Nina's: Not Your Breakfast's Waffles

There’s a notion among the diner set that the waffle is a breakfast-time exclusive, best situated between a short stack of pancakes and fried eggs with hash on a 27-page menu. Leave it to the sophisticated Europeans to highlight the error of our ways.

On Wednesday, Nina’s Waffles and Sweets on White Street in Red Bank opens is doors and presents waffles in the Belgium style, as a any-time-of-day treat best complimented, not by a side of home fries, but with any number of toppings, from fresh fruits, to whipped cream, and the Euro-classic powdered sugar.

“This isn’t your typical American-style waffle,” Nina’s manager Mike Loff said Tuesday as final preparations for the next-day opening were under way. “It’s denser and more doughy. It’s something in Belgium people eat at any time throughout the day. It’s not just for breakfast.”

It’s not just in the presentation that these waffles differ, either. Instead of a traditional batter, these waffles are made with a pearl sugar that caramelizes as the waffle cooks.

And these ones are square, too.

Nina’s Waffles, created by Greek-born but Belgium-raised restaurateur Louis Zanias, is the third of its kind in New Jersey. The decision to locate in Red Bank, Loff said, where there’s a glut of restaurants and eateries of all kinds, is to fill a void in the sweet’s market by offering something that’s both delicious and unique to the Greater Red Bank area.

“You have your chocolate thing and your cupcake thing, but if you’re going to a dinner party and your not bringing cheese or wine, you have the opportunity to bring something different, a unique desert,” he said. “That’s why it’s a good fit for this area.”

In addition to waffles offered with a slew of toppings, there are also the sweets, of course, like cakes and candies delivered to the store fresh from local bakeries. Nina’s will also offer plenty of coffee and cappuccino varieties to accompany its waffles and baked goods.

Though a grand opening date has not been set, Loff said he expects a mid-December celebration to mark the store’s opening. Until then, Nina’s is still open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Nina's is located at 15 White St.