and vegan options clearly marked, and gluten free options. They do mention on their website that even the gluten free food is prepared along side their other items for those with severe celiac’s to be aware of. There were so many things I wanted to try (like my favorite, caccio e pepe) but in the interest of getting my two squirmy kids to the beach ASAP I ordered the fraggola salad for me, and a pizza for them.

Now, there is a big difference between a salad hastily thrown together on the line without any thought or concern. In most restaurants, the salads leave much to be desired. They are an afterthought when many people would like to enjoy them in their own right. Not at Tino’s! My salad was first and foremost visually appealing. The produce was fresh, crisp, and brightly colored. The blend of strawberries, almonds, feta and spring mix was perfect. Simple, fresh, and aesthetically pleasing. And I had to fight my kids to actually get to try the crackers. They were so good.

For my kids I ordered the margherita pizza. When they first laid eyes on it they balked. They’ve only ever had your standard fare pizzeria pizza and like many 5 and 3 year olds, when something looks different, it’s a problem.

I may or may not have bribed them with the promise of ice cream later on, but once they had their first bite of pizza it was on. Between the two of them they polished off the majority of the pizza. I managed to get a taste and wow.

As a kid, I spent much of my time on Staten Island and eating all that New York pizza means my standards are pretty high. According to Tino’s website, their pizza crust is hand stretched and they use a terra cotta method of cooking their pizza. End result: you need to try the pizza. And your pizza standards will probably be forever altered.

Conclusion

I really commend any restaurant doing business right now. If it’s hard to go out to eat during a pandemic, I can’t imagine how hard it must be to provide this service. Much less make it a nice experience. Not only was I able to sit down and enjoy a meal with my children, something we haven’t done in months, it was enjoyable. The food was great, the staff was fantastic, my kids were happy and so was I.

A Woman Who Cooks

During a recent conversation with friends, the topic of what one of said friends is looking for when it comes to a girlfriend or wife came up.

“I want a woman who cooks.” He said.

Although women have made much progress when it comes to moving past the traditional stereotype of a woman as a domestic, I don’t think we have yet beaten the “woman’s place is in the kitchen” stereotype. Most of my female friends prepare the majority of the family meals. And I think most men like it that way. A very notable exception for me is of course my father, who loved to cook and was the one to prepare meals, and my uncle, a one time restaurant owner who also was the main cook in his house.

If a woman’s place is in the kitchen , why then is the field of professional chefs dominated by men? It’s something I started pondering back when I worked in a hotel. The executive chef was of course a man, as was the sous chef, and all the cooks. The only female in that kitchen was the pastry chef, the only area in the culinary world that is generally more female friendly.

But world class female chefs do exist. Once they reach celebrity status, their personal lives seem to be of more interest than anything else, but they have CHOPS in the kitchen. And I feel like they should be called out in the best possible way: for their accomplishments and success in a male dominated field.

Julia Child

We of course have to start with Julia Child. One of the most well known and accomplished chefs of all time, male or female. Although she started her career as a copy writer, upon moving to Paris she enrolled in the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu after a stint in military service during WWII. The rest is history. A best selling to this day cookbook that revolutionized how Americans cook. A successful TV cooking show long before the Food Network and YouTube age of insta celebrity. She possibly impacted American cuisine and opened our minds to world cuisine more than any other chef.

Clare Smyth

You won’t recognize her name from the glossy pages of the Food Network magazine, but you may know her through Chef Gordon Ramsay. After graduating from culinary school and working her way up, she received an offer from Gordon Ramsay and became the first female chef in Great Britain to be appointed head chef at a Michelin three star restaurant. She’s also won many prestigious awards, and was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire.

Giada De Laurentiis

Yes. She’s a Food Network star. Yes, her personal life has been splashed across the tabloids, and yes, the media seems more interested in publishing pics of her in her bathing suit on the beach, but Giada deserves much more culinary credit than she gets. For instance, she got to “learn in real time” as a child in the kitchen of her grandfather’s restaurant. She attended Le Cordon Bleu in France, the same school as Julia Child. And she worked at the Wolfgang Puck restaurant, Spago. She went on to publish cookbooks and star in her own cooking shows, helping many people to learn to level up their home cooking.

There are probably quite a few restaurants in your area owned by women or with women as executive chef. Try apps like Yelp, OpenTable, and Caviar for help in locating them! It’s time to celebrate female culinary creativity!

The Journey Begins

Food is intoxicating, isn’t it?

I don’t mean the random stuff we mindlessly scarf down as we rush through life. 

I mean the good stuff. I mean the meal you sit down and enjoy with loved ones. The dish that has been perfectly crafted. The one prepared with simple fresh ingredients by someone who loves to cook, whether professional or not. 

Some of my favorite memories were created by food. Walking into my grandparents house on Christmas morning while my grandmother busily rushed around the kitchen simmering, stirring and baking. Sitting in my great grandmother’s kitchen while she crafted the Greek baked goods of her homeland with more mastery than any master baker could reproduce. 

But the memories that I hold most dear are ones with my dad, now deceased. He was truly a gourmet. Had he been so inclined he could have been a world class chef at a fine restaurant. But he always said he’d never want that. For him, cooking was his creative outlet. I loved sitting at the counter in his kitchen, watching him throw together ingredients. A little bit of this, some of that. He somehow knew exactly how to make a dish come together. It’s really there that I learned to cook. No formal classes, just watching my father demonstrate creativity, fearlessness, and a devout love of what he was doing. 

As I got older, his birthday gift to me every year was a really nice dinner at a really nice restaurant. Those are the intoxicating meals I was talking about. The artisan cheese platter and cake pops for dessert at the now defunct Fromagerie. The lobster bisque soup at McLoone’s Rum Runner. The Cream of Peanut Soup at the King’s Arms Tavern. I not only remember these favorite meals, but the distinct joy I felt during the whole experience.

For many years now I have followed a plant based diet. No meat or fish, no milk, limited eggs and dairy. For many foodies this is unthinkable. For many world class chefs this is tantamount to blasphemy. But really, when you stop relying on meat to “anchor” your meal, a whole new potential for creativity opens up. I learned this first hand from a man who was decidedly not a vegetarian. My father. When I started to ease out of eating meat, my father didn’t skip a beat. He made his famous, from scratch, homemade pizza. Roasted asparagus drizzled with béarnaise sauce, roasted vegetable bisque soup, and of course my favorite Peanut soup straight from the Colonial Williamsburg cookbook, minus the chicken  broth base.

I’ve worked in many a restaurant as a host, server, runner, expediter, and I even hopped back on the line to help when needed. I’ve always secretly wanted to work professionally in the food industry. I even quietly considered the Culinary Institute of America for college. But ultimately I’m on the same page my dad was. I don’t want the crazy hours, wild pace, and to have my culinary creativity curtailed by the boundaries set by my boss. I want it on my own terms. And I want it plant based.

So truly, the purpose of this blog is to be a resource for those eating vegan or vegetarian diets, as well as those simply looking to cut back on meat and dairy consumption. Product reviews, how to eat out, WHERE to eat out, and how to step away from the meat as the centerpiece mentality.

Because, yes. Sometimes a great story does start with a salad.