Mangia Trattoria: Glen Rock, NJ

OK, so, it's immensely popular, extremely family friendly, and generally a zoo.  It also serves lots of Italian-American style pasta (carbonara came in what seemed to be a pool of cream, for example).  So why would I bother with this place?  Well, I have to say, they make a pretty decent brick oven pizza.  You can probably do better at home, but in a pinch, Mangia Trattoria can sate your fix for some Neapolitan-style brick oven pizza, even if they are cheating a little bit.

Mangia starts their pizzas in a gas-fired pizza oven, and then moves them to the wood-burning brick oven to finish.  The brick oven adds a nice charred finish to the pizza, and a subtle element of smokiness if you're lucky.  I'd love to see what would happen if they cooked a pizza straight through in the brick oven.  Maybe I could go there when it's not busy and make a special request.

The pizza compares favorably to Glen Rock's other brick oven offering, Aldo's.  It's also right up there with Ridgewood's Brooklyn's Pizza. Not bad in a pinch.  Not bad at all.

They have a bunch of standard pastas, some salads, some apps.  One standout might be the cold antipasto, which is lettuce, some meats and cheeses, and some pickled vegetables.  It used to be about 6 bucks and offered an incredible value.  It's up to 10, but it's really quite sizeable, and pretty good if you're in the mood for that type of thing.

There's not too much more to say about this place from my perspective. I've never eat at the actual restaurant, so maybe there are specials or something else that are more interesting than their regular menu.  Hopefully someone will let me know if I'm missing something by doing take-out.

BYOB

Mangia Trattoria : website : 918 Prospect Street (right next to Bottle King) : Glen Rock, NJ : 07452 : 201.445.6264

This was a margherita (fresh tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil) with sausage.

Comments

[chefdave]

My Wife and I have had their Brick-oven a couple of times and really enjoyed it. The first time was better than the second, but I don't hold much stock in that. We'll definitely try it again.

I do think the moving of the pizza from one oven to the other is a little silly. I'm with Tommy...just cook the thing in the brick from beginning to end.

[tommyeats]

chefdave, i haven't had a chance to speak to the owner much (they're always very busy), but it's pretty obvious that they wouldn't be able to keep up the demand with the small brick oven that they have. perhaps they underestimated when they designed the place, or perhaps there were other issues at work that limited how much brick oven they could build in the space. all speculation of course.

Like I say though, I'd like to see what happens if they cook a pizza straight through in the brick oven. I'll get down there with that request one of these days. one of these days.

[roboppy]

I just ate here yesterday for the first time before reading your review (doh, how did I miss it before?). I tried a bit of my brother's meat-tastic pizza and thought it was pretty good, although it'd be better if it were more charred. :) How could they call the smallest size a "mini"? They should just call it regular and then go up from there. The word "mini" makes me think of something that's actually...well, small, as opposed to something that lasts two meals. My mum got a homemade parpadelle with seafood special and she really liked it. I'll write a review soon!

[tommyeats]

roboppy, your pics are always so beautiful. i have no idea how you do it.

the "mini" looks like it has a thicker crust than the, um, maxi. i'm always careful when ordering a smaller sized pizza. i think some places perfect the big size as far as dough ratio, and then they don't give much thought to the smaller size, which can end up thicker.

then again i could be making that all up.

i look forward to your post about Mangia (and your pics) on your blog. For those reading along, roboppy is indeed The girl who ate everything, which is one of the most interesting blogs on NJ (and NY) food and dining out there.

[larry A]

My wife and I spent the day house hunting in Glen Rock. We looked forward to our dinner at Mangia. We arrived at about 6:30pm and had a 20 minute wait. Just enough time to search out a good red wine next door at Bottle King. I settled on a great value red from Spain, Juan Gil($12.99). I love BYOB restaurants. Mangia had a large menu. I stayed with a mini pizza,argula,proscuitto,riccotta salata and my wife had the grilled chicken with portabello mushrooms. Both dishs were very good.Pasta dishs being served around us looked very good also. The kitchen does turn out the food very quickly, but we didn't feel rushed.
It was fun looking at the tables and seeing the wine choices people made.From $7 chianti's to $50 brunello's.
Glen Rock is a beautiful town and we hope to soon be residents.

[tommy:eats]

I'm glad you enjoyed Mangia. I've never actually eaten in the restaurant. It does get packed, especially on weekends.

We've been drinking Juan Gil Jumilla from "the King" for a while now. I agree that it's a great value. So many Spanish wines are, yet you don't find such a big selection at most wine shops.

Glen Rock is a lovely town indeed. A few other places in the area that you might be interested it once (or before) you settle in:

Johnny and Hanges - an institution in the area. order a hot dog "all the way".

Glen Rock Hardware - this place is the bees knees. great service. a real small-town feel to it.

Rocca - one of the better restaurants in the area. BYOB. excellent pastas. not your typical "red sauce" joint.

Goffle Farm - get your T-day turkey here. and get your chicken and eggs here, too.

Kosher Nosh - I don't know much about Jewish deli, but I know this place is super.

Swiss Pork Store - Fairlawn - get your pork here. and get your ground beef here as well, because they'll grind it right in front of you.

Glen Rock Custom Alterations - on Rock Rd - this guy is a super tailor.

You could do a hell of a lot worse than Glen Rock and its environs, that's for sure.