Where in New Mexico can you go to see his eminence Pope John Paul, II pontificate to Zorba the Greek, Anthony Quinn? Where can you go to see nattily attired cowboy John Wayne cavorting in a cerulean swimming pool with the material girl herself? Where can you find Beetlejuice perched on a saguaro, looking on as other luminaries (including the Beatles and the Supremes) enjoy the pristine waters by the intersection of Central and Cornell Avenues? Only on the imaginative tromp-l’oeil murals which festoon the walls at Saggios can you engage in such fantasy.
The fantasy world begins on the restaurant’s Cornell Avenue frontage. Approaching from the south, you might not even know you’re approaching Saggios because the name on the brick and mortar facade is “Lupo Rosso” which translates from Italian to “red wolf,” undoubtedly a tribute to the University of New Mexico Lobos whose uniform colors are cherry and silver. Where you might expect windows, instead you’ll see a montage of sports images: Lobo legend Brian Urlacher hoisting the George Halas trophy overhead, Mia Hamm celebrating the United States gold medal win in soccer and Cassius Clay standing defiant over a vanquished Sonny Liston.
A life-sized ceramic status of Cassius Clay (before the world recognized him as Muhammad Ali) with all his triumphant sinew and muscle stands in front of a vintage Mercedes Benz yellow cab, its front and side panel serving as a sidebar in which some of the best cheesecake, cannoli and cake desserts in town are showcased. You’ll also find life-sized statues of Babe Ruth, the New York Yankees’ Sultan of Swat and of Marilyn Monroe, laughing as her skirt billows upwards from a subway vent’s blast during the filming of the immortal The Seven Year Itch.
It wouldn’t be a stretch to select Saggios as one of the city’s most visually captivating milieus. There’s something to capture your eye no matter where you turn. Hanging plants drape down from the ceilings as do several LCD televisions (normally tuned to seasonal sporting events) strategically placed for optimal viewing. The entire restaurant is replete with trompe-l’oeil, an art technique involving extremely realistic imagery in order to create the optical illusion that the depicted objects really exist, instead of being mere, two-dimensional paintings. It’s a must see!
Years ago, a humble UNM area pizzeria named Nunzio’s, named for family patriarch Nunzio DiGregorio, used to prepare the best pizza in my universe as I knew it before moving to Massachusetts and experiencing East Coast pizza nirvana. Ambitious efforts at expansion failed and the Nunzio’s trademark and recipes were sold. Ultimately, the DeNunzio family reopened under the name Saggios and still serves very good pizza and much more. In 2010, Northeast Heights (2600 Juan Tabo, N.E.) residents could once again share in the Saggios experience with the opening of Fastino’s, a sort of scion of Saggios reborn and rechristened.
In 2005, Saggios was selected “best pizza” by Albuquerque the Magazine readers in the magazine’s inaugural “best of” issue. It repeated in 2007, yet in its annual food and wine issue in 2010, Saggios was selected as only the third best pizza in Albuquerque. At each pizzeria rated, the magazine staff ordered a pepperoni pizza and rated it on its taste, appearance, authenticity and creativity. After tallying points, the top five had a pizza “playoff” in which the finalists served the specialty pie of their choice as well as a pepperoni pizza. Placing third is quite an achievement.
It’s not just because of the restaurant’s experiential aspects that I’ve had Saggios as one of my top rated pizza restaurants in town for years and though an usurper or two has unseated it, it’s still one of the best in town. This is the only Duke City pizza I’ve ever dreamed about (to the detriment of my pillow). Over the years Saggios has grown beyond being “just another” pizza restaurant as it now offers various pastas, salads, calzones, foccacia sandwiches and wonderful desserts, all of which are available for dining-in or carry-out. Saggios is open seven days a week until at least ten o’clock in the evening.
It’s hard to get past the wonderful slices–still as large as the Louvre’s glass pyramid and featuring just out of the oven baker quality crust. The crust tastes, and more importantly smells, like fresh baked bread. It’s a delicious canvass for whatever ingredients you pile on it. Pizzas are available in traditional Neapolitan crust or in a pan-baked Sicilian-style crust. Two slices will make up an entire meal. Some claim slices are better than entire pies and this pizza isn’t quite as good served cold, but I’ve got no complaints. Saggios pizza makes no claim to New York or Chicago style. Each pizza is crafted with the utmost of care as if your repeat patronage is paramount.
9 January 2009: In addition to standard pizza offerings, Saggios gourmet pizza array is as impressive and diverse as you’ll find anywhere in the Duke City. The Thai chicken pizza features a captivating sweet and spicy peanut sauce that compares favorably to the sauces served at some Thai restaurants. If you’ve ever been stranded in the culinary wasteland that is the Phoenix airport where the best dining option is probably California Pizza Kitchen, you might be familiar with Thai chicken pizza. The California Pizza Kitchen is renown for their innovative pizzas, some, like the Thai chicken pizza, which are quite good.
Saggios version is much, much better. Slathered onto a crusty ten-inch canvas is a spicy ginger and peanut sauce along with whole Spanish peanuts and grilled chicken. The ginger-peanut sauce is reminiscent of some of the best peanut sauces we’ve had in Thai restaurants. It’s not incendiary spicy, but does have a tongue- and taste bud tingling bite. Even the chicken, my very least favorite protein, is enjoyable (maybe because it reminds me of Thai satay).
Gourmet pizzas are hand-crafted with your choice of tasty crusts: traditional, Rosemary whole wheat, basil pesto and chile. Each gourmet pizza is ten-inches (or about the size of two regular slices) and is intended to serve one or two people. Gourmet offerings are the Margherita, Portabello, Chicken Alfredo, California Vegetarian, Florentine, Mediterranean, Spinach, Barbecue, Rustic and Milano. You can also build your own gourmet pizza with your choice of crust, sauce and three toppings.
14 January 2020: The Milano (marinara sauce, Italian sausage, prosciutto, Genoa salami, mozzarella, oregano and pesto) is another terrific gourmet pizza offering. Just ask my publicist Bob of the Village of Los Ranchos: “Pizza (The Milano) is as deliciously looking as the pic and a hearty serving for two. Tastefully spicy per the Marinara Sauce, Italian Sausage, Proscuitto, Geona Salami, Mozzarella, Oregano, and Pesto, I claim it a great pizza to which you don’t need to add pepper flakes. Lo, that one would even think of salting it! Yes, it continues being vibrantly noisy as some would expect in such an Italian setting.”
31 May 2009: Panini and focaccia sandwiches are crafted on Italian bread baked fresh daily with herbs and spices in the dough. Each sandwich is piled high (an exaggeration just about anywhere else) with specialty meats, provolone cheese, Romaine lettuce, roasted red peppers and Roma tomatoes. Sandwiches are served with a pasta salad. Among the sandwich offerings, the Napoli, a meatball sandwich on focaccia bread includes some of the best meatballs and sauce marriage I’ve had since Massachusetts some 30 years ago. The meatballs actually taste like meat, not some gritty filler. The sauce is a sweet and zesty marinara flavored with garlic and basil.
The football sized calzones are the among the very best in the city with a garlicky tomato sauce that imbues each calzone with richness and spice. They are baked in your choice of toasty crusts: traditional, Rosemary whole wheat, basil pesto and mozzarella. A family of four could probably share a calzone; that’s how large they are. The four meat (sausage, pepperoni, bacon, Italian beef) calzone is made with rich ricotta, pesto and mozzarella.
23 May 2012: Frank Sinatra would love the Lasagna My Way because it truly is made the way you want it. The lasagna starts with noodles, ricotta and mozzarella then you choose two ingredients (meat or vegetarian) and a sauce. The meat selections include turkey, Black Forest Ham, sausage, Italian beef, chicken breast, proscuitto and shrimp) while the sauce options are marinara, Alfredo and basil cream with Roma tomatoes. It’s an excellent lasagna, easily large enough to feed two people or one UNM Lobo defensive tackle.
28 November 2010: The pasta menu features many of the “usual suspects” but it really showcases some uniquely prepared entrees such as a tuna arrabiata and an incendiary shrimp diablo, a dish not for the faint of heart or the timid of taste bud. One of my intrepid readers recognized me as a fellow masochist when it comes to spicy food and urged me to try it. He described it as coming in a variety of heat levels though he gets his extra spicy (spicy or medium is probably the norm for most). This is indeed an eye-opening (maybe eye-watering) pasta dish, its heat coming from a surfeit of sauce impregnated with those potent pepper flake seeds, but it also has a discernible garlic flavor as well. The shrimp are bigger than some lobster tails I’ve seen. They’re also sweet and succulent.
A sub-section of the pasta menu is called the “Matrimonio de A’More,” a play of words meaning a “marriage of love.” That aptly describes the melding of mix and match pastas and sauces which complement one another very well. You are invited to select your choice of fresh-cooked pasta (spaghetti, penne, fettuccine, shells, linguine, bowtie) and sauce: Marinara, Alfredo, Cilantro Pesto or Basil Pesto (olive oil, Roma tomatoes and fresh basil). All sauces are housemade daily on the premises.
28 November 2010: The pasta dishes are served in humongous bowls, about the size of the bowls of pho served at many local Vietnamese restaurants. Each is accompanied by a piece of warm, home-style Italian foccacia bread. The spaghetti with meatballs dish will easily feed two. The star of this dish is the meatballs, succulent orbs of deliciousness. The pasta is prepared at just beyond al dente. As with several of the pasta dishes at Saggio’s, the sauce is almost an embarrassment of excess; the sauce practically drowns the pasta and overwhelms the pasta a bit.
28 July 2016: Obviously sympathetic with the student budget, Saggio’s offers a lunch size menu which is served all day long. You need not be a student at the University to avail yourself of the bargains found therein. Unlike some bargain-priced lunch menus where portions are on the parsimonious side, Saggio’s lunch size menu portions are prodigious. If you’re used to calzones being the size of a semi-inflated football, you won’t get that, but you’ll still get a formidable calzone. It’ll fill you up, not overfill you. You’ll also do a double-take in reading the composition of that calzone: Pepperoni, Canadian Bacon, Italian Sausage, Italian beef, Ricotta, Mozzarella and Pesto all topped with Marinara.
If, like me, your first inclination is to wonder how you’re going to have to choose from among all those ingredients, you’ll be happy to hear they’re all to be found in each and every lunch size calzone. With all candor, my server apprised me that the calzones are pre-made (and are certainly reheated upon order). Texturally, the calzone is a bit on the chewy side, a challenge for the plastic fork and knife to penetrate and cut. Once you’re able to “breach the hull” you’ll delight in all those meats and cheeses. Amazingly, the calzone is served with a side Caesar salad. Every item on the lunch size menu is well south of ten dollars.
1 January 2009: Desserts are deliciously decadent creations made by Eli’s Cheesecake Company of Chicago, a Windy City institution. Offerings, all nattily displayed in the unique Mercedes Benz yellow cab include several extraordinary cheesecakes–the phenomenally tasty turtle, the luscious key lime, magnificent Mississippi Mud and the moccachino cheesecakes among them plus some of the best chocolate cannoli in town. Perhaps it’s solely my imagination, but it seems you can have a different cheesecake every visit to Saggio’s.
You can also find Eli’s Cheesecake at Fastino’s, the fresh fast food concept owned and operated by the Saggio’s braintrust. Housed in a former Popeye’s Chicken & Biscuits, Fastino’s is tailored more for the gobble-and-go culture than for the stay, scarf and study confines of Saggio’s. A cavalcade of vehicles snakes through the convenient drive-through at all hours in which Fastino’s is open. Slices of pizza and sandwiches are the most popular draw, but a number of surprisingly gourmet-style pasta dishes (such as Cajun lobster ravioli, Shrimp Puttanesca and Veal Saltimboca) and salads are also available as are a number of breakfast sandwiches. The restaurant, though much smaller than Saggio’s still boasts those realistic murals by Scott Kuykendall.
During any given visit to Saggio’s, you just might run into University of New Mexico Lobo athletes and their coaches. This is the quintessential college area restaurant, but it’s frequented not only by students. Everyone in Albuquerque knows about Saggio’s and most love its pizza.
Saggio’s
107 Cornell, S.E.
Albuquerque, New Mexico
505-255-5454
Web Site | Facebook Page
LATEST VISIT: 14 January 2020
# OF VISITS: 25
RATING: 21
COST: $ – $$
BEST BET: Cheesecake, Chocolate Canoli, Thai Chicken Pizza, Sausage Pizza, The Napoli, Shrimp Diablo, Lasagna, Lunch Size Calzone
I don’t know if Saggio’s (by UNM) is having a hard time staffing, but given its particular decor, this is what a restaurant in Dubai is utilizing to apparently fill a work gap as well as being a ‘draw’ … https://youtu.be/30c9KpVvoJs It would seem to fit in well here!
Found this review randomly and I’m so pleased the family that ran Nunzio’s is still servin’ it up.
Such fond memories of riding my bike to UNM as a kid and getting a slice. (And sneaking into the library there, since I was a tall 12-year-old.
Will have to go back when I visit ABQ again.
RE your query RE IDs in the small pic: I always think it’s a hoot that Zobra the GREEK was played by a guy with a Portuguese/Italian given name matched with an Irish surname who was in fact, a Mexican. Not sure who the Ginger is by The Duke, but that look with the eyes was a photog’s fad of publisists back in the day. I’m saying Ringo was by Wayne, while in the big mural, George Harrison was by the Yellow Submarine near Bo Derek’s(?) white stallion https://tinyurl.com/wjnfvvn just below Monroe with the guitar who is obviously by Einstein being watched by Superman who is across for the Lion, Straw Man, Dorothy, and the Tin Man who are being waved at by possibly Liza (Minnelli) in white to the delight of Bugs. Don’t know who the couple is on horseback who look like they’re riding out of a Parisian street scene of alfresco bistros, all watched over by Cherubim and Seraphim while espied by Godzilla and King Kong!
Reliability/Consistency Rating (after 3 months) for the Milano Pie is high for taste. Visually, I think Gil’s pic would be a prime candidate for being made into a framed Pizza Poster for Foodies*.
– I hope its somewhat oval shape is not found distracting by some.
– Another uniqueness is that as you eat a slice, ya sorta pass through 2-3 distinct taste zones per bite.
-Lest you aren’t one who might like sitting a spell enjoying the local pulchritude, ya might call in your order to coincide with your drive time as my orders have usually taken 15″ at least.
* Seriously? You don’t have at least one art food poster decorating your house? e.g.
http://tinyurl.com/pu7b7lp
As there aren’t many, some of us just get pics of our FAVs and a frame from Hobby Lobby:
http://tinyurl.com/pqn3m3o
http://tinyurl.com/oethfha
For those into Movies and Food, there are these:
http://tinyurl.com/qa4m45n
http://tinyurl.com/nbp3yt2
And for thoses who are lasciviously into TV shows, there actually is a poster!
http://tinyurl.com/q6945pj
“Chow!’
i WENT HERE THE OTHER DAY WITH A FRIEND TO CELEBRATE THE FACT THAT WE HAD GOTTEN PAID AND WERE NO LONGER BROKE AFTER 6 DAYS OF SUFFERING. i ORDERED THE CAJUN STYLE PASTA WITH SEAFOOD AND PENNE. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN PERFECT WAS THE PASTA COOKED AL DENTE. I REGRETTED NOT ASKING FOR THEM TO UNDERCOOK THE PASTA. i COULD NOT ENJOY MY DISH, WHICH WAS WORTH THE $12.99 CHARGED FOR THE AMOUNT OF FOOD DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE PASTA WAS TOO SOFT.
oN THE OTHER HAND MY FRIEND’S PESTO CALZONE WAS PERFECT AND IT CHANGED MY OPINION OF THE RESTAURANT.
Dang it! Gil’s picture https://www.nmgastronome.com/?p=33449 of the Milano pie overcame my recent suggestion to be sure to go when school is in vs when on break. Alas, today’s humanity appeared to be mostly Townies, with a few cuties to add visual ambiance as if the walls aren’t enough. There was only 1 or two in line at any given time at 5, albeit the room was filled as well as the sportz bar…well it is the endings of March Madness weekend.
In any event, the actual pizza is as deliciously looking as the pic and a hearty serving for two. Tastefully spicy per the Marinara Sauce, Italian Sausage, Proscuitto, Geona Salami, Mozzarella, Oregano, and Pesto, I claim it a great pizza to which you don’t need to add pepper flakes. Lo, that one would even think of salting it! Yes, it continues being vibrantly noisy as some would expect in such an Italian setting.
Alas, Shakey’s rang a chime, but I saw the name Godfather’s in the interim and that gave me a tug as well. Shakey’s did have banjo player’s and piano players prior to, e.g. Talin’s site. Maybe it was just a
‘player piano’ and I’m confusing Phil Maloof’s organ that he featured at the family’s Classic Hotel’s (now Sheraton Uptown) Sunday Brunch and he later took to be in their Fiesta Casino in Las Vegas (think he collected/saved several like one from NYC’s Roxy and one from a Chicago baseball park.) Oh well.
Had the Chicken Cannelloni, i.e. “stuffed” with grilled chicken, mozzarella and ricotta cheese with some green chile. The 3 tubi are topped with basil cream sauce and bread crumbs. My first ones were eons ago in a now defunct pizza place on Wyoming , just about the size of 5-6″ taquitos with slivers of chicken and no chile. Saggio’s are ‘whopping'(?) 9ish inches long and more like hearty stogies per the inner cheese and chunks of chicken. The chile has more of a zang to it than zing which, IMHO, is as it should be for this creamy type, as well as Italian, dish. It’s accompanied by one of their oversized buns albeit they do not serve butter. Instead I delighted in sopping up the sauce which, while good, had somewhat of a dusty ‘feel’, for lack of a better description.
Saggio’s continues to draw the previously noted mix of ‘town n gown’ crowd and I again opted for the non-sportz bar side where folks are a bit more lively (and well, cuter) compared to the Sunday sportz crowd looking more game-overloaded surrounded by various game-screens to thrill them …LOL.
Speaking of ‘fun’, change of pace, casual places, (albeit not at the level of Chuckee Cheez) does anyone remember the name of the pizza place, on the tip ‘o my tongue, on Indian School….which featured a ‘live organ’…..crosswise from Baldridge’s?
“Chow!”
Roberto
Might it have been Pepino’s Pizza Joint which was on Indian School and Wyoming (almost)? Shakey’s on Louisiana and Central offered up banjoes, but I don’t remember the live organ.
Gil
Thanks Ian! T’was a reminder to re-visit the other side of town to try the Shrimp Diablo. I chose the “medium” level of heat which offered a nice spike to this bountiful bowl of red sauced spaghetti that’s topped with a half dozen shrimp and includes a mega bun. The shrimp amount might sound chintzy, but they’re at least two hearty bites each. Add a 4 buck Zin and it’s a value feast for $16, IMHO!
Alas, Gil beat me by noting he gives “points” for the ‘experiential’ factor. (I’d liken that to when I’d’ve done that after paying a whopping $17.95 P/P for a non-descript chicken dinner at the Stardust Casino given it was only the ’70s. While the chicken was not much to write home about, the tufted red leather booths, clothed table with ‘heavy’ silverware with service by a tuxed waiter accompanied by an actual thunderous rainfall on stage during the Lido de Paris show somehow made it all experientially worthwhile, let alone impressive to one’s…ah….guest!!! Oh, and did I mention the showygirls?)
This past Sat. I lucked out during a 5-6 pm visit to Saggio’s by getting the 2 seater right by the order counter to be able to espy the campus beauties! Alas, my only disappointment with Saggio’s…and no fault of their own….was that apparently UNM’s out and I was left with ogling a hodge-podge of Townies forming a continuous, albeit quick flowing, queue to the order counter. While many gave me pause to reflect on the national obesity crisis, an occasional svelte Debra Messing and a buff Snooki look-alikes for examples, were delightful. Indeed, it was a panoply of intriguing humanity from the blue collar City Worker to the nerdy looking guy who’s probably an intern at UNM-H with his Birkenshtoker companion in her home-made looking, ankle length skirt carrying an infant along with a Norwich University (Estbl. 1819!!!! in VT) backpack. There were a couple of Eastern and Western Indian as well as a few Asian families sprinkled amongst mostly Anglos which made me scratch my head, given our almost 50 per cent Chicano …oops its a ‘70s throwback to being back around campus…population. Bottom line, I like the cacophony of Saggio’s decor, people, sounds and smells per offering a momentary getaway per its uniqueness, which transports me…a staycation?… to many a family run bistro in the environs of Baaastan. (Speaking of the North End, here’s an interesting read http://tinyurl.com/yzsyshd)
“Chow!”
Gil,
I think your face must be known among restaurants locally. The rating that you give this place is not deserved. I have given it 5 tries. I have always been disappointed, and upset with myself for giving it another chance and wasting my money.
I am aware that palates differ. However, given that you have lived in Boston and speak of the delights of the affordable delicious northern Italian cuisine that you enjoyed while living there I seriously question your judgment when you give a rating of a 21 to Saggio’s.
Hello Ian
Some restaurant critics go to great lengths to remain inconspicuous, often disguising themselves so as not to be recognized. At 6’1″, I try very hard to blend in with the furniture and don’t typically reveal my identity. Remaining incognito allows me to perform an honest assessment of every restaurant I review. It prevents restaurateurs from treating me any differently than they do other diners. They don’t serve me larger portions or special dishes. I pay my own way.
That being said, it’s impossible not to enjoy this avocation without becoming friends with some of the wonderful restaurateurs throughout New Mexico, people who are passionate about what they do and do it very well. They respect me enough not to insult me by treating me differently than they do others.
I’m sorry you haven’t enjoyed your visits to Saggio’s, but appreciate your opinion. With respect to my rating, my review clearly indicates that “in large part because of the restaurant’s experiential aspects, I’ve had Saggios as one of my top rated pizza restaurants in town for years and though an usurper or two has unseated it, it’s still one of the best in town.” There’s a lot to be said about the experiential aspects of dining. To rate a restaurant solely on the basis of its food (though very important) would be a disservice.
Also as cited on my review, it’s not just I who have a high opinion of Saggio’s which has earned a number of accolades from various sources. I hope someday you experience what so many of us enjoy about Saggio’s.
Gil
Thanks for taking the time to write such a well thought out response. My only other suggestion to keep your anonymity would be to be discrete while photographing your dishes. You may already do this. Photos do add a lot to this blog. They also help me make choices on where I want to bring friends or family to eat. I just don’t often see other people taking photographs of their dishes. This might out you as a critic.
Thanks for all the time that you put into this website.
Ian
Also, given that this is Saggio’s comment space I will state that your pizza is both more affordable and better tasting than Il Vicino up the street. I also have not tried your desserts which look great.
Lord, do I miss that place.
Excellent pizza, nice atmosphere, everyman’s hangout.
Unfortunately, wine is priced to prove the restaurateur’s mantra: “They eat me poor, they drink me rich”.
OMG…T’was there just this last Saturday per mangiare! Ya, it’s “noisy”, but, and without averring that I may be a Vintage Person, I wasn’t particularly overwhelmed as some might be cuz besides being a college hang out, IT”S ITALIAN…..LOL. Seemed to me most of the college types were in the separate “Sportz Lounge. Maybe it was jus being Saturday, but I sat amongst lots of Grey-Heads including balding pony-tailed wannabees who appeared to be in mourning for “John” along with younger Yuppie types now bemoaningly (ya can see it in their eyes/shoulders) dragging their rug-rats. Eh, there were even some Moms (possibly from the Villages of Los Ranchos or Corrales judging by their kidlets being dressed in the high fashioned velvets/laces/hair ringlets/patent leather of Yuletides of Olde) who probably came from an afternoon performance of the Nutcracker or some such thing across the way from PopeJoy!!! (Nevertheless, and if ya sit up close to the order counter awaiting your order, you can enjoy the pulchritude of the college Buffys ((or Biffs, as the case might be)) if you’re into that sort of thing of pining about the times of your youth.)
Tip ‘o the day for Newbies: if you find yourself coming at a time to have to be in a line to place your order and can no longer see that far to read the Menu-Board, sidle up to the counter (eh…introduce yourself along the way) to get a ‘brochure’ of the menu so you won’t hear lots of moaning were you to hold up the line figuring what ya want!!!
Oh ya, foodwise: I had the Nick’s Special – thinly sliced white turkey and Genoa salami, melted cheddar, Roma tomaahtos, roasted red peppers, basil mayo, Romaine, Caesar dressing all nestled in a ciabatta bread. Along with it…and most appreciated…. there comes a pasta salad. Alas, IMHO, while avoiding competing with the sandwich, it’s a tad too on the blah side.
Tip O’ the Day #2: This is one of those jaw expanding sandwiches which may require fresh Fixodent for some. Chomping through the ever so yummy salami may present a challenge for some also and it can always be pulled to eat on the side…it is sooo great. Yes, there is wine (itzan eyetalian joynt!!) and beer.
Go here to possibly preselect your dining adventure as the menu is quite extensive or awesome as they still say. http://www.saggios.com/ After you click on Menu, you can click on different sections to enlarge.
All in all, I feel there is something to be said for “Eatin In” versus “Take Out”. The Audio/Visio ambiance just enraptures the experience of whatever food selection and things just aren’t as soggy when Y’all get home….altho some say there is nothing wrong with soggy!!!!
Lest I be remiss in not being Fair n Balanced: For those wanting a yummy quieter venue besides home however, I recommend
Luna Mansion (see my note) http://nmgastronome.com/?p=161#comments
Antiquity http://www.themenupage.com/antiquityrestaurant.html
Paul’s Monterey Inn http://nmgastronome.com/?s=paul%27s+monterey+inn
Agree with Martin about the loud music. The place is set up as a college hang out, so as long as you know about that and can deal, it should be OK, otherwise do like the wife and I do and get your food to go.
Speaking of the food, you have to try the Shrimp Diablo. It comes in a variety of heat levels, I get mine Extra Spicy, but that’s the way I roll. Spicy or medium is probably the norm for most (except Gil, I know he is a masochist, like me, when it comes to spicy food). Anyway, it has a great spicy/garlic flavor to it and the shrimp are HUGE (I think you get like 5 of them). I keep telling myself I am going to try other stuff on the menu (like I did BEFORE I discovered Shrimp Diablo), but when a dish is this good, you gotta keep going to that happy place.
And the desserts….MMMMMMM. Haven’t picked a favorite yet, as we only get dessert once in a very great while…right now the simplistic, but very good, cannolli is in the lead.
excellent pizza, calazone, and salads
I’ve been going to Saggio’s for the past 11 years. On your next visit you need to try the pastas! Green Chile Chicken Cream or Portabello Marinara… they truly excel!
We have been to Saggio’s twice. The food is very good. Unfortunately, be prepared to get blasted with some very loud music. Unless they have toned it down, don’t expect to have any casual conversation. It actually ruined my experience.