Brooklyn World - Nino's in Bay Ridge
My first job as a photographer was for the Courier Newspapers in Brooklyn. I covered community meetings, block parties, and press events. I made no money and it was not sustainable — they paid $7 per photo (!) and did not reimburse expenses — but I loved doing it because my assignments involved photographing people in places all around the vast borough of Brooklyn.
I photographed in Canarsie, Sheepshead Bay, Bensonhurst, Flatlands, Flatbush, Midwood, Marine Park — and yes, the brownstone neighborhoods of Park Slope, Carroll Gardens, and Brooklyn Heights — but also in Dyker Heights, Bedford Stuyvesant, Bath Beach, and Bay Ridge. All were distinct neighborhoods, each had its own local politicians whose spiels I heard plenty of times — and each had its own best pizzerias, many of with which I became familiar.
Last Saturday I returned for the first time in a while to Nino’s in Bay Ridge. The visit was fruitful due not only to the several slices of pizza I ate but also because State Senator Marty Golden — an affable Republican from Bay Ridge who I had photographed plenty of times for Courier Papers (and then later for the NY Daily News) —came in while I was there. Somehow, his presence added validation to what I already knew to be true: Nino's makes good pizza. We chatted for a minute. He told me Nino's is one of several stops along his regular Saturday route: “Pizza at Nino’s, then I'll have an espresso next door, and I'm doing laundry across the street.” (I asked him why a person of his stature was using a laundromat and — like a pro — he evaded the question.) (Rollover the above photo of the scene outside of Nino's for a 2001 photo I made for the Courier. Senator Golden is second from right.)
I should mention that Senator Golden had a square of Nino’s grandma pizza. At Nino’s, it’s called "Gran Mama" and it is far thinner than grandma pies at other pizzerias.
For a full description of Nino’s Gran Mama and other pies I tried last weekend, visit the sister review I’ve posted onto slice.seriouseats.com.
(Above photo shows one of Nino’s owners, Benny Cerva, holding a Gran Mama pie fresh from the oven.)
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Nino's Pizza is open 10 am - 11 pm, 7 days/week. Map Nino's Pizza.