Not Your Grandma’s Lasagna

Sam Gimlewicz

Although concept chef Sam Gimlewicz concedes that the name of the Thousand Layer Lasagna is a bit of an exaggeration, he chooses not to specify the exact number in the house specialty at modern Italian-American Rollati Ristorante, letting the lasagna speak for itself. “The dish immediately piques everyone’s interest with its layers upon layers of freshly made pasta sheets coated with ragu, baked and cooled,” he says. At service, it is sliced and seared on a hot skillet for craveable crispy edges. “This is not your grandma’s lasagna!”

Noting that the dish has been a fan favorite since the restaurant opened in 2023, Gimlewicz characterizes its preparation as a labor of love. “Each layer has to be meticulously spread with the correct quantity of sauce, multiple cheeses and our housemade béchamel. With this many layers of pasta dough, you need to condense a lot of flavor in between each,” he says. “These are pressed together after cooking, creating a cohesive slab of pasta, cheese and sauce. Searing creates the same effect as the edge piece of a traditional lasagna, which everyone craves.”

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