Gino's, 540 State St., has been serving a variety of authentic Italian dishes for over 43 years. With its bright red awning and patio in front, Gino's is an icon in downtown Madison.
Stepping inside the restaurant affords a retreat from the everyday bustle and an ideal place to bring a date. Almost every table is a secluded ""couple's table,"" with attractive, dark wood paneling segregating each booth and promoting privacy and good conversation. While some diners wear jeans, anyone on their way to a performance at the Overture Center would not feel overdressed.
A flavorful, thick crust separates the stuffed pizza ($14.95 for a large cheese) at Gino's from any other pizzeria in Madison. While somewhat akin to the Chicago-style deep dish, the stuffed pizza at Gino's is less greasy and more cheesy, with the cheese from each slice stretching from the platter all the way to plate.
The crust is more like a pie shell or freshly baked European bread than a typical pizza crust. The pizza itself is filled with mozzarella cheese and topped with a pleasantly chunky tomato sauce. A delicate blend of flavors marry within this pizza pie from the flavorful crust to the robust tomato sauce. Diners should beware, though, that the sauce slides off easily.
A server at the restaurant recommended the Chicken Florentine ($15.95)—chicken breast served with sautAced spinach, mushrooms, a white wine-based cream sauce and topped with mozzarella and shredded Parmesan cheeses. The presentation was beautiful, and unlike many restaurants, Gino's included plenty of the cream sauce to accompany the dish. This chicken dish was tasty, with soft notes of spinach, wine and mushrooms harmonizing in the background, but it seemed a little overpriced.
Given its price, the fist-size serving of Chicken Florentine was rather small. While no pasta comes with the dish, the entrAce did include salad and garlic bread. Neither of these was very unique, however. The garlic bread was greasy and did not have a strong garlic taste, and the salad was an unimpressive bed of iceberg lettuce accompanied by a few ribbons of purple cabbage, one pale tomato wedge and dressing.
What is impressive at Gino's is the service. Every server we passed en route to our table smiled, our server went out of her way to accommodate our requests but was in no way overbearing and someone thanked us for coming as we left the restaurant.
Given this standard, it would not be surprising if Gino's is around for another 43 years.
