WORCESTER — Mare e Monti has some of the best Italian food in the city. That’s why you’ll see the hole-in-the-wall trattoria slammed on weekends.
But if you want the coolest item on the menu, you’ll have to go on a weeknight.
That’s when Mare e Monti offers its cheese-fire pasta spectacle: the tableside spaghetti al formaggio Parmigiano.
For $30, you’re treated to a spaghetti spectacle as a hollowed-out wheel of Parmigiano Reggiano is wheeled out to your table. Your designated pasta pyro-chef then gets to prepping your order.
That involves scraping the wheel to free up the cheese before loading up a ladle with oil that’s set on fire. The flaming oil is then swirled around the cheese wheel to create a visual spectacle and melt down all the Parmigiano Reggiano.
Once the fire dies down, a heaping order of pasta is added to the wheel and tossed to incorporate all the good stuff.
When you order, you’re given a choice of pasta sauce to get tossed in the wheel: marinara, rosa or Alfredo. The Alfredo option seemed like the most conventional. But I ended up getting the rosa sauce and was quite pleased with my decision.
You definitely get a good amount of pasta with the special. But it was lacking a central protein. So I did what any sane person would do. I ordered a $15 “side” of chicken parm, which turned out to be a full portion of chicken parm without the pasta.
All told, it was $45, which isn’t cheap. But I also had plenty of leftovers for lunch the next day. Plus, it’s a unique sort of spectacle. You’re paying for dinner and a show.
The tableside spaghetti al formaggio Parmigiano is available Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at Mare e Monti in Worcester — along with a full menu of awesome Italian options.
More about Mare e Monti
Check them out — Website | Facebook | Instagram
What’s the address? — 19 Wall St., Worcester, MA 01609
What’s the parking situation? — Mare E Monti offers complimentary valet parking. Otherwise, there is limited parking, as the restaurant is surrounded by residential buildings.
When are they open? — Here are the listed business hours at the time of writing.
Tuesday: 4 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.
Wednesday: 4 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.
Thursday: 4 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.
Saturday: 4 p.m. – 10 p.m.
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Dining and Cooking