When it comes to getting a meal on the table for a hungry family in New York City, takeout (or, let’s be honest) delivery, can be a godsend. Likewise, cooking up a pasta and red sauce dinner for the kids is a quick, cheap and easy dinner solution. But it’s hard to imagine why one would order in an Italian staple like spaghetti and meatballs. Here’s why: It’s way better than your Ragu and Ronzoni and you even get to keep the cute pot it comes in. Mangia!
photo: Paul Wagtouvicz/Maroni Hot Pots
A Long Island Tradition Comes to the Upper East Side
The Maroni Family has been serving up classic and delicious Italian fare like Pop’s Pizza Bread and Spaghetti and White Clam Sauce at Maroni Cuisine outside of Northport, Long Island since 2001. (Their sauce is so popular that you can pick up a jar at most Fairway locations.)
Now, the clan is serving the Upper East Side and beyond at the first Maroni satellite operation.
photo: Paul Wagtouvicz/Maroni Hot Pots
If You Dine In
This E. 77th Street spot is about as family-friendly as you can imagine. Arriving with a stroller? No problem. It can be quickly parked in the takeout area, and the music playing (usually The Beatles, a favorite of co-owner Michael Maroni) is just loud enough to drown out any fussing or ‘outside’ voices.
Open Tuesday through Sunday from noon to nine, there are ample opportunities to tuck into a pan of Chicken Milanese or Chicken Parmesan but, frankly, the hearty, gooey Gagootz (Zucchini) Parmesan is what we’ll come back to savor next time we’re in the neighborhood. Then again, we’d also advise diners to save room for the cannolis—from the cookie itself to the chocolate-chip studded filling, it’s the real thing.
However, with just 14 seats, Maroni Hot Pots is small, which gives you the perfect excuse to order one of its tasty and cute red enamel pots right to your door. (The restaurant proudly proclaims: “Our pot is legal.”)
photo: Paul Wagtouvicz/Maroni Hot Pots
Red Hot Hot Pot
Live on the Upper East Side? You’re in the zone for delivery! (Specifically: Free delivery is offered between E. 66th and E. 86th, and Fifth Ave. and the East River; delivery to the West Side for a fee may be added soon.)
Ordering is simple: choose your pot size (small, medium or large) and how many of Grandma Maroni’s Meatballs you want — you can also order just the meatballs if you like. Prices range from $30 for the small, to $65 for a large; the Maroni’s say that not only do you get to keep the handsome enamel pots, the cookware does keep the food hotter than the typical plastic takeout ware.
If classic spaghetti isn’t your family’s thing, you can choose from many other dishes crafted using the Maroni’s 100-year-old recipes, such as penne ala vodka, fresh ricotta ravioli, or cacio e pepper, or a variety of pan dishes such as the Chicken Milanese and Parmesan and others.
Maroni Hot Pots
307 East 77th St/ (at 2nd Ave.)
Upper East Side
212-535-2866
Online: maronihotpots.com
Have you tried Maroni Hot Pots? Let us know in the comments below!
—Lambeth Hochwald
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