Mom and Pop, David and Laura Roselli, co-owners of Kitchen Roselli are young. They don’t have grey hair or travel with walkers. They do serve up authentic Italian recipes that have been handed down in their family over the generations. Every now and then they put a modern twist on a dish that only makes it better.
Some might say their location in East Bend is “in the middle of nowhere”. I say it’s “in the middle of home town America”. Many of their regulars from surrounding cities don’t think twice about showing up for a meal.
Image: kitchenroselli.com/
The building housing Kitchen Roselli islisted on the National Register of Historic Places. They say,
“Our building was built in 1913 and operated not only as a general store but one of North Carolina’s first women dentists, Dr. Rosebud Morse Garriott, had her practice on the second floor from 1916 until 1982.”
I traveled to Kitchen Roselli as an anonymous judge for the Best Dish NC competition sponsored by the NC State Department of Agriculture and Our State Magazine. What a find! Original general store shelves line the walls. And if you go, check out the old wood floors.
Friends from Mills River and family they have in the East Bend area all joined me for dinner, throwing off any possibility of getting identified as a judge before dinner was over. Between us, we ordered both competition and non-competition dishes, so I’ll identify the competition dishes under their photos.
I know this is obscene, but I’m going to start with one of the desserts. Kitchen Roselli is known for their Cream Puff ($5). So known, if you want one, you’d better reserve it for after your meal or they’re likely to be sold out. I’m a little embarrassed to say I had the competition dessert after dinner and then had this cream puff for breakfast the following morning. And yes, it’s huge and fabulously delicious!
A choice of salad comes with Pasta and Specialty Dishes. This is My Granny’s “Sunny Italy Salad”. It’s described on the menu as “chopped salad of iceberg lettuce, tomato, onion and celery served with My Granny’s Sweet Creamy Italian Dressing and her favorite Captain’s Wafers”.
And this is the Garden Market Salad. It’s made with fresh mixed greens, grape tomatoes, cucumber and red onion and is served with your choice of three dressings: Red Wine Vinaigrette, Balsamic-Basil Vinaigrette or My Granny’s Sweet Creamy Italian.
Mama’s Lasagna Rollatini ($14) was exceptionally hearty. Kitchen Roselli makes this “rolled lasagna” with ricotta sopraffina, a superfine ricotta that adds a smooth mouth feel to the dish. They also use whole milk mozzarella, parmesan and fresh basil. According to their menu, this dish is baked in their stone hearth oven. At the heart of Italian cooking is the sauce and this Neapolitan Meat Sauce didn’t disappoint. It’s can also be served with their Family Red Sauce.
Another in our party really enjoyed Pa’s Veal Cutlet Recipe ($16). I was having problems with lighting for photos, so didn’t get a shot of this dish. Sauteed, bredded top round veal cutlets were served over spaghetti and then topped with Kitchen Roselli’s Red Sauce before being “flash baked” with mozzarella. Fat Kat was seated at the opposite end of the table from me, so not only did I not get a photo, I didn’t get a taste either! He did say the dish was very tasty, especially the veal itself.
One of the stars of the evening – Gnocchi with Basil Marinara ($16). Oh My Goodness! The Gnocchi was described on the menu as “hand-made ricotta gnocchi in a sauce of ripe pear and plum tomatoes, garlic, garden vegetables, extra virgin olive oil, grated cheese and finished with ribbons of basil.” I’m telling you this was a bowl of sauce so delicious, Bob asked for seconds for sopping up with bread. They told us people who’ve had this refer to it as “pillows of happiness”. I did get to taste this one and that gnocchi was incredible! It just melted away in my mouth. Next time, this is my dinner at Kitchen Roselli.
Competition Dishes
If you’re interested, there are way better photos of these three dishes on Kitchen Roselli’s website.
My starter was another star of the evening, a Rainbow Tomato Granita with Polenta Cracker ($5). This is when I wish computer screens had a “scratch ‘n sniff” feature. Guarenteed, you have never before tasted such intense tomato flavor. Co-owner Laura Roselli explained her method for making this dish. After pressing fresh red and pink heirloom tomatoes through a sieve, she pours the juice onto a baking sheet. It then goes into the freezer. Every 45 minutes or so, Laura takes a fork and scrapes the freezing juices until all the juice is frozen and the tray is full of scraped ice. It’s served with small leaves of fresh herbs from the garden. The Polenta Crackers added a nice counterpoint to the Granita.
Competition Dish
My entree was Sunday Afternoon Pork Sliders with Spaghetti Frittata ($12). Different, in my opinion, for an Italian restaurant, but nicely done nonetheless, these pork sliders were seasoned with “Italian herbs” (not sure which). The pork was topped with “My Granny’s rustic slaw” and served on delicious house-made focaccia bread. A slice of perfectly flavored and cooked “farm to table” spaghetti fritatta was served with the sliders.
 Topping off the evening was a slice of Drunken Pan di Spangna with North Carolina Peaches ($7). This was a classic Italian sponge cake lightly soaked with Catdaddy Carolina Moonshine sweet syrup and filled with pastry cream. Served with macerated peaches, this dish was a dream. Those peaches mixed with the cream and light cake flavored with just the right amount of that amazing syrup. A beautiful way to end a beautiful meal!
Congratulations to Kitchen Roselli for winning second place in the “Casual Dining” category.
Kitchen Roselli
105 E Main St
East Bend, NC 27018
(336) 699-4898
