This place has always been very special to me. My first ever visit was with my parents on my fifteenth birthday after we finished at the DMV and I had my learner’s permit tucked safely in my wallet next to my fake ID. I had what they were having, Shrimp remoulade and the shish kabob with roasted new potatoes and a little garlic water salad right on the plate. They brought the little white bread rolls hot to the table with real butter. And by they, I mean the older black men who waited back then and ran a book out of a two top in the back of the place. The shrimp remoulade was unique. Boiled shrimp sliced lengthwise to increase coverage. Sliced white onion and green olives over a romaine and iceberg mix with a thousand island style remoulade finished with a drizzle of straight horseradish sauce over everything. Wish I could share a picture, but sadly, it is no longer menued. The wine soaked lamb was slow roasted then flash grilled just before serving and the garlic roasted new potatoes were something I’d never had before that day as my mom was more into baked and mashed potatoes. Many things remain the same after the reopening, the cozy Lady and the Tramp atmosphere with the candles and Chianti bottles, the wooden tables and chairs with the checked red and white cloth, the Godfather music playing in the background.
But the old black men are gone, the ashtrays are gone, the book is gone. And, like any homage, some of the items, including the shish kabob, are actually made with better cuts of meat, fresher ingredients, etc–but just aren’t the same as you remember. I spent two years once cooking the food I grew up with, fried pork chops, meatloaf with whole boiled eggs in the center, shrimp pizzas, and my aim was not to duplicate what my mom actually put on the table, but what I remembered eating, which wasn’t quite the same thing. There’s a parallel with my suburban homage and the reopened Pinetta’s, you try to reproduce it your memories and even if you are successful, they aren’t the same memories as others have. But there is a way around all the memories, at least at Pinetta’s. Start fresh. No one ever eats the whole menu at a restaurant. As much as you might want to, you don’t have the time, there are other restaurants and dives to hit, and you can get stuck on favorites. For years I loved to hit Pinetta’s for lunch by myself, ordering the remoulade and shish kabob and a Heineken, making sure to break a hundred when I paid out and tipping well so I’d have the old guys on my side when I’d bring a woman in on her birthday for dinner, calling Heroman’s to deliver a dozen red ones in the afternoon that they would keep in the cooler for me until I asked to look at the dessert menu and Earnest, the singing waiter would bring them to the table and sing happy birthday to my lady. That was then. This is now.
My ex-wife turned me on to a classic from her homeland, spaghetti aglio e olio. She was macrobiotic for the most part, vegan a good bit of the time, but she did love her seafood and cheese so a lot of my meatless cooking I learned from her or for her. The new Pinetta’s nails this dish.
Paired with salatta alla Pinetta or their spot-on Sensation salad and a half liter bottle of Chianti, it makes for a wonderful dinner, with or without friends. Every place is not good for single diners. This one is. You can sit to dinner with your memories, or invite friends to make new ones. Comme ci comme ça. There is always more to explore at every restaurant. Something you have yet to try. While mostly Italian, Pinetta’s has Turkish, Armenian, and German dishes as well and the set and daily lunch specials are quick, one plate, and very reasonably priced. Try it yourself for lunch. Bring a friend for dinner.
