November 16, 2021 – The menu grabs appetite from the get-go. Anticipation builds as the details deepen. And the authentic family-and-friend action driving it all completes a promising portrait of a new Oldtown Salinas restaurant.
Mangia – Eat on Main officially debuts its lunch and dinner offerings Thursday, Nov. 18. It takes over the space occupied by longtime Main Street institution Yangtse Taste of Thai, that was there a quarter century.
Chef Nuccio Altomare and his wife Anna hosted a soft opening this weekend. Many locals will recognize them from multigenerational Salinas institution nearly a half century in business itself, Gino’s, where he cheffed and her family runs the show as they have since the mid-70s.
The dishes they chose to spotlight reveal much about what eaters can expect.
First up: bruschetta di nonna with house ricotta, pistachio, basil pesto and a honey-chili drizzle, on a foundation of artisan bread by upstart local baker Otto Kramm—Southern Italian techniques applied to local ingredients with California flourish.
“Slow food, simple, made from scratch, done the right way, with the right ingredients, olive oils and salt,” Anna says. “It’s the little things that count.”
Next came an installment of Nuccio’s soups of the day, in this case a cream of truffled mushroom zuppa ($5/cup; $8/bowl). “He loves to make soups and different sauces,” Anna says. “It’s a fun and creative way to showcase great Salinas produce.”
A pair of signature pastas followed: the supreme flagship penne alla Mangia with Italian sausage, caramelized onion, roasted bell pepper, market mushroom, fresh herbs and a tomato cream sauce; and gnocchi di Andrea with potato dumplings and a truffle-infused gorgonzola cream sauce. (There’s also a tomato basil burrata gnocchi on the pasta menu, with all dishes running $16-$23.)
The gnocchi wowed, according to its creators. It also name checks Andrea Altomare, the owners’ oldest son, who will help direct the bar once his day job at Scheid Vineyards is done, while managing restaurant marketing, clearing tables and cultivating a love for the rich mushroom in the gnocchi.
“Andrea helps with a little bit of everything—it’s a family business, you know?” Anna says, adding later, “He practically uses truffle oil as cologne.”
The pollo saltimbocca sounds as succulent as anything served at the soft opening, with pan-fried chicken medallions and prosciutto in a sage-white wine-butter sauce finished with fontina cheese.
A telling element comes with the secondi entrees ($22-$23): The sides aren’t set, but instead rotate through daily specials pending what’s fresh and available. On that night it was local asparagus and what Italians call Fiorentino, a tiny cauliflower broccoli that local growers D’Arrigo Brothers have started cultivating.
“We live in a place so full of a bounty of vegetables and other produce we’re excited to do smaller menus and more weekly specials,” Anna says.
Altomare didn’t mention any salads ($6-$12 before protein additions like chicken, shrimp and salmon), but they prove substantial sounding too: Note the classic Salinas Valley wedge and the Mangia “Nella” with tomato, red onion, arugula, kalamata olives, parmigiana and house basil vinaigrette.
Those will be big at lunch, when sandwich options (including the fried chicken panino, $17 with fries or salad) also expand.
Chef Nuccio and Anna met and married in Italy, before ultimately moving here and joining the family business in 1991. Nuccio began as a dishwasher and pizza maker in Gino’s previous location.
“Started at the bottom,” he says, “With the passion growing every day.”
For a long time, the couple dreamed of this development.
“It’s been a dream to be on our own for many years, and we’ve always been talking with friends and family about it,” Anna says. “They told us, ‘The minute it opens we’ll be there.’”
That goes beyond those tasting the offerings at the soft opening. Much of the staff has worked and/or palled around with the Altomares longer than head busser Stefano Altomare, 17, has been alive.
Server Christy Johnson estimates she’s known Anna for 20 years.
“The staff has all worked together forever,” Johnson says. “We’re a pretty unique staff. People will recognize the faces.”
The most important ingredient, she believes, grows directly from that.
“It’s like walking into their house,” she adds. “It’s not only the food, it’s that they truly treat everyone like family.”
More at Mangia’s Instagram feed or Facebook page.
About the author
Mark C. Anderson, EMB's managing editor and "Found Treasures" columnist, welcomes responsible and irresponsible feedback. Correspond via mark@ediblemontereybay.com.
