eggplant | Page 7 of 12 | Mass Food & Wine

Pollo Giuseppe from Mare E Monti Trattoria on Wall Street in Worcester, MA

Mare E Monti Trattoria is yet another little hidden gem in the hills of Worcester. Having been to this location prior (different restaurant), I was impressed with the renovations and change in the décor. There is a quaint bar when you first enter and to the left is the main dining area. The staff was welcoming and warm.

So – where do I start? Yes, the sangria – umm…. Mouthwatering delicious. I could not quite put my finger (tongue) on the exact flavor I was relishing but I did have to refrain from ordering more than one. So good.

Oh yea, food – I digress…. The bread and oil were excellent, but really how can bread and oil ever be bad? I was very torn on what my taste buds desired this warm Tuesday evening, as everything sounded delicious. Of course, as always, I had moments of food jealousy as the appetizer’s arrived and I had decided to forgo ordering any. However, for my meal I selected the Pollo Giuseppe ~ Sautéed chicken breast with prosciutto, eggplant, and fresh mozzarella in a pomodoro sauce served with choice of pasta.

First off, the portion sizes would be very suitable to share or split, i.e. HUGE. I wanted to devour the entire meal! The layered chicken, prosciutto, and eggplant were perfectly balanced with the pomodoro sauce. There was no need for any seasoning as it was already done so to perfection, just the right amount of garlic without you feeling as though you need to be in an Orbit gum commercial.

Every meal looked amazing and I only heard positive comments from everyone.

Then the desert tray…. Well again, I had an extreme bout of food jealousy so I boldly asked my handsome neighbor if I could try his scrumptious looking almond torte (?) and let us just say I think I boldly went in for three bites. It was amazing…. Ciao!

Nestled between the Grafton Street and Franklin Street areas of Worcester is Wall Street’s Mare E Monti Trattoria. This classic Italian trattoria offers a comfortable dining experience that is a little bit off the beaten path from the Shrewsbury Street dining scene that most people think of when they think Worcester’s Italian food. Yet Mare E Monti Trattoria is a strong contender in the Italian dining experience.

After browsing the many selections on the menu I decided to start with the Polenta Con Funghi which was described as a creamy polenta with fried mushrooms, spring onions, served in a shallot butter sauce. This dish lived up to its description and was a savory delightful combination of polenta topped with the mushroom and scallions in butter sauce. I would highly recommend this appetizer as it was skillfully prepared and delicious.

For my main course I picked the Pollo Guisseppi which a chicken dish with eggplant, prosciutto, and mozzarella. The dish was topped with a pomodoro sauce and I opted for the optional homemade pasta (for a small up charge). The highlight of the dish was the thinly sliced eggplant that was fried to a crispy perfection. The entire dish was well prepared with quality ingredients, hearty portions and fresh homemade pasta, yet it seemed to need a little something more, possibly salt or some red pepper. Surprisingly the prosciutto did not seem to add the saltiness that one would have expected. I would definitely consider this dish again as it had many of my favorite ingredients.

Overall the location was comfortable and had a nice feel with exposed beams and brick. The food was well prepared and fresh. The deserts looked quite delicious and most of the desserts were home made. I would definitely go back and would probably gravitate towards and eggplant based dish.