Though it's been around for over a hundred years in some form or another, Monte's Tomato Sauce is still a best-kept secret. Described by those in the know — including NOAH — as "great" and, more accurately, the "gold standard," the company's signature product is getting some well-deserved attention in the latest edition of The Hundreds' Family Style Fest, a celebration of local eats and the people who make them. To mark the occasion, Monte's has cheffed up a heaping helping of special merch that honors its century in the biz.
If you haven't sampled Monte's specialty, it's time to change that. The sauce is still made by hand the old-fashioned way, individually prepared with local ingredients before being carefully bottled and inspected by a direct descendent of Filomena and Angelo Monte, the Italian immigrants who founded Monte's original Brooklyn restaurant. Its rich flavor is a callback to the heydays of Filomena holding court in the kitchen, doling out homestyle Italian dishes to the likes of Frank Sinatra, Al Pacino, Jackie Gleason, and Sammy Davis Jr.
Curating artwork from old matchbooks, branding, and ads, the collection of cozy clothing features plenty of colorful creations that draw directly from the Monte family legacy. The little gondola man from the Venetian Room in Monte's OG outpost graces the rear of a green hoodie, while a long-sleeved shirt proudly proclaims a line from The New York Times' recent sauce review: "Old New York in a jar." Elsewhere, another Venice-inspired ad graces a tee, and a simple cap sports Monte's stylized tomato plant branding.
Shop the wearables for a limited time on Monte's website, where you can also snap up a jar of the covetable sauce. Monte's will also make a brief appearance during the NTWRK-hosted Family Style Fest broadcast.
