The dining room in the front of Sugo’s in Duluth. (photo courtesy of Sugo’s)
OK, so a few days go it was raining—like raining raining. Of biblical proportions raining. The TV weathermen were in freak-out mode, using their StormTrackers® and Deep-Space Viper Radar™ and all the other cool weather-predicting stuff they have to play with; all worried about back-side swirl and micro-massive wind gusts and other things that sounded like they were making them up on the spot.
“See this here,” one plastic-haired meteorologist would say, pointing to the big map on the screen. “If this were doing the exact opposite of what it’s doing, then we would be really worried. It’s not doing that, but if it did, we’d be telling you to get to your safe rooms. We’re going to continue to watch this part of the storm cell, just in case…”
Since I didn’t build an ark and I don’t have a “safe room” in my little apartment, Johanna and I decided it would be a good night to go out for dinner. Hey, if we’re going to go, might as well go with a tummy full of good food.
So we went to Sugo in Duluth. I had never been there before, but heard it was good; besides, I have already hit all the really local places for UpTake, and Sugo wasn’t too far away (it was, however, on the other side of the Chattahoochee River, so we were sorta risking it if the water were to rise and take out the bridge, but I digress).
Sugo’s tag line is “See what happens when an Italian marries a Greek!” Well, according to the family history posted on the restaurant’s website, it all happened several generations ago. In 1947, Italian-born Arcito Castellucci married Sophia Zavanlagos, a girl from Sparta, Greece. They opened a restaurant in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, had a family, and instilled the restaurant business into their youngest and only son, Federico II, who in turn moved to the Atlanta area and opened a new restaurant with his wife. Now Sugo is in the hands of the third generation and thriving, if the large crowd at the John’s Creek location on such a stormy night would attest.
The menu at Sugo is a combination of Greek and Italian favorites, including several pasta dishes ($14-$19), as well as Greek Spanakopita ($6) and a lamb burger with feta cheese and crispy dolmas ($14), which caught Johanna’s eye. Unfortunately, they were out of the lamb that night, so she went with her second choice: Aunt Lena’s Chicken ($18). My choice was made up for me as soon as I saw Capesante ($28) on the menu. We also ordered a special appetizer called Porcioncini ($9).
The Porcioncini appetizer was five small South Africa piquant peppers stuffed with house-made sausage and rolled in a tomato-fig jam and served with a balsamic glaze.
The way it was described to us was that Porcioncini was a small piquant pepper that came from South Africa and only during certain times of the year. It was stuffed with house-made sausage and rolled in a tomato-fig jam and served with a balsamic glaze. There were only five little pepper balls on the plate, but each one was packed with a knock-out flavor that made them worth every penny. The peppers were just a tad hot and the jam offered a countering sweetness. Because the peppers are hard to get, Porcioncini are not on the menu year-round, so get there now if you want to try these little gems.
Having had our taste buds tingled with the peppers, we were ready to dig into our entrées as soon as they arrived. Johanna’s Aunt Lena’s Chicken was a chicken breast, lightly breaded with proscuitto de Parma and walnut pesto and covered with a sweet, pink crème sherry sauce on a bed of hand-rolled garganelli pasta. While she was disappointed about not being able to have the lamb burger, Aunt Lena sure made up for it. The chicken was tender and juicy inside the breading and the sauce was sublime. The flavor from the couple of bites I had flipped some switch in my mind, like I know it intimately, but I still can’t place it. I’m going to have to make a return trip and see if I can’t find what Aunt Lena’s chicken reminds me of.
 The Capesante, when it was delivered, was three huge diver scallops, egg-battered and sautéed in lemon, garlic, capers and white wine, served on three little mounds of freshly made basil pasta that sat on a slice of fresh tomato and grilled asparagus and covered with a red pepper pesto. |
 Aunt Lena’s Chicken was a chicken breast, lightly breaded with prosciutto de Parma and walnut pesto and covered with a sweet, creamy pink crème sherry sauce on a bed of hand-rolled garganelli pasta. |
The Capesante, when it was delivered, was three huge diver scallops, egg-battered and sautéed in lemon, garlic, capers and white wine, served on three little mounds of freshly made basil pasta that sat on a slice of fresh tomato and grilled asparagus and covered with a red pepper pesto. If you have been reading any of my restaurant reviews, you know I’m a sucker for scallops. These were among the best I’ve had. Setting aside the size (huge), they were cooked just right, offering just enough resistance but not becoming too chewy. The pasta had a light, little hint of the basil that still shone through the sauce, which was amazing in its own way. Delicious.
The cake was of a similar consistency to a carrot cake, except it was made with the other vegetable, of course, and very tasty, as was the cream frosting.
With dinner done and the rain still falling pretty hard—the torrential downpour was clearly visible through the window at our table—we decided that if we had dessert, the rain would probably abate by the time we were finished. After a little bit of a debate, we decided to forgo the Spartan Cheesecake ($6.95, made with a baklava crust instead of the traditional graham cracker crust; a must-have on our next visit), we opted for a slice of zucchini cake and coffee. The cake was of a similar consistency to a carrot cake, except it was made with the other vegetable, of course, and very tasty, as was the cream frosting.
And, just as we expected, by the time we paid the bill and were reaching for our coats, the rain had let up enough to make it to the car without getting soaked. All-in-all, it was a delectable way to spend a pretty dreadful evening.
Sugo
John’s Creek – Shoppes at St. Ives
10305 Medlock Bridge Rd.
Duluth, Ga. 30097
770.817.8000
Historic Roswell – Clocktower Place
408 S. Atlanta St.
Roswell, Ga. 30075
770.641.9131
Post by and photos (unless noted) credited to Gregory Watkins.