Rotelli's

Today some co-workers and I decided to go out for lunch and try Rotelli’s. Since none of us has eaten there we figured it would be a good place to try – especially since it was around the corner. We entered the restaurant and were hit in the face with the smell of pizza cooking (always a great sign) and greeted warmly by the hostess (I will also mention it was nice and cold in the restaurant – could have been the 90+ degree days we have been having). Browsing the menu, I noticed there were some lunch time specials – there were five that varied between slices of pizza to half sandwich combos – all under $6. Our waitress then came to the table to take our drink orders and to bring us some garlic rolls. The rolls were warm and buttery and I liked how the rolls were lightly crisp on the outside and very soft in the inside…. Did I mention we had about 12 rolls in our basket!

Trying not to fill up on bread, we decided to all order the half sandwich combo, which comes with a side salad (or soup if you prefer) and a slice of cheese pizza. You also get to select which half sandwich you want so I opted for the eggplant parmesan while my co-workers got the meatball parmesan and the spa grilled chicken. Our salads came first and they were big! Usually a side salad is small and lacking but this was a good sized salad with mixed greens and romaine, red cabbage, cucumbers and carrots. This ‘side salad’ could have been a meal. Next our slice of pizza came – which was hot out of the oven! The pizza had a very thin crust – which I like – and had some nice spices mixed into the cheese. The slice was also large, equivalent to the “NY Slice”, and initially required a fork to eat. Lastly, the sandwiches came – which were on 6-inches of lightly toasted bread. Biting into my eggplant parmesan, careful not to burn my mouth, I noticed that the eggplant was not greasy and was tender. I would like to see a little bit more seasoning in the eggplant but overall with the marinara sauce, mozzarella and ricotta cheese, it tasted good. My co-worker enjoyed their meatball parmesan and also commented it was very hot. The meatballs were moist and nicely flavored. We both liked how hot the sandwiches were as the cheese stretched between a bite and the sandwich – cheesy goodness! My other co-worker ordered the spa grilled chicken. Per the menu, it states that it is marinated in 12 spices and grilled – but looked more like a regular piece of grilled chicken as I didn’t see 12 spices or hardly any seasoning. I took a bite of the chicken and confirmed what I noted – it was fairly moist but no flavor at all. My co-worker commented that if the chicken was the only item ordered and not the combo, that they would be disappointed and possibly not return.

I give Rotelli’s three ghosts on the seasoning but four ghosts on the food quantity, hotness and price - so an average of three and a half ghosts. Overall, my dish was very good and very filling - I am so full I do not think I will be eating dinner. Not to mention, but this lunch combo was only $6. We had fast service at a great price – perfect for the lunchtime crowd.

http://www.rotellicharlotte.com/