Sulmona via social media
Panzerotti potato croquettes are on the lunchtime menu at Sulmona.
Camberville has no shortage of fine Italian or gourmet pizzas stops – rib-sticking comfort served to you in inviting atmospheres such as Giulia, Gufo and Bar Enzo. One that’s a bit under the radar is Sulmona, on the neck of Main Street between Central and Kendall squares. It’s a big, open space with a grand shotgun bar and ample dining area, able to seat intimate meals alongside larger parties without feeling intruded upon. Nestled in such a tech heavy, MIT-adjacent area, Sulmona is a logical casual-fine destination after lab time. It’s also a fine spot for lunch, where you can have a glass of wine with a hot pressed panini and work on that marked-up doctoral dissertation.
The lunch menu offers pretty much the same pizza, antipasto and salad slate as the dinner menu, as well as burgers, sandwiches and lunch-size mains (chicken Parm, hanger steak, bucatini and a frutti di mare). The hot-pressed paninis come on housemade focaccia. For the hearty eaters there’s a Cubano and Sausage Bomba, which loads the focaccia with spicy Italian sausage slices, mushrooms, broccoli rabe and asiago cheese. For the more reserved, a classic tomato mozzarella, rosemary grilled chicken and – my winner – the Formaggio Alla Griglia with gooey taleggio cheese, wild mushrooms, apricot marmalatta, arugula and a tangy, sweet balsamic reduction.
Each sandwich is served with a choice of soup, salad or skinny fries. I recommend the soup, especially if it’s the tomato bisque, which is distinguished by its creamy thickness and topped with some of that balsamic reduction to give your smooth puree a sweet pucker. The cup size portion is quite generous, almost a meal in its own right. There are daily specials too that are always worth a gander: I had a Lemon Chicken Summer Sandwich that was a subtle surprise (and, at the time, seasonally spot on). Last time in, I tried out the special mocktail, the Crodino, a bittersweet aperitif spritz that was a bit like a Negroni save the sweetness and gin kick – very light and quite refreshing.
For small bites, try the panzerotti, potato croquettes that are a fun gastronomical foray, fluffy with fontina cheese and served with a marinara sauce to be dragged through. (If I had one thought about the lunch menu it would be to have something with this chunky marinara in that focaccia, maybe a chicken Parm sandwich or that Sausage Bomba.)
If you want a real light lunch, great gets are the chopped Mediterranean salad rich with olives, peppers and artichokes doused in a red wine vinaigrette, or the Italian grain bowl of farro, cukes and egg with the option of grilled shrimp – perfectly done, moist and succulent with charred tails – or white anchovies. A flavorful, nutritious gobble that’s guilt free.
Sulmona also serves brunch, which makes sense given the nature of the area; it’s also next door to Cafe Luna, an all-bunch, all-day hot spot. The spillover biz on the weekend has to be a boon.
The name of the eatery comes from the town in the Abruzzo region of Italy, where the family of owner and chef Delio Susi has roots. Susi and his restaurant group also own and operate Amelia’s Trattoria and the three-tiered Mexican cantina Mex, about a block away on Harvard Street and Main Street, respectively. Amelia’s, named after Susi’s grandmother, is a cozy homestyle Italian nook; the taco bar has a festive south-of-the-border vibe and an open, inviting space akin to Sulmona – which has a sleek red Vespa floating above the dining area, while Mex has a tricked-out stingray bike aglow in neon lights tethered above the bar.
A lobster pizza caught my eye at Sulmona. Despite deep skepticism, I recently tried a similar pie at chef Lydia Shire’s Scampo in Beacon Hill and was won over – it was a revelation, really. Since Amelia’s impressed me with its lobster ravioli, I’m coming back to see if Sulmona also knows how to respect the delicate nature of an aragosta atop a crust.
Sulmona, 608 Main St., The Port, Cambridge
Cambridge writer Tom Meek’s reviews, essays, short stories and articles have appeared in WBUR’s The ARTery, The Boston Phoenix, The Boston Globe, The Rumpus, The Charleston City Paper and SLAB literary journal. Tom is also a member of the Boston Society of Film Critics and rides his bike everywhere.
Dining and Cooking