In Defense of Manganaro’s Grosseria
Manganaro’s (along with its unaffiliated next door neighbor Manganaro’s Hero Boy) has been mentioned a few times on the site as a great place (on 9th Ave. btw 37+38th) to get an Italian sandwich. And even though it’s never been officially reviewed (it’s out of bounds, and a lot of things will cost you more than $10), I’ve always considered it an honorary Midtown Lunch. Which is why this post caught my eye on Fork New York, a long dormant blog run by Profiled Lunch’er “Andre Mika”. He resurrected his blog this week specifically to rant about the “bitches” who run the 100+ year old Manganaro’s Grosseria. The story is worth reading in its entirety, but is essentially summed up at the end with this:
“So I guess the moral of the story is, unless you love being abused and crapped on by people who you are trying to give your money to, stay away from Manganaro Grosseria Italiano.”
“Judging by the large, happy crowd next door, I would recommend the Manganaro HeroBoy place I passed on. Next time, I’ll follow the crowd, delicious smells and common sense….. and not my nostalgic instincts.”
Yes, it is true. The two ladies who run Manganaro’s could be considered… well… crazy. And I wouldn’t use the B-word, but sure… they can bitch-like… but in the best possible way! That’s to say, much more enjoyable when you are watching somebody else get yelled at- than if you are on the receiving end of their wrath. Taken straight from an episode of Seinfeld, the two ladies are not unlike the Soup Nazi- although, if you follow their unwritten rules, and they deem you worthy, you get treated to a delicious lunch, served by the two sweetest, funniest ladies of all time.
The problems start when you do one of a few things- and there is obviously no way for Andre to have known this…
1. You take pictures without asking. Actually, if you do anything without asking. They feel like Manganaro’s is not so much a public business, where the customer is always right- but more like their private home. And they think you should treat it as such (and pay for the privilege!)
2. You mention Manganaro’s Hero Boy (the restaurant next door.) You can read about the history of the two places, and the family rift that happened almost 50 years ago in this New York Times article. It’s a sore subject, and they have become especially weary of anybody who is looking to compare the two. I watched them go ballistic on a lady who had a Hero Boy bag in her hand when she entered the shop. The sisters didn’t even give her a chance to order, or ask a question or anything. They literally just started yelling at her, until the lady with the Hero Boy bag left. Then the sisters ranted for 30 minutes about how disrespectful that was.
3. You admit to them you’re a blogger! Of course this is related to the two above… but if they do catch you snapping photos, just apologize profusely-and with respect- as if they were cops that had just pulled you over for speeding. Oh, and you probably shouldn’t tell them you are there because of Anthony Bourdain. They loved the attention they got, but are much nicer to people they perceive as being longtime neighborhood customers, than fly by night TV watching, johnny-come latelies.
Lucky for me, the first time I visited Mangarnaro’s was with a good friend who warned me about all these things. I even got to see them in action, yelling at others… so it made subsequent visits a little easier. I took a few photos, but it was after we politely ordered and made small talk and were all having a good time. (Which is code for we happily listened to them complain about how crazy some of their customers are.) Was I scared they would turn on me? Every single minute of the lunch. Would I stop going there? Not if you paid me.
The thing is, Manganaro’s is far better than Hero Boy. (It’s not even comparable.) Sure it’s more expensive, the portions are smaller, and it’s far more intimidating… but the food is just plain better. And I wouldn’t blame Andre (or any other abused patron) for never returning. But, if you have the benefit of learning the rules first, eating there is like eating in somebody’s house. (Somebody who really knows how to cook.)
It’s easy to get mad, and call them bitches, and discuss why nobody who owns a business should act in that way. But it’s more rewarding to just suck it up, and follow their insane rules. I understand why Hero Boy is more crowded, but it’s not because it’s better. Don’t trust me? Go see for yourself. Just don’t tell the ladies of Manganaro’s what you’re up to…
For more about Manganaro’s, read this great piece on Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York
Manganaro’s, 488 9th Ave, 212-563-5331
Manganaro’s, Hero Boy, 492 9th Ave, 212-947-7325
Posted by Zach Brooks at 2:15 pm, August 12th, 2009 under Italian, Manganaro's, Out of Bounds.
51 Comments | RSS comments feed for this post
51 Comments
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Reading these comments, I’m almost tempted to stop in there and start talking about how Hero Boy is so much better anyway. Just to liven things up a bit. Maybe the next time I’m hanging at Rudy’s…..
Seriously, the food doesn’t seem to be all that good to warrant the attitude they have.
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@ nowImhunry: Fiore’s was really good for bread, but I preferred Lisa’s sandwiches.
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Somebody’s gotta go in and get some vid to throw up on YouTube showing these ladies in action… it will probably become just has popular as bum fights and cats peeing vids.
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@Zach: My favorite sandwich at Hero Boy is the veal parm. Contrary to the rest of the world, it’s not pounded paper thin. The veal is prepared nearly as thick as most places serve chicken cutlets. Certainly not a typical way to serve breaded/fried veal, but I really like it.
I also think their eggplant parm is fantastic.
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@5DollarQueen – I feel like there’s a difference between the typical “NYC service” and downright rudeness. You do find friendly service, but the majority I’d say is just indifferent. I’m OK with that though – as a native myself I expect people to not go out of their way to be friendly. But, I rarely encounter places that are outright rude and unless they have STELLAR food that overshadows it, I won’t be back.
Plus, the fact that these women complain about customers in front of other customers just turns me off. It’s a huge customer service no-no.
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God, this review is so wrong. The one time I was there, the place was filthy. One of those two carved a new asshole into a Hispanic worker for not stirring the rice enough. Then complained to her sister about some ex employee who they fired for being a smack addict. My lasagne and sauce were reheated in a microwave. They are surly, and the lasagne at Hero Boy is much better (though that place lost its charm when they remodeled, going from a cool, rundown cafeteria look to that of a suburban fast food place).
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I went there last week for the first time after having a roast beef hero from Hero Boy (also first time). I wanted to get some antipasto for my staff for a mid-afternoon meeting. I made cardinal sins by (a) asking advice on the amount I should get, especially since I reduced it from the gargantuan platter they wanted to sell me, (b) not realizing it was cash only and having to use the ATM at front after getting the requisite eye rolls, (c) telling them to have a nice afternoon. Saying “thank you” will get you only “you’re welcome,” as though they have bestowed some magical power or even everlasting life on you.
The food was good, but I was not seizing up in ecstasy.
They could pull off the attitude if there was humor, of which there was none, or if they engaged you as a human. They obviously believe they sell to lesser species.
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Yesterday morning I was trying to google to see if Manganaro’s is open on Saturdays and came across this blog and the interesting comments (including the Hoboken suggestions I will keep in mind). The older lady does roar, it is like eating at your aunt’s house.
I am still a newbie, having first gone to HeroBoy, not knowing they were separate. Had nice meal at Heroboy, chicken with garlic sauteed spinach with small rigatoni and tomato sauce. I had seen the old store featured on Bourdain, my lunch companion was not enthusiastic about going into the old dingy looking place. So we chose HeroBoy, him getting prosciutto & cheese hero. We had our glasses of wine and relaxed.
Finished and dived in next door thinking that the two were connected. I looked around and was intrigued. I bought a couple of cheeses. As I was paying the elder sister my co-worker commented that they must be doing well since the tv show. She bristled, they’ve been doing well for a hundred years before the tv show. As I was handing her the money she out of the blue said something about the Mexicans and Thai are here for dollars dollars dollars. Upon returning to the office we shared our adventure with others. I was amazed to hear that the two businesses were separate. I googled enough to have some clue of the division. I decided to next try eating at the Grosseria. The younger sister served me. I got lasagna. Really really really good. A few days later I tried the lasagna at Heroboy. Bigger piece. About same price. Not near as good as at the Grosseria. If hadn’t had the Grosseria lasagna I would probably been satisfied with my “pretty good” big plate of lasagna. But since I had, when I went to Grosseria yesterday I made sure to get lasagna as well as to try something new by having a dining companion whose order of gnocchi was good too.
My advice, don’t speak of TV, speak of good food.
@pigiron – What’s good at Hero Boy? Four of us did a side by side comparison of the Chicken Parm and Eggplant Parms from both places (one after another) and it was unanimous that both Hero Boy sandwiches were far less tasty. Not bad, but not nearly as flavorful…