Pino's

 

Pino's is a sort of odd, independent gourmet/liquor shop in Highland Park. Decorations are sort of weird. The beer selection is decent, with a large portion of it in coolers. A decent mix of locals, east coast breweries, and the odd west coast/midwest brewery. An ok selection of Belgian, German, and British imports.

There is only a small selection of large format bottles, which could certainly be improved, but the 6/4-pack selection is good. Service is friendly and prices are fine.

Overall this place is much better than the Rite Aid across the street in terms of selection, but there are probably better shops a short car ride away.

I've been going regularly to Pino's for about a year. The selection, while not huge, is very good. Sometimes if I go in with something in mind I'll be disappointed (at first), however I always leave with something else just as good. There is rarely more than a few six packs of each beer, but this results in beer always being fresh. It is a far better choice in the neighborhood than the Rite Aide across the street. Unfortunately Rite Aide seems to have more customers even though their selection and storage techniques are not great. If you live in or near Highland Park I highly recommend the place. Always friendly and always full of good beer.

Though the beer selection isn't very large, they certainly have some really good stuff here.. even saw some stuff I haven't seen much of in Northern NJ (Left Hand black Jack Porter, 3-packs or Belzebuth, Flying Dog's winter warmer, etc),.. they also had quite a bit of Belgian and German imports from what i remember.. Some stuff I'd never even seen or heard of before.. I also must credit this place with being the first place where I had some really good craft beer from (a friend worked there years ago in college and brought me some Rasputin for my birthday- before which the most unique beers I was familiar with were Sam Adams seasonals and Blue moon.. etc).. So yeah,... stop there sometime. But if you're looking for real finds just drive the 15 minutes to Oak Tree in S. Plainfield.

Pino's is a nice little specialty liquor store is the small boro of Highland Park, adjacent to New Brunswick and Rutgers University. It is a privately run small business, but while having great service (very friendly and helpful) their stock in terms of beer lacks scope and interest.

They have run of the mill micros and an average number of general imports, but they are better known for fine wine and top shelf spirits. Occaisionally they may have a surprise and compared to other "30pack" liquor stores for the Rutgers masses, Pino's should be considered at least for a walk through.

$$$$/5 ...Slightly Pricey

By no means the worst place I have visited, but not even close to being the best. With Somerville Supersaver and Oak Tree Buy Rite at most 20 minutes away, there is no reason to wander into this store. It is okay as a gourmet shop and I guess it isn't bad if you live in Highland Park or in some parts of New Brunswick. They have some imports, though the selection is run of the mill compared to the other stores listed and their micros aren't any better. They seem to have some decent gourmet food, though. If you are cooking something diffeerent for dinner and happen to be there, it wouldn't be a bad idea to check out the selection, but otherwise there are places more worthy of your time.

Cute little place just off of the Rutgers campuses in New Brunswick. I spent many hours there contemplating my next purchase. They have a very good selection of regional brews and imports warm and plenty of micros and imports in the cooler. A trip there is well worth it and there is never a reason to leave empty handed. A great selection for a store of it's size. Great place for someone in the NB area if you don't want to make the trip to Super Saver in Somerville or Buy-Rite on Oak Tree Road. Support Pino's, the little guy.

10/5/03
Looking back now made be drop the scores a bit. It's still a great little shop, but definately doesn't deserve to marks I originally gave it. Selection of regional micros is very good, but imports are pretty weak. If I were still in the area, I would still go to Pino's for my micros.