Mangiamo


15 New Street
Huntington, NY

A chopped tomato that's sweet, ripe, firm and deep red may not sound like all that much, but in a dish like zuppa di clams with red sauce, it spells the difference between something bright and lively and something else.

At Mangiamo in Huntington, first-rate chopped tomatoes brought notes of sweetness to a platter of fresh clams bathed in a subtly garlicky marine broth. Had the chef used lesser tomatoes or resorted to canned produce, the dish -- and the restaurant -- would have come off as just another garlic and marinara palace.

It's knowing little touches that elevate Mangiamo above the burgeoning horde of family-style Italian restaurants. I am not generally partial to such places, since dining necessitates sharing, and the portions -- in theory geared for two -- are often actually sized for three or more. At Mangiamo, as at most such spots, prices don't always make sense and specials may cost lots more than menu items. When I asked the waiter the price of the osso buco he recommended, I learned it was $60; the most expensive listed dish, a veal chop, cost $38. Still, those who don't mind sharing or asking questions can dine frugally on food prepared with no small measure of care.

While I usually find that tomatoes water down a salad, the superior ones used here worked to advantage in the laudable Gorgonzola salad of field greens, apples, walnuts and cheese dressed lightly and well. I was at a loss, however, to understand the $20.50 price of a chopped salad made with iceberg, artichokes, provolone, roasted peppers, olives and salami, a salad that, for all its ingredients and staggering size, seemed to miss something. But I liked the eggplant rollatini, a dish that answered a yen for something hot, melting and nicely sauced. When addressing that craving, not every vegetable works as well, as demonstrated by the rubbery portobello parmigiana.

Instead of the osso buco, we ordered a more reasonably priced special of lemon sole with chopped tomatoes, garlic and baby shrimp. It had been prepared with a light and knowing touch and was generous enough to satisfy four. Chicken contadina was a very good meal-in-one dish featuring pieces of bone-in skin-on chicken sauteed with potatoes, mushrooms, peppers and sausage in an herbal brown sauce. I liked the veal Marsala, tender cutlets in a wine-enriched mushroom sauce that, thankfully, wasn't overly sweet.

Had the clams in the linguine with white clam sauce not been overcooked, Mangiamo's version of the classic would have been an ideal one; the pasta was al dente, the sauce briny-sweet and hinting of -- not screaming -- garlic. Most impressive, though, was the "country style" pasta -- rigatoni with white beans, broccoli rabe and crumbled sausage in a garlicky broth thickened by the slightly pureed beans. For pastas such as this, I learned, the restaurant will serve half-orders on request.

But there's no shrinking those outsize desserts. The signature chocolate finale, called "King Kong," at $20, is reputedly designed to serve four. It wasn't available on the weeknight we ordered it, so instead, we shared a slab of warm, cakey bread pudding. Another time, two of us ordered the house-made napoleon. The huge hunk set before us was just a simple layering of pastry cream and puff pastry.

It was more than good and more than plenty.

Reviewed by Joan Reminick, 4/14/06

Hours: Lunch, Monday to Saturday, 11:30 to 3:30 p.m., Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m.; dinner, Sunday to Thursday, 4 to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 4 to 11 p.m.

Assessment

Family-style Italian

Cuisine

Italian

Price Range

Inexpensive (Under $15), Moderate ($15-$25)

Wheelchair Access

Restrooms small and not equipped.