Chef Elton Hyndman, getting fresh at Nino’s and Oscar’s

“I have to be one of the luckiest chefs in town,” says Elton Hyndman, chef-owner of Nino’s Italian Restaurant and Oscar’s Pizza and Ice Cream Joint. Hyndman, and his wife and business partner, Randee, live in close proximity to the Red Stick Farmers Market’s Thursday location on Perkins Road, which they visits en route to their two restaurants, also nearby. Hyndman routinely incorporates all sorts of fresh seafood and produce from local fishers and farmers into the modern Italian cuisine at Nino’s, and uses spring and summer fruits like strawberries, blackberries and peaches in the homemade ice cream at Oscar’s.

The Hyndmans bought Nino’s in 2009, and updated the menu with Elton’s homemade pasta, gnocchi, wheat sourdough bread and commitment to local pickings. Ripe Creole tomatoes and basil pesto top his bruschetta, while a rudimentary dish like lasagna gets a facelift from a layer of marinated and grilled summer squash. Currently, he’s roasting summer new potatoes with pancetta and green onion, and creating succotash from purple hull peas and fresh corn. A recent special features grilled grouper with fresh grilled figs and a schmear of goat cheese.

The Hyndman’s bought Oscar’s a couple of years ago because they thought it was important their neighborhood have a great place to hang out and eat pizza. But behind the unassuming vibe is pizza dough from scratch, and ice cream made in-house. “The base only has four ingredients,” says Hyndman. “Eggs, Louisiana cane sugar, milk and cream.”

Eating local is embedded in the national dialogue, says Hyndman, and it’s changed the expectations of local diners. “People know what they’re coming in for,” he says. “And with Louisiana being a rural state with an incredibly long growing season, it’s a great place to be.”