By Suzanne Haberman Friday, 14 January 2011
Gino’s Italian Restaurant
Family carries on Old World tradition
ROUND ROCK — When Angelo “Gino” Minardi first moved to the United States from Italy in 1957, he worked for an Italian bakery in New Jersey. As a young man trying to make his way in a new country, he said he never would have imagined he would be the owner of a Round Rock eatery that has stood the test of more than 17 years.
Italian wine and beer
Wine is a cherished part of mealtime in Italy, Minardi said. So Gino’s offers a selection of Italian wines by the glass or bottle. Minardi recommends red wine be paired with entrees with red sauces, and white wines be served with seafood.
- Aziano Chianti is the restaurant’s top-selling red wine, with medium body and smooth texture.
- Cella Lambrusco is Gino’s only sweet red wine.
The restaurant also features two Italian imported beers.
- Peroni
- Birra Moretti
Manager favorites
Co-manager Teresa Cottingham, one of the owner’s daughters, highlighted three of her favorite menu items. Some entrees are served with salad or the homemade soup of the day, alternating among tomato basil, minestrone or lentil. Some dishes also come with a side of pasta.
Meat lasagna ($10.99)—Pasta, soft ricotta cheese and meat marinara sauce seasoned in-house are layered and baked. The vegetarian version of the lasagna substitutes spinach and mushrooms for the meat marinara.
Pasta pescatore ($18.99)—A combination of shrimp, mussels and clams in marinara sauce is served over linguini.
Gino’s Italian Restaurant started out in 1993 as a pizzeria and deli. The family built up their business by delivering the handmade pizzas and serving dine-in customers in a tiny dining room.
“And we still continue to offer pizza—dine in and takeout,” said Teresa Cottingham, one of Minardi’s three daughters.
When Minardi had the opportunity to expand into the neighboring space three years after opening, he more than doubled the size of his dining area. Gino’s expanded again in 2006 on the other side of the building. The dining room transformed into a “romantic” setting, with tablecloths, cloth napkins and warm lighting, Minardi said. To enhance the mood, Gino’s features live music by Pino, a guitarist, every Tuesday and Wednesday from 6 to 9 p.m.
“We’ve had the restaurant 17 and a half years, so we’ve really seen it grow,” Cottingham said.
In the process of growing, Gino’s began offering new entrees, Italian favorites Minardi said he remembered from his homeland.
“When we were kids, we were watchin’ our mama cooking,” he said. “I grew up that way.”
The marinara sauce and Italian dressing are two such family recipes, trade secrets carried over from generation to generation. To complement the cooking, Cottingham said they use the freshest mozzarella, provolone and Romano cheeses they can find.
Using those family recipes, Minardi estimated he serves up 140 pounds of pasta a week, in the restaurant and at catered events for Round Rock ISD. He specified that the measurement is the weight of the pasta before it is cooked.
Minardi’s three daughters, Cottingham, Gina Ganster and Christina Billings, all work in the restaurant. Also, his nephew Emanuel Minardi moved from Italy 13 years ago and has worked in the kitchen ever since.
“If it is not yours, you don’t usually take as good care of it as though it were your own,” Cottingham said.
That was the plan from the beginning, Minardi said. He moved to Round Rock to be near his children, and the whole family wanted a business where they could work together.
“I moved to Austin because my children are here,” he said.
Minardi, 78, works in the kitchen every day. His daughters work on the dining floor. Their continual presence helps them ensure the quality of the food meets their standards, Minardi said.
“I believe, you know, my food will go through all the way,” Minardi said. “Because I watch it six days a week—every day. That is why everything goes good.”
Gino’s Italian Restaurant
1701 S. Mays St., Ste. B, Round Rock
218-9922
www.ginosroundrock.net
Open Mon.–Sat. 11 a.m.–3 p.m. and 5 p.m.–10 p.m