This week's feature is the Eggplant Rollatini from Monmouth Street Deli
Monmouth Street Grocery & Deli, 500 Monmouth Street, is a small neighborhood Italian deli specializing in subs and daily hot specials like the eggplant rollatini.
This version is one of the best I've had. The sauce is a simple marinara, made primarily of crushed tomatoes, mildly seasoned with a little garlic, salt and pepper, creating a sauce that leans more towards the tart acidic versus sweet, ideal for this dish to help season the milder eggplant and cheese and cut against their richness. The eggplant is thinly-sliced, lightly breaded, and fried, coming out so tender it almost melts in your mouth. It's stuffed and rolled with a mix of herbed ricotta, mozzarella, and a little grated romano cheese which creates a delicate, fluffy mixture that's rich and satisfying but not overly heavy so that the eggplant feels somewhat decadent, but not over-the-top.
Eating this brings to mind all the familiar, traditional favorites, but is also exceptionally delicious, standing out from the crowd, Monmouth Street is quite generous with their portion sizes so you could definitely split this with someone or over two meals with a side for under $10. The eggplant rollatini is typically available on Mondays.
Have a Friday Feature you'd like to nominate? Comment below or email me
Do you happen to know the hours of this place?
ReplyDeleteThey don't really have set hours. When I've asked, it's usually kind of a shrug and "depends on the day". Generally they're closed by 3, but sometimes they stay open until 5, and sometimes they close before 3... Just that kind of place. I would say you can count on them being open Mondays-Fridays from 11-3 most of the time :)
Delete