Mangia Mangia

Over the weekend, we went out to eat at Mangia Mangia Italian Grille with my parents. They'd been there once before & loved it, so they wanted us to try it, too.

We all started with salads. The great thing was that they will do half sizes of their salads. Now, I'm a HUGE salad eater & could eat the largest imaginable salad, but at a restaurant I always want to try everything. Smaller is better for my stomach & my wallet!

Mom & I each had half of the Beet Salad, which was field greens, roasted beets, & fennel with sherry vinaigrette & a goat cheese crostini. It was delicious! I'm not a huge fennel fan, but it was shaved very thinly so it complimented the salad instead of overpowering it. The vinaigrette was light & fresh.

The Bup got the full-size Caesar salad, & Dad got a half-size Caesar. Very traditional. I tasted it, & was surprised by the lightness. Caesar salads can be really heavy, but this wasn't. Like my salad, it wasn't over dressed.

Mom & I split the Vegetable Pizza, which had eggplant, mozzerella, zucchini, tomato, spinach & garlic. The crust was amazing: chewy, but still crispy on the bottom. I was also impressed with the fresh taste of the sauce.

The Bup got the Spinach, Mozzerella, Ricotta Calzone. It was really good! There was too much cheese in it for me, but he loved it. He had to request a second bowl of marinara sauce. Dad requested one with his Meatball Parmigiana sandwich, but there wasn't enough to share. They both love their dipping sauce.

For dessert, Dad & I split a huge slice of Coconut Rum Cake.

Mom had the Canolis. She really grilled the waiter (who was super nice!) about how they were. She's picky about her canolis! These stood up well to her high standards.

And of course, the Bup had the Chocolate Cake. It was super chocolately & not dry like chocolate cakes often tend to be.

This is our new favorite Italian place. The service was great, the meal was delicious, & it was reasonably priced. It's also BYOB. I love having that option because you really save a lot of money & I know I'll like what I'm drinking. Next time we go, I'm going to try one of their pasta dishes. My only complaint - it's not within walking distance!