Will H.
Yelp
Mazzanti's had been on my radar for a long time. While I've only lived in this region for a couple of years, every time we cross the river and check out the town of Bristol it makes for a nice time. Aside from the riverfront park/pier area, there's a strip of mom & pop eateries and shoppes.
So I planned a late morning visit and called in my order for "one hoagie" at 10:15 or so. The guy on the phone was very friendly and took down my name. After running an errand or two, my navigation app from a Yelp competitor pointed me to the residential street housing this century old local, family-run treasure.
As I pulled up, I could already see the steady flow of in and out traffic. That had me wonder: is this a modern day sandwich trap house on this block?
Well, yes. The product is amazing and will have you coming back for more! It survived the trip back to Bordentown just fine. The bread is seeded and comes in daily from Italian peoples bakery.
Procuring your order is easy: walk up to the window (there may be a line), give your name, hand over your $20, and get the bag. It even had my name on a post-it, I felt like a VIP. Looks like it's walk-up only during COVID, that works for me.
So what comes on their sub (sorry, hoagie)? I detected prosciutto, provolone, thinly sliced tomatoes, black pepper, and a little heat from some chili oil maybe? Very slight heat, nothing crazy. Perhaps there was some gabagool (as Tony calls it) but I didn't notice that.
Who cares? The sandwich was delicious and lived up to the hype. The bread was fresh with crusty outside and soft inside, beautifully cradling the thinly-sliced and superb quality ingredients within. 2 of us achieved satiety for both lunch and dinner from a $20 torpedo.
It may seem a little bare bones for an Italian sub/hero/wedge/hoagie, but the beauty is in the simplicity. Hats off to the owner for making it his way or no way. Oil/vinegar is provided in a ramekin, but you won't need it.
I'll be back! It's places like Mazzanti's that make us lucky to live where we do, no matter what side of the river we lay our head at night. Here's to another 100 years.