I had lunch at Melillo's today as I was in the mood for something hot and Italian. It is a cool day so I was looking forward to the warm up. I was dining by myself and was promptly greeted at the door. The hostess was very pleasant. The server was moving kind of slow. It took her several minutes to greet me, with the welcoming "would you like something to drink?" I ordered iced tea, it took the same length of time to get the tea. By the time it made it to the table most of the ice was melted. She may have brewed fresh tea.
I will assume the servers name is Lauren as was printed on my receipt. Lauren told me about the vegetable sandwich special. It sounded great, but I was in te mood for something hot. I ordered the Brooklyn (meatball sandwich) with pasta salad instead of chips. The food came very quickly! It is not often that food comes faster than a beverage. The food was excellent. I love the sauce, lots of garlic and hints of olives. The ciabatta bread worked well for this sandwich. I hate it when you get soggy bread which happens when you use cheap bread.
Lauren did offer dessert that seemed to be an after thought, I asked what they had and ordered a cannoli. I am not a big sweets person, but I miss cannolis from my years in New York. The cannoli was great, topped with lemon zest and artfully decorated with a raspberry pureed "M". I was a bit diappointed in the shell, it was thick and I assume was purchased. Overall lunch was very good a little brush up on service and it would be top notch. I got the hot meal I was looking for, but should have skipped the cannoli. I am ready for a nap.
Very good Michelle!