My boyfriend and I became patrons of Chef Michael Barone's other business, Walden's Coffeehouse, a…read morefew months ago and have always been wowed by the food there (which I've also reviewed), particularly the specials that he creates. So when we started planning our wedding, we were thrilled to hear that our favorite local chef also caters... While our wedding is still in planning stages, we decided to have Mangiamo cater a simple family style dinner for our family and friends to be sure of our choice. In short, we are sold! But for the sake of a more thorough review, I will elaborate further.
We just wanted the basics... a pasta dish, a salad, and bread. We were served a baked penne with a spicy marinara topped with mozzarella, spring mix salad with cranberries, candied walnuts, feta, and vinaigrette, and crisp pugliese bread with garlic and herb butter spread. The pasta was a total standout from the vast majority of pastas I've been served, ever. The perfect balance of garlic, the subtle sweetness of basil, and bite of chili flake was spot on. Thankfully, Michael brought enough food for all of us to have seconds, or thirds. It was the kind of dinner that you are already full, but you keep eating just because you want to keep tasting it. An excellent chef can take a very simple meal and make it amazing and memorable. Chef Michael Barone does just that. He also anticipated several of our needs and details that I had completely overlooked, so I feel confident that Mangiamo will deliver for us on the big day. We have not only found a caterer, but also a new friend.