We were embraced by the scenery of Italy as soon as we entered the dining room. It was moderately busy, typical of a Sunday night before a Monday holiday, but thankfully we had reservations and were seated promptly. The ambience was very lively, as to be expected around Italian feasts, without being too loud to hear your own dinner party. The table was already set with silverware, bread plates, and menus, and our waitress was very quick to get our drinks and bread. However, a few people noted that their dishes were not entirely clean.

After our orders were placed, we snacked on some warm, fresh bread while waiting. We were given an oil and vinegar mixture for dipping, but there wasn’t enough flavor without some sort of garlic or spices—although, the bread was pretty good on its own. One person tried a cup of chicken tortellini soup before his dinner, which he said was good, but nothing special. No one ordered an appetizer, though, as we were saving room for dessert across the plaza; some Cold Stone desserts are offered at the restaurant, too.

Shortly after we each finished a couple pieces of bread, our dinners arrived piping hot. The others each ordered some sort of pasta dish, but I wanted to try one of Mangia’s famous brick-oven pizzas. I settled on the broccoli bianco, an 11-inch soft dough pizza with broccoli, garlic, and Romano, ricotta, and mozzarella cheeses. The mere scent of it was making me drool, but I also had my eyes on the chicken parmigiana across the table. The Poly staff member who ordered it said the breading was good, though the chicken was a bit overcooked. The marinara sauce was a bit chunky to his liking, but a little bland. Next to him was an order of eggplant parmigiana, which didn’t seem to have been cooked or seasoned quite right—there was a kind of agreement about the lack of flavor in the sauce.

The two other dinners at the table sounded delicious from their descriptions and were a bit different from the typical meals outlined above. The vegetarian on staff tried the melanza rustica, an average-sized portion of rigatoni mixed with eggplant, plum tomatoes, red pepper, basil, and garlic with melted mozzarella on top. This too was decent, but still a bit bland. She commented that the portions were a bit smaller than expected, not quite worth the $12, though this was the average price for most entrees. The final meal was ravioli rosa primavera, which were ravioli filled with goat cheese and red peppers, then tossed with garlic olive oil, vegetables, pine nuts, and more cheese. Again, the portion was smaller than preferred, but this dish was actually full of flavor and very good overall. It seemed like my meal was the best, and I definitely understand why wood fired pizzas are their specialty.

After digesting for a bit, we walked across the parking lot for my first Cold Stone Creamery experience. The ice cream masters there scoop out your flavor choice with “spades” and spread it out in front of the “Mix-In” choices. I got the “Coffee Lovers Only” creation, which featured coffee ice cream with roasted almonds, Heath bar pieces, and caramel sauce as the mixing ingredients. It was kind of cool watching them mix the dessert by using both hands for a faster, more even mixture. But I digress, perhaps this is another review for another time. I will, however, give Mangia an extra point for its proximity to delicious ice cream—Cold Stone was a bit expensive, but not that much more than Ben & Jerry’s and definitely worth the price.

Overall, it was a good dinner out with a good group of people. We all enjoyed the atmosphere and meals, but just weren’t overly impressed with anything except the service. Our waitress was very pleasant, quick on refilling drinks, and cleared away dishes as soon as we had finished. While nothing was really outstanding, nothing was below-par either. Mangia was an average experience; I can see myself going back again, nonetheless.