Mangiamo Manhattan Beach [RESTAURANT REVIEW]
Ask people to recommend a restaurant in downtown Manhattan Beach and they’re likely to mention one of the high-profile new places. This is understandable – those places have been in the news, and we look hipper if we recommend them. Ask those same people where they dine and you might get a different answer; they probably patronize one of the places they’ve enjoyed for years, where where they know the menu and servers and are known in return. One of the downtown classics is Mangiamo, the restaurant and bar that is coming up on its thirtieth anniversary. As downtown Manhattan restaurants go, this place is low-key – the natural stone and dimly lit sign are reserved compared to many of their competitors’ showy frontages. The interior follows suit – though there is a lively bar in the front, the dining room is dark and old-fashioned. The menu is more contemporary, though still strongly grounded in Italian tradition, so that there are modern side items alongside classic main courses. One of the few novel ideas is a mainstay of the happy hour menu, the smoked pheasant nachos. We ordered these, as well as a bowl of Manhattan-style clam chowder and a house salad that included artichoke…
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