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After graduating from Johnson & Wales University, Anthony Pino immediately immersed himself in the New York food scene and found a home in the kitchen
at Park Avalon. As sous chef, he became exposed not only to the discerning palettes of city restaurant-goers, but also to the management style of its owner, Stephen Hansen, which would prove valuable later in Anthony’s career.
His next opportunity came with the high-volume eatery The Garage in the East Village of Manhattan. It was there that Anthony began developing his love of
rustic, country-style Italian cooking, and the wide swath of flavors that are associated with various regions of Italy. He began putting his training to work, blending Italian flavors with a mix of modern American and classic French sensibilities. He developed several menu items for the restaurant, and in his
first endeavor in entrepreneurship, pitched the idea of supplying his own crab
cakes to gourmet food shops. Using a friend’s kitchen, he presented the idea to Balducci’s. The very next day, the famed shop placed an order for 200.
Soon, other markets began ordering Anthony’s food, and it became clear that
he was headed in a new direction. Despite graduating to the chef position at 53 Grove Street, Anthony took a leap of faith off the beaten path and opened his own Gourmet Shoppe and Catering business in Hoboken, New Jersey, the bohemian mile square directly across the river from the west side of downtown Manhattan.
Quickly, Mr. Pino became the preferred supplier of prepared foods in Hoboken.
A trend also began to crystallize: there was a sophisticated audience in this
area that appreciated serious food. Soon after, Anthony began offering a
modest brunch on weekends. When Anthony’s café became a brunch favorite, selling out virtually every weekend of the year, Anthony set his sights on offering more…a full service restaurant. His dream became a reality with the opening in September 2002 of The Dining Room at Anthony David’s, a restaurant that
features two intimate dining areas and a wrap-around outdoor seating area.
In October of 2004, Chef Pino had the honor of cooking at the legendary Beard House, the center of the James Beard Foundation. This venerable culinary institution celebrates chefs from all over the country, and Anthony has been
invited back for a pending date in 2006.
Between the gourmet shoppe, the prepared foods, and the restaurant, Anthony
is able to serve his audience at every level, and finds himself evenly split
between each of the businesses. Since the shoppe’s opening in 1997 and the restaurant’s debut in 2002, he has been featured in Gourmet magazine, New Jersey Monthly and The Discovery Channel, and written about and reviewed in The New York Times, Zagat, Paper magazine, Citispots magazine, The Star-Ledger, The Bergen Record, the Spotlight magazine of the Ledger newspapers,
an online column called Table Hopping with Rosie, and Channel 12 News.
Anthony is currently considering plans for a second restaurant, as well as a cookbook. He is also engaged in creating a chef association in Hoboken. |
