Parkwanus-Sized Drama at The Pines?

Photo via The Pines Facebook page

LONG LIVE PARKWANUS! A mere twenty days ago, The Pines, Parkwanus’ rustically kooky Italian-Asianish restaurant became the neighborhood's first restaurant to receive a starred review from The NY Times' Pete Wells. While they did only receive one star, Wells noted that they seemed to be improving over time, comparing them to the 70's band Television...who apparently sucked for a bunch before they became awesome.

Then this past Friday, word got out that The Pines' head chef Angelo Romano was leaving the restaurant on Friday the 13th. BUT WHA??? Leaving so soon after a NY Times review? It's not like it was that bad of a review. I mean, it paled in comparison to when The Times' Sam Sifton dropped a zero-star "fair" rating on Eddie Huang's Xiao Ye, which closed a month-and-a-half later after one too many Four Loko-related raids.

So WHAT COULD IT BE? Why would Romano leave The Pines at a crucial time in the restaurant's development? Was shit going down anyway & the review was some sort of straw that broke the camel's back? In the interest of rumor & hearsay & wild speculation & allowing you to create your VERY OWN scenario about what went down, let's look at a few facts:

#1 - Romano spent time at both Mario Batali's Lupa & Bushwick hipster pizza haven Roberta's. Eventually, he went off on his own, opening up Williamsburg's Masten Lake in July of 2011 to much acclaim. Seven months later, that restaurant was dunzo. Next up was The Pines, the second project from the team behind Littleneck. They brought him in as head chef, instantly assuring that the food at The Pines would be unlike any other in Parkwanus. Then he moved on after less than a year & is looking to open something new soon.

#2 - In the NY Times review, Wells mentioned that Romano "has a discerning eye for prime ingredients, but isn't always as discerning about his ideas."

#3 - With a tin & wood interior paired with inventive, oft-crazy, pricey & hit-or-miss food, there's basically no other restaurant in Parkwanus like The Pines.

So what went down? Perhaps Romano is some sort of artist type who doesn't like being tied down for too long. Perhaps his ideas didn't jibe with the rest of the team. Perhaps he felt that, despite the up-and-coming feel of Parkwanus, The Pines was doomed, so he got the eff out of dodge before the ship started to sink. MAYBE THE PINES IS AN ELABORATE DRUG FRONT & HE HATES DRUGS.

I bet if you think about it long enough, you can come up with a wild theory too. I mean, y'all are smarter and/or wittier than dozens of Eater NY commenters, right?

Read way more from Shawn at eatdrinksnack.com & eatdrinktaco.com.