Review: At Arlington’s Sugo, the Secret is the Sauce

– Lori Uhland for YourArlington.com

Sugo is the name of the new Italian take-out in town, opening in August where Francesca’s Kitchen had been, at 162 Mass. Ave., in East Arlington. Sugo is Italian for “sauce,” and evidently they take the stuff seriously.

I remember learning, years ago on a cooking show, in Italy the sauce is more of a condiment and never drowns the pasta or entrée. But its importance is nonetheless paramount. And it must be made with love. It’s evident the Sugo gets this.

We dined on fettuccini with a parmesan cream sauce and shrimp, a pollo parmigiana panino and a seared salmon in lemon caper sauce served with potatoes in marinara and a side of broccoli rabe. In the comfort of our den at home watching a documentary about Roger Ebert. Even though Sugo doesn’t deliver, exactly.

They subscribe to a service called DoorDash.com that was pretty impressive. I placed my order online a full half-hour before Sugo even opened. Clicking on each menu item and then charging the order and driver tip to my credit card. When Sugo did open, DoorDash pinged my cell to tell me that their driver was there awaiting my order, which must have already been cooking, because they texted again when he was on his way to the house 10 minutes later.

The driver phoned when he arrived out front, happily saving us from the inevitable cacophony of dog barking when the doorbell rings. So far, so good!

The test: fettuccini

The fettuccini was really my litmus test here. I was looking for pasta cooked to the tooth, a flavorful but not-too-heavy sauce that wasn’t slathered on, and shrimp that were firm but not mealy and redolent of the “sugo.” Check. Check. And check.

This is a pasta dish one could get in the North End. This is a pasta dish that would impress a date. The shrimp were large and perfectly done. The pasta glistened with sauce but wasn’t buried in it. The serving size was not enough for leftovers, so order two in case it’s a date.

Now I know a chicken parm sandwich has a lot of competition in this town, but I’d venture to guess this one would be in the top three. The bread’s the thing. It better not be some Styrofoam stand-in. This panino was worthy of the name — on a chewy Italian loaf that was just hearty enough to stand up to the like-mama-made marinara and delicious chicken.

Savoring salmon, potatoes

The salmon had a crispy sear on one side and a dusting of herbs on the other, including a judicious and delicate bit of dill. The lemon caper sauce was just the right complement. However, the potatoes in red sauce were such a departure from the delicate salmon that I saved them to have with my over easy eggs the following day. The rabe, on the other hand, got turned into the caper sauce and, in my opinion, makes a much better partner to the salmon. It was bright and slightly bitter in the way you hope broccoli rabe will always be.

So as I write this, I am still tasting the complex sugo that dressed the sliced red potatoes. My breakfast eggs were ever so comforting as a result of their nest of leftovers. Yup, Sugo gets it. This ain’t your mama’s take-out. But it may be your mama’s idea of delicious if she hails from Italy or cooks with love.