Evan D
If you know me, you know I have been on a mission to find the best eggplant parmigiana, meatballs, and lasagna around the greater Charlotte area. Today, I took a drive to Denver to continue the search and finally found my top spot: Marchellos Neighborhood Italian.
Marchellos is tucked inside a strip mall and opened back in August. It is not fancy, just a perfect no-frills Italian restaurant where you can bring the family or stop in for a casual meal. The decor threw me off at first. Behind the host stand is a framed photo of Adam Sandler from Happy Gilmore at the putting green. Looking around the restaurant, I realized they had various photos of movies and actors from the 80s and 90s, giving the place a fun and casual atmosphere.
My server Calvin was super friendly and helpful when I asked questions about the menu. I also had the chance to meet Marshall, the owner, who runs Marchellos with his partner Sandy. They are from Long Island, New York, and previously owned two Italian restaurants there along with another one in the Hamptons. You can tell right away they know how to make NY Italian American style food the right way. Almost everything except the pastas are made fresh in-house. I am incredibly grateful they brought their Sicilian Italian expertise down here.
The menu is reasonably priced and offers a wide variety. You will find brick oven pizzas, seafood dishes, heroes, Italian American classics, homemade desserts, and even a gluten-free menu. They also have a full bar, $5 margaritas on Wednesdays, and half-priced bottles of wine on Tuesdays. A large chalkboard wall highlights the daily specials, but today I was focused on the eggplant parmigiana, lasagna, and meatballs.
Before my meal came out, they served a complimentary basket of warm, soft garlic flatbread. A great start.
Here is what I ordered:
• Eggplant and Chicken Parmigiana Combo with a side of spaghetti and tomato sauce, and the Soup of the Day (Stuffed Pepper Soup)
The stuffed pepper soup was hearty and delicious, with a tomato base full of ground beef, diced peppers, tomatoes, and onions.
Now to the Eggplant Parmigiana:
This was exactly what I have been searching for. The eggplant was expertly fried with the skin removed, sliced longways, and baked under a layer of bubbly mozzarella. No frozen pre-breaded eggplant rounds here. The red sauce had a slight sweetness, which I personally prefer. It was perfect.
The Chicken Parmigiana was also great. It was pounded thin, breaded, fried, topped with the same red sauce, and finished with melted mozzarella cheese.
I also ordered the Baked Pasta Combo to go, which included:
• Lasagna: A traditional NY Italian American style lasagna with layers of mozzarella, ricotta, meat, red sauce, and pasta sheets. A solid, hearty choice.
• Meatballs: Two meatballs with a perfect firm but tender texture. They held together well without falling apart and were seasoned spot-on.
• Stuffed Shells: Exactly what you would expect. Pasta shells filled with ricotta cheese and topped with red sauce. A dependable choice if that is your go-to dish.
For dessert, I grabbed two of their homemade options to take home:
• Key Lime Pie: Made by one of the owners who has roots in Fort Lauderdale. It had a whipped yet dense filling with the perfect amount of tart key lime flavor. The graham cracker crust was a little softer and thinner than I usually like but complemented the pie well.
• Italian Ricotta Cheesecake: Served with your choice of sauce. I went with caramel. To be clear, this is not your typical NY-style cheesecake that is dense and cream cheese based. This is a true Italian ricotta cheesecake, lighter with a smooth texture and a subtle sweetness from the ricotta. It tasted like a homemade family recipe. I would absolutely order this again.
Accommodating Gluten-Free