Lunch date #46 September 14, 2013
Not sure what has kept us so busy this
summer, but we had not had a chance to have lunch together for several weeks.
Even Friday this last week didn't work for us, so in an attempt to not miss
another week, we elected to go out on Saturday. I had heard a new restaurant
opened downtown: Mangia Mi (234 Main St; www.mangia-mi.com), on the south edge of
town, across from Vic's. I have been to their Danville location for
dinner a few times, and always found it excellent, so I was looking forward to
trying it for lunch.
Location 4.5 points: We might start calling this location SODA (South
Downtown Area) if many more restaurants open there! Not the heart of the quaint
area, by far, but more parking is available in that area-even on a Saturday
during the Farmer's Market.
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Ambiance 4 points: Outdoor seating and an open-kitchen floor plan create
a welcome dining space. The tables are well spaced, in contrast to the Danville
location, but I get the feeling that as the place grows in popularity, more
tables will be fit in to create that squished, but exciting, bistro feel. The
bar seating along the open-kitchen is inviting. The dining room with the large
windows and tall ceilings is light and airy, so when it fills with patrons, I
think it will still feel comfortable. The restaurant was only about 1/3 full
that afternoon, but considering that the Danville location is typically packed,
when this location catches on, it will create a more festive-vibe.
Menu 5 points: Very good selection of salads, panini, entrees, and
pizza. We couldn't think of anything else you could add! We both chose a
panino: I went for the veggie and Mom decided to give the grilled-chicken on a
try. The panini are served with a choice of green mista (mixed) or pasta salad.
Food 5 points: They started the table with a service of bread and
delicious herbed-dipping oil. The panini
were huge-we each only ate half and took the rest home for another meal. Mom
appreciated the plating: large rectangular white bistro plates that held both
the sandwiches and salad. We both loved our panini: very soft, tasty ciabatta
bread-almost more of a focaccia in lightness. My veggie had a good selection of
grilled eggplant, zucchini accompanied by goat cheese to give it a zing. Mom's
grilled chicken panino had a tomato pesto and grilled red peppers to give it
interest. We both liked our side salads as well.
Service 3 points: Our server was OK, but not terribly friendly. The backup
wait-staff were very efficient, offering refills often, but Mom did have to
send back her cold cup of coffee twice until she could get a hot one. We waited
a fairly long time for our panini—I will presume because everything was freshly
made? Perhaps they had to prep the veggies, and grill the chicken to order.
Might have been because they were slow, so didn’t have a tightly efficient
kitchen running at lunch time? I think for dinner, it would be fine because you
might have an anti-pasta or salad first. Good thing we had the bread!
Value 4.5 points: The prices are on the higher side for lunch ($11 for
the veggie panino and $12 for the chicken panino), but since the portion sizes
are so large it seems like a better deal. You could split one easily. The
dinner menu is very reasonably priced. Our only disappointment was $3 for a cup
of regular coffee, cold at that. Overall though, it was a very nice dining
experience and we felt that we would return to try some of the other menu
items. I will definitely try it for dinner with Gary or some girl-friends soon!
