No. 92 — Have a Slice of Pizza at Gino's

Our ninth installment in the "100 Things to Do in Lynbrook" is to check out Gino’s Pizzeria, located at 455 Sunrise Highway.

Since 1960, this pizzeria has been turning out Neapolitan and Sicilian pies, heroes, calzones and, of course, regular pies (the best!). Owned and run by Mario and Luigi, — not the Super Mario Brothers — but they are pretty super people, who have been working super hard for as long as I have been going here.

This pizza parlor has had the best pizza I have ever tasted. When I was in high school, this is where we went almost every single day to eat lunch. We would also go there on the weekends to eat or during the summer to get an Italian ice. When my high school friends and I get together, we will still meet at this restaurant.

Years ago, this pizza parlor even had a jukebox and my friends and I reminisce about hearing and playing the same songs over and over. Led Zeppelin’s “Hot Dog” and Gloria Gaynor’s “Substitute,” were played so much, it’s probably why they eventually got rid of the jukebox. Attached is a photo of the inside of Gino’s in one of the booths taken back in the early 1980s. One of my best friend’s favorite memories of this place was feeding about 13 people with one pizza pie and fitting, if we were lucky, on four chairs. It was always very crowded and definitely to this day is still one of the most popular spots for the high school teens to eat lunch.

In taking to one of the owners, Mario, he said that the jukebox is actually in the works for a possible comeback in the very near future. They plan to bring it back with music from the 60s to the 80s.

After a movie or on a night when you just don’t feel like cooking, this is definitely the restaurant to go to.

Category:  Food & Dining, Restaurants

• Hours: Monday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 a.m.; Sunday, closed.
• Handicap Accessible: Yes
• Parking: Free
• Phone: (516) 593-1065