Sugo Bistro
 Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio        Date of Visit  05/09/12         http://www.sugobistro.com/

First off, you might notice the inevitable…the pictures were somehow corrupted between taking them and plugging the phone into the computer…what to do. Kent Staters gave us the suggestions for the Blue Door and the Chowder House in Cuyahoga Falls which both tuned out to be pretty good. Another Flash let us in on the fact that the chef owner of the Chowder House had another place up the street called Sugo Bistro. Rob said it features an Italian menu and it is literally a couple of blocks up State road so we were soon pulling into the small lot and headed in for dinner. The three of us settled into a booth and I noticed that while the space is small and thin it is pretty well decorated in a modern style.
 

Corrupted,

Sorry

Like the Chowder House you can’t count on the online menu as the features lag in cyberspace compared to the paper in the restaurant. We started with a shrimp risotto and ordered Braciole, Lasagne and a fish special.

The appetizer tasted pretty good overall but the rice was sculpted in a ring mold and it’s consistency suffered some for presentation. Instead of a thick but creamy base the risotto was much drier. The shrimp also spent a little too much time on the heat and were rubbery but the plate overall was saved by the flavor profile. We tried the Braciole which I again haven’t seen on a menu since our trip to Guarino’s in Cleveland’s Little Italy long ago. At Sugo the pounded steak is stuffed with sausage and served with gnocchi and red sauce. The sausage definitely stood out and worked well with the sauce. The gnocchi were a little heavy but held their own and a good bit of sauce.
 

My intention was to order the Italian version of the “Three Little Pigs” that was so enjoyable at Chowder House but something about their fish special sounded appealing. Walleye cheeks and angel hair in a lemon, butter, garlic, basil, cream sauce. The fish was really nice. It wasn’t really til I went to culinary school that I learned that the word “cheek” is most often translated to tender and delicious. I think we tend to assign names to our foods that make them seem a little less like what they are and body parts don’t fit into that schema. Anyways the cheeks had a dusting of breadcrumbs giving them a thin crispy exteriorto tender moist and mild fish. I’m still not sure how I feel about the sauce. It was creamy but the garlic, lemon and basil were difficult to detect until we passed plates around the table and someone else discovered depending on where you dipped your fork you might get a dearth of lemon or slapped with it. What really disappointed me was the pasta. It’s been a recurring theme with Italian restaurants. In this case the angel hair was reheated in a fist and arrived in clumps rather than thin strands each drawing in some sauce. The fish was great…the rest was ehhhh. Maybe I should have gone with the piggies.

Our last bite was the lasagna which I had been craving ever since we discovered it had disappeared from the Chowder House menu prior to our arrival. It is unique but sounds potentially gorgeous. Fresh egg pasta is layered with gorgonzola and a mascarpone bechamel, a classic bolognese sauce and imported pecorino Romano cheese. In my head this tasted delicious, thick meat sauce, rich cheesy cream sauce, bleu cheese tang, sharp salty cheese…how can that be bad. Well…. It’s not. It’s even better than I imagined. They should package this stuff, I’m stealing it. Sugo did a pretty nice job overall with a misstep here and there but the lasagna has been calling me back ever since. Thanks Rob.