Mouth-watering meals Mangia Italian Restaurant never skimps on good tastes
WRITTEN BY GREGG L. PARKER
PHOTOGRAPHS BY JEN FOUTS-DETULLEO
John Ashby knows why customers at Mangia Italian Restaurant enjoy his food. “I don’t skimp. That sets us apart from other restaurants,” Ashby said.
Ashby prepares everything fresh daily in the store in what he describes as “New York-style Italian. This is the type of food that, if you had an Italian grandmother, she would make for you,” he said.
Ashby, sole owner of Mangia, has operated five other restaurants and has been working in Alabama about ten years. “I started here with a cafe on Redstone Arsenal, then opened a restaurant in Hazel Green and now in Madison at 2007 Hughes Road,” Ashby said.
He considers Mangia’s location at Hughes Road and U.S. 72 as an “ideal location. It fits with our concept and the demographic of the area. Madison is growing. We’ve been very well received.”
Mangia offers casual dining and accommodates family dining at all times. “At lunch, we typically get the business crowd, construction workers and service personnel. In the evenings, we have lots of families and a little bit of everyone mixed in,” Ashby said.
Ashby describes Mangia’s prices as reasonable and guests “get good value for the money. We serve generous portions.”
Their slate of appetizers includes beer-battered onion rings, fried ravioli and calamari. More than ten salads are on the menu, like the blackened Caesar salad with chicken and antipasto salad with pepperoni and ham. The lunch specials range from burgers and chicken options to pizza, calzones and lunch spaghetti.
For dessert, the classic Italian Tiramisu presents ladyfingers dipped in coffee liqueur layered with mascarpone cheese and whipped cream.
Customers have claimed the chicken parmesan and chicken carbonara as their favorite choices. “Family meals are extremely popular and feed four to six people with eight different choices. We serve one-half pan of pasta, breadsticks made to order and a large garden salad,” Ashby said.
For Ashby, his favorite dish is his manicotti. “I’m impressed when I make it. What makes my food so different is that I try to buy the very best that I can buy,” he said. “I make my own Alfredo, pesto and red sauces. To make great food, you have to start with quality ingredients.”
“We get a lot of compliments,” Ashby added.
Guests can “bring their own bottle” for libations.
Mangia is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. For more information, visit mangiaitalianrestaurant.net.
