Augie’s Family Style Italian Restaurant is serving up delicious and affordable meals for families during this difficult time.

My birthday was this week, and since I had to spend it in quarantine, my parents wanted to do something special for me. They know how much I love Italian food, so they decided to order takeout from Augie’s restaurant.

Augie’s restaurant has two different locations in the capital region. We decided to order our food from the Ballston Spa restaurant, since it is only a 20 minute drive. However, a few years ago, Augie’s To-Go of Saratoga Springs opened, which is solely dedicated to take-out service.

During the pandemic, Augie’s has been offering family take out specials every day of the week, except Tuesdays. Each special is $22 and is estimated to feed 3-4 people. It includes a pan of featured pasta, a house salad, and some bread. With six people to feed, we decided that we would need to order two of these specials.

Placing the order was very simple and efficient. All you had to do was call, ask for the family take-out special, and then tell them your last name and phone number. They then provided you with an order number, which is what you would need to pick up your order.

When my mom and I arrived to pick up the food, the restaurant smelled of garlic! The process for picking up our order was organized and systematic. First, to enforce social distancing, we waited in the lobby while the customer ahead of us was paying for their food. Once they left, we took their place in front of the counter and told the hostess our order number so she could retrieve our food. Shortly, she came back with two giant silver tins and two plastic bags. The plastic bags held our salads and bread, while the hot aluminum tins contained the pasta we ordered. Everything was labeled with our order number to avoid any mistakes from occurring. Then, we simply paid the cashier, and we were all set.

After our 20 minute commute, I was eager to bite into the delicious meal that sat in front of me. I was happily surprised that when I took a taste of my pasta. The red sauce was sweet and delicious, but at the same time, it wasn’t overbearing. The meatballs were juicy and full of garlic segments. The salad was wonderful: I loved the onions and the homemade Italian dressing! Overall, the quality and taste of the food was definitely a 10/10.

Although it said that the meal fed 3-4 people, my family of six people only ate one out of the two tins of pasta we ordered. This may sound like a complaint to some, but I really didn’t mind having this delicious meal for dinner two nights in a row!