The Virginian-Pilot
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For nine years, Gino's Pizzeria on General Booth Boulevard has been pleasing patrons with Italian-style pizza, calzones and stromboli with homemade dough and fresh ingredients.
Gino's claims to be "a little bit of Italy in Virginia Beach." But on my initial visit to Gino's several years ago for takeout, I felt like I had been transported to New York City and plopped smack dab in one of the many pizzerias I have enjoyed during visits to the boroughs.
In November, owners Maurizio and Angela Bolo renovated their casual eatery. The restaurant remained family friendly, but separating diners from the bustling take-out and delivery service made the dining room less hectic. It's now more gently lit, with cushioned banquettes, generously spaced tables and a flat-screen television for watching news or sports.
We enjoyed watching the 24-inch pie crusts as they were expertly tossed in the open kitchen.
We debated about our appetizer, choosing fried calamari ($7.95) even though they were not breaded on the premises. The rings, lightly battered and golden, were chewy, not tender.
Our special pie request of a half-onion, quarter-bacon and quarter-cheese pizza ($13.49 for a 16-inch pizza with one topping) was perfectly executed. Thin onion rings, tips charred, were perfect. One beautiful quarter was evenly coated with chopped, crispy bacon. The cheese slices were cheesy. The crust was thin on the bottom and crispy at the edge, and the whole thing was terrific.
We also ordered eggplant Parmesan ($11.95) after confirming that it was made fresh, not frozen like the chicken Parmesan. Breaded eggplant slices, laden with mozzarella cheese, made me wish for more of the veggie. A side of spaghetti with marinara sauce with garlic bread made for a plentiful dinner.
Our server recommended the Philly cheese steak ($7.95) from the wide selection of hot and cold hoagies. Juicy, lean, chopped-thin steak with melted mozzarella and grilled onions in a 12-inch soft roll was excellent, better than most sandwiches I've enjoyed in the city they were named for. We enjoyed the accompanying hot, fresh fries.
The cheesecake ($3.95) was a darn good one for not being homemade, even pleasing my choosiest cheesecake-lover guest. Gino's is a place to return for pizza and more, whether for dine-in, delivery or takeout.
Tammy Jaxtheimer, flavor@pilotonline.com
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i've never been there but
won't go based on the SLOW service comments and what I think are the high prices shown in the article. Lots of other places that are both fast and reasonable. Have a nice day.
Bacon?
Sorry Tammy but I'll pass on this one. Think you should spend more time in the boroughs, lol. Is this bacon precooked or microwaved? Never heard of such a thing in a pizza place. Philly steak either but thats no surprise. The best chant at Giants stadium is "Cheese steaks stink" or something that sounds close to it.
The best pizza in the city is L B Spumoni Garden 86th st. brooklyn and everyone knows. Please go! It's the water, in sauce, cheese and dough. Just not the same. Can never be compared.
Gino's pizza
I agree, fantastic pizza but very long wait and wrong order twice in a row, with another wait to make it right, just had to stop going there, unfortunately. They need something like a check-off order form and a time stamped on it, and if you don't get it on time, it's free or something. That's the only thing that might make me go back...
Are you sure your talking about the same Gino's?
I will admit as an ex-New Yorker, that most places around here can not come anywhere close to the style and taste of the food of NY, and I love the area so much that I can accept the trade off, but Gino's is really not that good, and as the other person commented, the service is really poor. If you place a pick up order and they tell you 20 mins, go in thiry and hope not to wait at least 10 minutes. I got tired of it and moved on. Pungo Pizza is much better, and the service is right on.
While we do enjoy the food
While we do enjoy the food at Gino's, but the service is VERY slow. Too slow. Expect to wait at your table for a long time! It's stopped us from going after one too many long waits.