Mastellone's Deli & Wine Shop

 

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Judith Priest ..

Baltimore, MD

This is the best Italian deli/grocery in Baltimore (along with it's sister DePasquales in Highlandtown). Anyone who says otherwise is simply wrong.

Their hours aren't necessarily convenient as they close at 6:00 every night. They aren't open on Monday, and close at 2:00 on Sunday. BUT! They sell wine on Sundays, which is a pretty rare find in this city, with it's outdated liquor laws.

Stock up on yummy, fresh tasting Italian olives (very, very reasonably priced, especially compared to fancier places) - my favorites are the big, fat green ones and the small black oil cured. The bread (about $2.50 per loaf) is to die for and sometimes you can get it while it's still warm. I  love their fresh made mozzarella (roughly $6/lb). I'd recommend their pizza crusts ($1.50) for an easy dinner when you want pizza, but you actually want it to be good. I simply brush it with garlic and olive oil, slice some tomatoes from my garden and then sprinkle with with their mozzarella - so delicious!

We've had their meat sauce once and it was wonderfully flavored.

In addition to all this they have a good cheese assortment, great dried sausages, some fresh made baby artichokes, fried eggplant and other dishes. Frozen pastas like raviolis are available in the case up front. If you ask, they'll be happy to give you samples of their cheeses and olives. For the sweet tooth they have a great selection of cookies, and of course, cannolis. And of course you can order sandwiches.

Speaking of sandwiches... let me talk about their meatball sub. I usually don't care for subs, as they tend to be a sloppy mess of fried, flavorless crap. This is not the case here. For their meatball sub, they take a loaf of their fresh Italian bread and cut it in half and then hollow it out. They generously stuff it with their own meatballs, which are great, and big, fat slices of fresh mozzarella (you can get provolone if you prefer, but seriously, take my recommendation). This is topped off by their wonderful red sauce and then a piece of the bread is stuffed back onto the sliced end so it forms a neat bread cylinder full of meat and cheese. This runs about $6.95 and can easily feed two.

The shop is small, family run and friendly. It can get crowded sometimes, but they work quickly to fill everyone's orders. If you see them bring out the fresh bread, grab it quick because it might not be there when you turn around. Their wine selection is made of nice Italians. I'm a fan of prosecco myself, so I tend to go that way. They have a limited selection of Italian beers and some sodas. They offer staples like pasta, olive oil, anchovies, capers, etc. But they can be a bit pricey. I go mostly for the meats, cheeses, wines, breads, etc.

Everyone who shops there seems to be locals, and often the customers are heavily accented. I take that as a good sign. It's a no frills kind of place, so if you're used to the flash of Ceriello's, you might be disappointed, but Mastellones is just simply a good little Italian deli, no more, no less.

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