Mangia Mangia’s kitchen calls ‘Come to Sicily’

Mary Furr

Mangia Mangia beckons like a siren to sailors, drawing you into the

kitchen of chef-owner Pietro Cefalu to taste the great pasta and sauce

dishes he learned from his Sicilian grandmother in Palermo.

Mangia Mangia is housed in an ordinary L-shaped store front, but there is

nothing ordinary about the food -- it sparkles with freshness.

The feeling at Mangia Mangia is that everyone from server Kirsten to chef

Pietro cares about the food and the diner.

A great appetizer is bruschetta ($4.95), wonderful deep, red Roma tomato

pieces piled on warm slices of toasted Italian bread, shiny with virgin

olive oil and basil, and tiny bits of fresh garlic.

Perhaps it’s the closeness of the small, open kitchen right at the door

that makes you feel as if you’ve just stepped into a Sicilian home, with

its warm, welcoming aroma of garlic.

The island of Sicily, off the western coast of Italy, has many fish

dishes. A recent lunch special was albacore portofino ($11.95), a high

fat, white-fleshed, mild, flavored tuna sauteed in white wine and topped

with rustic-style chunky red tomato pieces, zesty black Italian olives

and pearly capers served beside bow-tie pasta with tomato-rich marinara.

It is wonderful, rich but light, every ingredient at its peak of

freshness, lovingly prepared.

Another special is one of the best I’ve ever had -- poached salmone al

basilico ($11.95), a pale pink, tender as satin, fish in a creamy, light

green pesto sauce, a mild contrast to the more rustic albacore

preparation.

Chicken also comes in a variety of preparations. Award-winning chicken

calabrese ($13.95), has chunks of tender chicken sauteed with thick

slices of grainy sausage, black olives and onions with a basil tomato

sauce. The mild sausage, a great addition to the chicken pieces,

dominates but does not overwhelm the dish.

Another is chicken pappagallo, ($13.95), a less complicated dish of

deboned chicken breast sauteed in marsala wine and cream gravy. It’s

topped with slightly astringent artichoke hearts, large, thinly sliced

mushrooms and strips of red bell pepper. The mix of tastes is seductive.

It lures you beyond what you have come to expect of chicken.

Desserts are traditional -- only three -- with tiramisu ($4.50), an

intoxicating choice of liquor-soaked cake layered with mild Italian

marscapone and sprinkled with powdered sugar. Spumoni ($4.25), is a cool

slice from a mold of two-layered ice cream with a center of candied

fruits.

According to Pietro, “if you use fresh products, half the work of cooking

is done.”

But the diners who fill Mangia Mangia seem to believe the talent of the

chef has something to do with it, too.

FYI

Mangia Mangia

Where: 16079 Goldenwest St.

Hours: Monday-Friday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday 4-10 p.m., Sunday 4-9

p.m.

Call: (714) 841-8887.