Possibly the best tomato soup ever
The big, bold and beautiful Fettuccine Bolognese with ricotta stands out.
Possibly the best tomato soup ever
The folks from the popular Sabor Food Trailer — Susanna Maestas and her husband Ben Kirk — have branched out into brick-and-mortar dining with the opening of Susanna’s Comfort Cuisine. The cozy bar and restaurant are tucked into the space that used to be Fratelli Ristorante Italiano.
Has the addition of a static location been successful? Yes and no.
On a recent visit, our waiter seems somewhat inexperienced, but has a great attitude and is more than willing to get questions answered. He keeps our water glasses filled, too, which is notable because they’re on the small side and need frequent replenishing. He also brings us a complimentary appetizer of chips and mango salsa, full of perfectly ripe mango with a hint of cilantro, jalapeño and crisp bits of red onion. Sadly, the chips were stale.
124 N. Nevada Ave., 719-471-4164, susannascomfortcuisine.com, 5-8:30 p.m., Thursdays-Saturdays; 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Sundays
The specials this day include a dip trio with carrots and celery sticks for dipping, which sounds too good to pass up, but results are mixed. The hummus has a very thin consistency, without enough flavor to hold up to the other two dips. I love Kalamata olives, the base of a tapenade, but this dip lacks subtlety with a big punch from the olives and additional salt from the capers, and the roasted garlic gets lost. The artichoke dip is our clear favorite, although chopping the artichoke leaves would make it easier to eat. Tangy and creamy, this one is served in an amazing toasted boule from Sourdough Boulangerie, adding a great crunchy contrast.
Susanna’s serves every entrée with soup or salad, and little soft brioche rolls, also from Sourdough Boulangerie. The Downtown Salad offers a nice mix of greens with cucumber, carrot, cherry tomatoes, dried cherries and Kalamata olives, with a balsamic vinaigrette and blue cheese crumbles in a ramekin on the side. It’s good, but the tomato soup is amazing, combining fresh, slow-roasted tomatoes, for an incredible depth of flavor, with a touch of cream. It’s possibly the best tomato soup I’ve ever had.
We can’t linger on that high point for too long, though, because our luck runs a little south when the entrées arrive. I take the waiter’s advice and order the Chicken Tagine. The chicken leg and thigh, while moist and tender, are overwhelmed by a muddy spice profile and way too much salt. I expect to be able to pick out notes of maybe ginger, cumin or allspice, but instead it tastes like too much of everything. The lasagna promises layers of Italian sausage, beef, mascarpone and other cheeses, and it delivers, arriving in its own hot-from-the-oven casserole dish. It smells divine, and the rich tomato sauce brings all the flavors together, but like the tagine, this dish presents oversalted, although not as badly.
The roller coaster we find ourselves on points skyward again, though, with another one of the day’s specials, a Fettuccine Bolognese. Big, bold and beautiful, it’s perfectly cooked pasta enrobed in a savory, herby, meaty tomato sauce that’s kissed with a splash of cream and topped with a creamy dollop of ricotta. The portion proves so big, half of it goes home for the next day’s lunch. Susanna’s Cuban Rice is another bold plate that works beautifully. Saffron rice, studded with spicy bits of chorizo, comes loaded with peas and topped with meltingly tender slow-cooked pork. Queso fresco and sliced ripe avocado provide a lovely cooling contrast to the heat of the dish.
Come time for dessert, our roller coaster loops downward again after our waiter talks up the homemade ice cream, then returns to the table to tell us they are out of ice cream. And tiramisu. This was an omen. But we opt for chocolate cake and banana pudding anyway. The cake, called Black Onyx Chocolate Cake, is indeed deep and richly flavored with cacao. But it’s also extremely dry, and the vanilla buttercream feels unpleasantly stiff.
The big, bold and beautiful Fettuccine Bolognese with ricotta stands out.
The banana pudding just puzzles us, arriving in a Mason jar, which I readily confess I do not like. But, you know, banana pudding, right? The bottom third of the jar is cold with a chilled layer of pudding, while the top two-thirds of the jar is hot, full of what were supposed to be caramelized bananas. But those “caramelized” bananas taste like banana times 10, with no hints of butter, or caramelized sugar, or anything that tames or accents the raw fruit flavor. That flavor overwhelms the pudding, and if there was any Nilla Wafer or cookie component, the aggressive banana consumes it. Also of note, there’s no chocolate whipped cream that the menu says is supposed to top the dish. Look, I’m all for a new version of something, but you have to hit the elements that make a classic a classic.
That’s a lot of ups and downs for one meal, with both failed versions of familiar dishes and flashes of culinary brilliance. Perhaps the challenge of growing from food truck to brick-and-mortar, while still maintaining a brisk schedule for said food truck, calls for patience. But the quality of menu offerings needs to smooth out, so as not to lose patrons who may not be so forgiving of missteps. For my part, I’d be happy to return and give them a try again sometime, because those high points were well worth the ride.