Sono in North Park uses recipes that often stay in Italy

Within San Diego’s treasure chest of contemporary Italian kitchens is a relative newcomer named Sono. The restaurant earlier this year inhabited the commodious corner structure at 2835 University Ave., and with a lively draw that the address hasn’t seen in a while.

Numerous tenants have fluttered through the circa-1925 structure, which over the past 25 years has seen the likes of a neighborhood grocer, HUB Art Gallery, Al Reef Mediterranean Restaurant, Two Blu Ducks cafe, MetlBar Creamery, Seventh House, and most recently, Cacio e Pepe Trattoria.

I had visited them all, and none greeted me with the passion and promise of Sono, which is the Italian word for “I am.”

The restaurant marks the fourth venture for chef Nino Cusimano and his wife, Ocean Mohamdi. He is originally from Sicily; she was born and raised in the Netherlands. They operate the globally inspired Flora several blocks east of Sono, as well as the Sicilian-influenced RustiCucina in Hillcrest and Roman Wolves in Little Italy.

Sono, however, focuses on regional Italian recipes that don’t always find their way into San Diego. And they are served within a modernly redesigned interior. Under previous tenants, the inside always struck me as gloomy with too much dead space.

The lighting is now evenly balanced from the front dining area to the far-back section. Also to the rescue are comfy new chairs and banquettes and arty wall prints. The inviting central bar shows off a decent liquor inventory on elevated shelving.

While Mohamdi oversees the bar program—and with appealing creativity such as the “chiardo” made with white rum, mango, lemon, and clarified milk—Cusimano exposes us to a range of refreshingly obscure Italian dishes.

His bruschetta porchetta, for example, is a must-try appetizer that pairs swimmingly with a glass of bold Super Tuscan wine. The bruschetta omits the usual diced tomatoes and minced garlic in lieu of pork that is roasted for 36 hours and flavored gently with rosemary. The meat is finely shaved, piled atop rustic bread, and overlaid with melted, smoked Gouda. The dish sticks largely to central Italy—and it’s a meal in itself if eating it solo.

We began also with “cazzilli di brasato,” which are potato croquettes stuffed with short rib. They’re common in Southern Italy. Here, Cusimano crowns them with mozzarella and truffle mayonnaise. Served two to an order, the truffle flavor went missing, but we didn’t care because the croquettes offered supremely crunchy exteriors that led to a nourishing commingling of fluffy spuds and tender beef inside.

Equally novel to local Italian kitchens is Cusimano’s pomodoro sauce, which pays tribute to Italy’s late Michelin-star chef, Vittorio Cerea. This version of the tomato-based sauce receives a last-minute finish of cold butter, Parmesan cheese and a little pasta water for a silky, tongue-tingling outcome. Cusimano pairs it to “spaghettoni,” the sibling of spaghetti but with a slightly wider girth.

“I see the sauce made this way all over Italy, but never here,” Cusimano said.

My dining companion, a fanatic for bolognese sauce, opted for the rigatoni “bolognese bianca.” The dish saves guests a visit to Northern Italy, where this tomato-less style of the sauce relies on the slow braising of minced meat (wagyu beef at Sono) in broth, wine, and herbs. Look for a few daubs of pistachio pesto for added flair.

The menu features about 10 different pizzas made Neapolitan-style, meaning the dough uses highly refined Italian flour, and the pies are cooked quickly at high heat. We took home a “deliziosa” topped with shredded short rib, pecorino, mozzarella and a sweet team-up of caramelized onions and bell pepper. Delicious it was.

Sono is open for dinner from 5 to 10 p.m., daily. Happy hour is held from 5 to 6 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, at the bar. For more information, call 619-782-9786 or visit www.sononorthpark.com.