Sicilian cuisine to die for

Mary Furr

Next to a good cup of coffee or a thick hearty soup, the most welcome

sight in a restaurant is the chef at work in an open kitchen, which

is what greets you as you enter Mangia Mangia.

Located on the Goldenwest side of a strip mall dominated by Expo

on Edinger Avenue, it’s a double storefront from which chef Giuseppe

Cafalu could be seen at the grill as co-owner brother Pietro led us

to a table.

It was from the daily specials on the black board that we selected

our entrees, each served with an exceptionally varied green salad --

red leaf, feathery frise, oak leaf and baby spinach with a light

dressing -- just the variety of texture and color is an indication of

the excellent preparations to come.

I chose tachinni papaglo ($11.95) -- two thick slices of white

turkey sauteed in a Marsala wine cream sauce covered with sliced

mushrooms, quartered artichoke hearts for tartness and red bell

pepper for color. A basket holds crusty buttered garlic bread, which

is perfect for sopping. The bowtie pasta with a chunky tomato sauce

balanced the plate. The food here is cooked with love -- the kind

you’d have for your family.

The pastas are varied -- penne, fettuccini, linguini, vermicelli

-- each paired with a sauce that is a perfect marriage. The rigatoni

salsicca ($9.95) my friend had is a short al dente ridged macaroni

perfect with the course-grained sausage and a faint licorice flavor

that fills the flat bowl it’s served in.

Giuseppe Cafalu prepares the dishes when ordered and seasons with

a light hand -- sauces do not overwhelm. While waiting for your

entree, enjoy the plasma TV that takes you through the villages from

which the brothers emigrated. The cream-colored walls are also

covered with pictures of Sicily -- one even shows the house where the

brothers were born. Pietro Cafalu said he returns to Sicily each year

to visit friends and check out restaurants.

There are about eight flavors of gelato ice cream, but for dessert

we shared Chocolate Chip Canonoli, a tube-shaped pastry shell

deep-fried and filled with whipped ricotta cheese and bits of

chocolate. It’s not sweet, but has a blended cream cheese flavor.

Here Mangia Mangia is Buono! Buono!, or to paraphrase “Field of

Dreams:” If you serve a better cuisine, they will come; for the last

17 years, they have come to Mangia Mangia.

* MARY FURR is the Independent restaurant critic. If you have

comments or suggestions, call (562) 493-5062 or e-mail

hbindy@latimes.com