NJ SPICE

Yum.  And what a surprise.  I really wasn’t sure what to expect when I took home a piece of Cappellini Pie from Dolce & Clemente’s a few weeks ago.  In the prepared foods case (and theirs is amazing), it was cold, so I was hoping it would not be dry.

I need not have worried, when gently heated in the microwave, it was soft and moist with little bits of what I took to be sausage or maybe just ground beef throughout.  There was plenty of cheese too, so a small slice was a rich  treat.  I would have thought delicate cappellini pasta (aka “angel hair”) was too thin to hold up in a dish like this, but in the end I liked the fact that it wasn’t chewy in the way that ziti, for instance, might have been, and that only added to the comfort-food ambience of the dish.

I can recommend anything I’ve tried from that case, only depending on your personal taste, including eggplant stacks (with mozzarella), Italian Pork Chops, and potato and rice croquettes (see photo).  I also enjoyed a gigantic stuffed artichoke (wrapped to go with paper into a tall cone, complete with cherry and orange twist on top).  In the butcher case (i.e. uncooked), I found tasty pork braciole tied with string, and good, not-too-salty mild Italian sausage. 

There is quite a variety of vegetable side dishes, too, such as sautéed greens, roasted peppers, grilled and marinated vegetables, and even tiny artichoke versions of the big one I bought.  If you don’t have time to cook, but want a heart and hearth-waming dinner, give this place a try.  You could also put together a great antipasti platter for New Year’s Eve.

Now, if only it were closer to Princeton!  Washington Town Center is a hike for me, but worth a special trip on the weekend.

p.s. For an amusing website of pastas, visit The World Directory of Pasta Shapes and Names.