As someone whose enthusiasm for Junior’s on Harrison is lukewarm at best, I don’t know what I was expecting, or why I was expecting their newest venture to be anything special. The newly rebranded Hufft Marchand Hospitality has added Il Supremo Pasta to its group of restaurants.
We recently had one of their managers on The Food Show, and her enthusiasm was contagious about this new ghost kitchen. First, I am intrigued by ghost kitchens. So COVID-era! Who would have dreamed ten years ago that food would be so depersonalized that you order it online and pick it up from a place that just does that? No dining.
Where’s the fun?
But alas it is 2023, and ghost kitchens abound. This one makes six different kinds of pasta and six different sauces. After the show, my curiosity got the better of me. I had to do it.
Sunday Supper, as the name suggests, is only available for pickup on Sundays 4:30-8:30pm. Orders are placed through DoorDash for delivery, or you can call and pick it up yourself. Part of the interest for me was going to their base of operations, the old Delerno’s on Pink Street, which was the scene of a few bad high school dates.
There were no tables or chairs when I arrived, but I was instantly transported back in time by the very footprint of the place. A very nice young man came out from behind the Italian checkered curtain when I rang the bell as instructed.
My $105 order barely filled half a bag, but it was quite heavy. I ordered one portion of all six kinds of pasta combinations and brought them to my sister’s house for an impromptu party that also included Tom, my brother, and his wife.
There was Rigatoni Alla Vodka, the popular red sauce I am seeing on menus all over town. There were big chunks of Italian sausage in this sauce, and it was set afire with Calabrian chilis. My sister really liked the chunky Italian sausage. I was surprised and relieved that the pasta was not too al dente. This sauce was too sweet for my taste, but it wasn’t bad.
The Pasta Bolognese had crumbled veal in a Rosa sauce with radiatori pasta tossed in it. There was very little sauce on this but it was a good flavor. There was supposed to be mint in this but I didn’t taste it.
The Spaghetti and Meat Sauce was pretty traditional, with a lot of meat in the sauce, and more sauce on it than any of the others. This one was not as sweet as the Vodka sauce, which I’m assuming was made sweeter by the alcohol. I liked this the best of all six.
The Pistachio Pesto Chicken was universally disliked by all at the table. My brother thought it was tuna fish. The shredded chicken seemed pulverized. Pistachios were subbed for pignoli nuts. The gemelli pasta was dry like the others. There was simply too little to recommend this one.
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The Alfredo Pasta Sauce was paired with mafalde pasta. This one had the same problem as the others. There just wasn’t enough sauce on any of these pastas, making it hard to distinguish one from the other, especially with the cream sauces.
The Canestri Pasta was tossed in a Parmesan wheel in keeping the tradition of making the unofficial dish of Rome, Cacio E Pepe. I am nuts about this dish but have never had it quite like the real Roman versions in Rome. There are only three ingredients to it, and technique is everything. (Don’t try this at home.) Wet spaghetti is dropped into a Parmesan wheel and tossed until the cheese melts, creating a sauce, Copious amounts of black pepper are cracked on top. I have had Cacio E Pepe at Junior’s on Harrison, and it was better. In that one they use butter, making it less “authentic” but it definitely tastes more like something.
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It was a fun little taste-testing party, so I guess picking up from a ghost kitchen doesn’t have to be a solo affair. And these pasta combinations were nothing special, but were just fine for what they were: food picked up from a ghost kitchen.
