Delicious home-made Italian entrees including traditional antipasto, pasta, eggplant parm, chicken parm and Luigi's soon to be famous meatballs! “Our balls are bangin’.”
That’s the new slogan of Luigi’s Italian Restaurant in Ocean City, which is under new management by owner of and instructor at Local Studio Workout Nancy Babcock and her husband, Long & Foster realtor, Joe Babcock. After decades o
f serving frozen shrimp that was just thrown in a fryer, Luigi’s, at the corner of 9th Street and West Avenue, was long known for being a tourist trap. The Babcocks assure that now everything on the menu is “fresh, current and up-to-date” — in particular, their already-popular meatballs, from which the cheeky slogan is derived. So why do two people with careers unrelated to the food business want to open a restaurant — particularly one with a reputation that would provide any new owners with an uphill battle with regard to changing people’s negative perceptions? “Because we’re insane … we’re crazy,” Nancy Babcock laughs. “Joe loved it (Luigi’s). He grew up as a young kid coming down (to Ocean City) and was mentored by the (original owner Luigi Esposito) from 1981 to about 1995. It had a special place in his heart.
“When he approached me I shut him down — ‘absolutely not, we’re too busy.’ He revisited the topic with me and he broke me down and here we are.”
The couple only took over Luigi’s in February. But their history with the establishment goes back much further — to the summer of 1993 to be precise, when Nancy worked there as a waitress while Joe was manager. Nancy, an Absecon native, and Joe, who hailed from upstate New York, also fell for Ocean City and began their life together on the island. Both are well aware of the reputation Luigi’s has had in recent years.
“Back in the day, the food (at Luigi’s) was unbelievable — but from late ’90s on, it took a dive. It was known as a tourist trap from that point,” Nancy Babcock states. “We’re trying to pull out of that. If you look at Yelp, it’s ridiculous how bad it was, but we are trying to change that.”
Both husband and wife are hoping that, like in real estate, it will be the location that helps brings in customers. But it will be the food — from a completely revamped menu — that keeps them coming back. “People will come anyway because of location (right in the heart of Ocean City), but now they’ll come because they’ll hear how good the food is,” says Nancy, who can be found working the room, checking in at tables to make sure that everyone is pleased, while Joe stays in the kitchen making, among other things, his authentic pork gravy that takes eight hours to complete. The Babcocks’ new menu eliminated the frozen seafood dishes the old Luigi’s was known for serving. They did, however, keep a few staples, such as the lasagna ($14), eggplant, chicken and veal parms ($14, $15, $17) and Luigi’s Special Bake ($14), which is spaghetti baked with layers of fresh mushrooms, mozzarella and parmigiano cheeses with tomato gravy. Nancy Babcock was adamant that the look of the new Luigi’s be more modern and less kitschy. All menu items can be found on small chalkboards placed on each table, providing an updated feel.
“It was something cool that I saw,” Nancy Babcock says. Gone are the Formica tables, all replaced with tables with patterns that mimic hardwood floors. The walls are a warm green with attractive lighting fixtures dangling from above that reflect intricate geometric patterns on the ceiling. Vintage black and white photographs grace the walls, one of which displays the original Luigi Esposito behind the hostess stand.
“It’s not an Italian restaurant with red-checked tablecloths and bread sticks on the table — not that there’s anything wrong with that. There are no place mats with all the local businesses on it like a diner,” Nancy states.The menu, Nancy claims, is current and up-to-speed with the nation’s top restaurants, particularly those in Miami Beach.
“We based our menu on things we like to eat from other regions — it’s not a typical Italian restaurant menu,” she explains. “It’s based on our travels and personal things that we like that our families have done … (such as) Nana’s Pickin’s ($9, $15), our antipasta with prosciutto, olives, almonds, cheeses, long hots … We grew up eating that, so we recreated it.”
Nancy also grew up eating her grandmother’s meatballs. She combined that recipe with that of the grandmother of Jeni Bongiovanni, manager and part-time cook and baker.
“Jeni and I combined our grandmother’s meatball recipes to create a different meatball … an unbelievable mouth-watering meatball,” Nancy says. They make these “regular” meatballs for dishes like spaghetti and meatballs ($15) and another larger version with hot sausage in it for the Meatball Salad ($14) with arugula, grape tomatoes, shaved parmigiano, lemon juice and extra-virgin olive oil. They deliberately don’t offer many desserts, figuring that most customers in Ocean City would rather grab ice cream on the boardwalk after dinner. But if you stick do around for coffee, JB’s Lemon Loaf ($4), baked by Bongiovanni, is a must-try. Despite knowing full well that the reputation of the Luigi’s of old may still be stuck in customers’ minds, Nancy says that Joe unquestionably did not want to change the name.
“He’s nostalgic. It’s where he learned everything,” Nancy says. “Pop-Pop Luigi taught him everything here, and he wants to honor what he taught him. He does it exactly the way he would have done it — with a new flair.”
Ever the positive fitness instructor, Nancy has only encouraging things to say about this new venture with her husband.
“Is it something I thought I would ever do? Absolutely not. Do I like what has transpired so far and like what I do? I feel confident in our product — 100 percent. Our prices are reasonable, and our product is very good. There is no question that we’re putting out a good product.”
LUIGI'S ITALIAN RESTAURANT
Where: 300 E. 9th Street, Ocean City
When: 5 to 10 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays off-season. Daily in-season
How much: Appetizers range in price from $3.50 to $15; salads $6 to $12; entrees $11 to $17; pizzas $12 to $14; kids menu $2 to $6; beverages and desserts $3 and $4. Services: Disabled accessible; major credit cards accepted, but cash tips only; parking lot; kids menu; no BYO; no liquor; catering; take out; no delivery
More info: Call 609-399-4937 or check them out on Facebook at Luigi's Restaurant OCNJ
Between you and me: If you're off carbs, read no further. It's time to discuss the bread. Everyone knows that any Italian restaurant worth its salt should serve a rockin' roll. Without question, Luigi's does. Baked daily by Sharren Pagano, the loaves of bread distributed to each table are, in a word, amazing. Even more amazing? Pagano's pizza crust. Thin, crispy, flaky — this crust rivals that of any Philly or New York City pizzeria. It may very well be the best pizza crust at the shore. ATLANTIC CITY PRESS ARTICLE MAY 2017
