It's only in very recent years that New Orleans has been blessed with more than a few first-class, made-from-scratch pizzas. For decades, any pizzeria that could bake pies consistently well was worthy of note. Cafe Nino is from that era, and it's still one of the best--even in competition with the hip new ppizzerias with their wood-fired ovens. Nino makes his pizza in the New York style--thin crust, a little burned around the edges. Also here are Philly cheese steak sandwiches made better than any other locally. And some surprisingly fine, unexpected daily specials.
Nino Bongiorno, native of Sicily, moved to New York in his early adulthood, and started cooking. He moved to Philadelphia for a time, then wound up here, duplicating the kind of neighborhood Italian restaurant he found in the Northeast. He's there almost all the time.
The converted Steak 'n' Egg Kitchen is, to be charitable, low on creature comforts. Everything's pretty beat up. But there's a certain charm in this. The service style is unique: the food comes, and comes, but no check. Ask Nino how much you owe on the way out, and he'll make up a figure that will be a bargain.
Get ready for a very off-the-cuff, loose operation. You not only order at the counter but most of the time pick up your own food.
| Attitude | 1 |
|---|---|
| Environment | 0 |
| Hipness | 0 |
| Local Color | 1 |
| Service | 0 |
| Value | 3 |
| Wine | 0 |
