Recently, husband and wife team Andrea Taormina (Executive Chef) and Rebecca Tory (Director of Operations) have branched out from their Mamma Duchess catering company to open not one, but two new Park Slope restaurants. Hugo & Sons consists of an Italian/French eatery as well as a pizzeria right around the corner. Taormina is a man of many talents, and he utilitizes many of them in his new venture –creating the menu, selecting the wine and cocktail lists, even designing the restaurant’s interior.
The food prides itself on being straightforward –fresh ingredients, with elevated and interesting, personal touches –like the Chitarra Pesto topped with crispy matchstick fries which was inspired by a cousin who, even as an adult, insisted his mother garnish all his food with french fries. Strange, yes. Unappealing, nope. Other notable menu items include the Maccheroni Dome –a dome-shaped pasta casserole based on a 19th century recipe, made with hand-made pappardelle and locally sourced Italian sausage.
The dessert menu also branches out from the ordinary, with items like the Zuppa Inglese, a classic Italian dessert, here served in a pudding pot. There is also a gluten-free, flourless Chocolate Pistachio Cake which substitutes regular, boring old flour for pistachio flour, and is served with marscapone cream. Sounds like the perfect dessert to eat after consuming a literal dome of pasta (this place’s menu is weirdly close to what I would choose to eat if it were my last day on earth).
And don’t forget about the pizzeria, which prides itself on well-sourced ingredients and proper pizza making technique. Made with “00” flour, fermented with local honey, and baked in a traditional wood-burning over, the pizza choices range from traditional to intriuging –like the Bianca, which features ricotta, truffle pecorino, local honey, and Belgian endive. They also serve seasonal salads, specially designed to complement the pizzas.
Anyone else planning a visit yet?
367 Seventh Ave.
Brooklyn
Lauren is a New York based actor/singer/writer. She is a graduate of the American Repertory Theater/Moscow Art Theater School Institute for Advanced Theater Training at Harvard University as well as the College of the Holy Cross. She’s a fan of beer, pasta, and academic establishments with unnecessarily long titles. Find her on stage, or online– she’s there often.
