#14 Sugo Gastrobar

I recently had lunch with my good friend Bruce at the Sugo Gastrobar in Newton, CT. Bruce used to be my neighbor in FL and he  also has a house in CT, so during the summer we get together, sometimes  just the two of us and other times with the  wives. While Sugo’s is not close to where either of us live in CT, we picked it  because it had great reviews and some interesting items on its menus. 

We started off with arancini (Italian rice balls) which were made with prosciutto infused risotto and served in a parmigiano cream sauce. Different from the arancini we had when Bruce and I visited Sicily a few years ago  with some other friends, but absolutely delicious and we used the crunchy Italian bread that came with  our meal to sop up the sauce. Bruce decided to go with the prix fix lunch ( a great deal at $18) and had  soup, chicken parmigiana, and raspberry gelato. I went with the prosciutto de parma pizza as I usually have  pizza when a restaurant has a wood burning oven. Everything  was delicious, although the pizza was a little heavier than I expected, mainly due to it having a lot of prosciutto! The chicken parm was very tasty and light, unlike how it is often served -  covered with a deep red sauce  and smothered with cheese. The gelato was a great way to end the meal. 

One of the reasons we got together is that we are planning another trip to Italy next June. My friend and colleague  from Schering Plough, Stefano,  lives outside of Milan, and  enjoys putting together  trips  and serving as a tour guide. Last time we spent a week circling Sicily and this time we are planning to tour  northern Italy- visiting the Adriatic coast and  the area around Bologna. We got so engrossed  in discussing the trip that I forgot to take any pictures of our food. So in full disclosure, the attached pictures come from Sugo’s website.

If you are looking for an Italian restaurant in Connecticut, you don’t have go very far, and while many are very good, they tend to have the traditional  decor and menu. What makes Sugo Gastrobar different, and definitely worth the trip, is that the setting is more that of a Parisian bistro and the menu offers many different options. The term “Gastrobar” is very fitting. In addition the waitstaff and pace of the meal were excellent. We weren’t rushed and or felt forgotten either, and the food came out piping hot and well presented. Give it a try when you are in the area. 

Interesting note: the term “Sugo” is slang for sauce in Italian. 






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