Let's Eat
By CARL PRICE
Staff Writer
Feb. 28, 2007 |
Mangia by the Greens
Great family food is par for the course
at Mangia by the Greens
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EGG HARBOR
TOWNSHIP – What do you do after opening two
successful restaurants, having a major heart
attack, and then closing one of your two
successful restaurants, when you still feel the
need to make people happy? If you’re Robin
Waldron, you open another restaurant.
After successfully running Mangia by the Beach
in Ocean City with wife Charlynn and partners
Dennis and Marianne Flanagan and opening the now
closed Mangia by the Bay in Somers Point, Robin
Waldron experienced an eye-opening event:
He suffered a heart attack from which he had to
be revived twice. After recovering, he turned
over some of the restaurant duties to his
faithful employees.
“I don’t do as much hands-on as I used to. Now,
I oversee more,” Robin Waldron said, emerging
from the kitchen dressed in a green staff shirt
and apron.
Waldron began his culinary career as a sous chef
for ARA food service for 13 years, followed by a
stint as a sous chef and manager at Bally’s,
where he met his wife. Then, with his partners,
he opened the Ocean City restaurant.
In November 2006, the restaurant at McCullough’s
Emerald Golf Links became available after the
former owner decided to sell out, and Mangia by
the Greens was born.
The Waldrons began renovations to the building,
knocking out walls, adding a fresh coat of
paint, installing plasma TVs throughout and
hanging local sports memorabilia on the walls.
“We hang the stuff from the local kids’ sports
teams. We have football jerseys from the Egg
Harbor Township football team, baseball helmets
and the oars from the Holy Spirit team that
rowed at Henley. The kids are the real sports
heroes,” said Waldron, who holds several
banquets and fundraisers for various sports
teams throughout the year.
His wife said one of the things they hope to
accomplish at Mangia is to dispel any
presumptions people may have of a golf clubhouse
atmosphere.
“We are located at a golf course, but Mangia has
a real family atmosphere. A family comes in for
lunch or dinner, and we put Disney on the TV
near their table,” explained Charlynn Waldron.
“A lot of our customers describe this as a
‘Cheers-like’ place.”
That family-like atmosphere extends to the
staff, too.
Chef Armondo and his wife, Lilly, a cook, and
another cook, Jesus, followed the Waldrons from
other venues. Mary Lou Huntzinger has worked at
the bar since the golf course opened six years
ago.
Charlynn, who still works for Bally’s, designs
ads, flyers and menus and performs other
computer-related duties for the restaurant, in
addition to waitressing when needed. Currently,
she is designing the website
mangiabythegreens.com.
While the Ocean City restaurant is mostly
Italian food, the menu at Mangia can only be
described as eclectic.
“Our menu is American, Irish, Mexican and
Italian, and it is all homemade,” Robin Waldron
said.
He said that all of the Mexican dishes are
authentic and made from scratch.
“Our sopa Azteca outsells our other soups
10-to-1. It’s made fresh daily, and our
customers love it.”
“Armondo and Lilly started adding some authentic
Mexican dishes as specials at the Somers Point
restaurant, and they really took off. We added
them to the regular menu here,” Charlynn added.
Robin Waldron said making his customers happy is
what being in business is all about.
“If I have the ingredients and a diner makes a
special request, we’ll make it for them. If I
don’t have the ingredients, I’ll run to the
store and get them. I work for whoever comes in
here to eat.”
Customer
Favorites
Greens and Apples ($7) with warm grilled
chicken ($9) – Romaine lettuce and
purple cabbage, pecans, chunks of blue
cheese and Granny Smith apples, served
with raspberry vinaigrette
Mozzarella Salad ($7.75) – Fresh
mozzarella, tomatoes, lightly grilled
red onions, roasted red peppers and
balsamic vinaigrette
Irish Chips ($7) – French fries topped
with melted cheese, chopped tomatoes,
green onions and bacon, served with sour
cream
Skewered Guinness Seasoned Beef ($8.99)
– Grilled medallions of beef marinated
in Guinness and served with a special
dipping sauce
Taquitos ($7) – Three soft flour
tortillas filled with beef, chicken or
pork. Served with lettuce, diced
tomatoes and sour cream
Mesquite Steak Nachos ($8.50) – Tortilla
chips topped with pinto beans, melted
cheese and mesquite-grilled flank steak
or grilled mesquite chicken steak.
Sopa Azteca ($4) – Chicken soup with
roasted tomato, chili pasilla negro,
avocado, crispy tortilla strips and
queso
Veal Marco Polo ($19.50) – Fresh veal
with roasted peppers and prosciutto,
topped with extra-sharp provolone in a
white wine tomato sauce, served with
spaghetti
White Russian Veal ($19.50) – This
signature dish is made with fresh veal
sautéed in Kahlua and vodka, finished
with a touch of alfredo sauce for extra
creaminess.
Vegetable Fra Diavolo ($15.50) – Fresh
vegetables sautéed with penne pasta in a
spicy marinara sauce
Guinness Stew ($11) – Marinated
medallions of beef, carrots, potatoes
and onions simmered in Guinness
Shepherd’s Pie ($10) – Ground beef, corn
and onions baked with a mashed potato
crust.
Boxty ($11) – Irish potato pancake
topped with parsley sauce. Served with
grilled chicken and mushrooms.
Chiles Rellenos ($15.95) – A rich and
very traditional dish. A roasted and
peeled poblano chili is filled with
shredded chicken and cheese, then dipped
in egg batter and lightly fried. Served
with house roasted salsa, rice and
beans.
Fajitas de Pollo o de Carne (with
chicken, $15.95 or marinated flank
steak, $16.95) – Seasoned strips of meat
sautéed with peppers and onions. Served
with sour cream, guacamole and rice.
Mole con Pollo ($15.95) – Made with a
fragrant blend of chilis, spices,
tortillas, peanuts and other nuts
combined with a touch of chocolate.
Bistec Tampiqueno ($16) – Delicious
flame-broiled flank steak, served with
cheese, enchiladas, beans and rice.
BBQ Ribs ($17) – A full rack of ribs in
Guinness barbecue sauce, served with
French fries.
Filet Mignon ($18.50) – Two 5-ounce
butterflied filets stuffed with spinach,
roasted peppers and garlic, topped with
asiago and extra-sharp provolone
cheeses.
Flat Iron Steak ($18) – Charbroiled
flatiron steak topped with Italian
peppers and caramelized onions covered
with gorgonzola cheese.
Veal Edith ($19.50) – Fresh veal sautéed
in a white wine butter sauce with fresh
tomatoes and basil over penne.
Veal Marianne ($19.50) – Fresh veal and
slices of apple in an apple brandy cream
sauce, Mangia’s version of a classic
dish.
Char’s Salmon ($17) – Salmon filet in a
Cajun marinade served over pasta with
garlic and oil, and a touch of balsamic
hot sauce.
Seafood Ribbon Noodles ($18) –
Pan-seared scallops and shrimp with
crushed tomatoes, sweet basil, olive oil
and a touch of hot pepper with cut
ribbon noodles.
Chef Robin’s Seafood ($20.50) – Shrimp,
crab and portabella mushroom sautéed in
Jack Daniel’s rose sauce over penne.
Gourmet
Pizza – red or white (14” $14.95; 16”
$15.95)
Belly Buster – Raw onions, pepperoni,
Italian sausage, green peppers and
mushrooms.
Beesleys Point – Fresh asparagus,
roasted red peppers, red onions, garlic
and basil.
Somers Point – Red roasted peppers and
roasted garlic over Gorgonzola, ricotta
and mozzarella.
Mediterranean – Portabella mushroom,
roasted red peppers, roasted garlic and
mozzarella.
Linwood – Bacon, spinach, fresh tomato,
onion, garlic and basil.
Pork Florentine – Roasted pulled pork,
fresh spinach, garlic, oil and
mozzarella.
Bayman’s – Lump crabmeat, sun-dried
tomatoes and asparagus with garlic, oil
and mozzarella.
Taco – Seasoned ground beef, white
cheddar, lettuce, tomato and sour cream.
Specialty Sandwiches
Italian Pulled Pork ($6.95) – Large
pieces of Italian seasoned pork, cooked
to perfection and pulled from the roast.
Charbroiled Tuna Steak ($7.25) – 6-ounce
tuna steak, grilled and served with
lettuce, tomato and tartar sauce on a
Kaiser roll.
South Philly Special Hoagie ($7.50) –
Prosciutto, Genoa salami, hot ham and
asiago cheese with lettuce, tomatoes,
red onions, olive oil and balsamic
vinegar.
Grilled Rustica Sandwich ($7.75) –
Homemade “verdurre alla rustica,”
marinated grilled vegetables served warm
with fresh mozzarella.
Crab Cake Sandwich ($7.25) – Crab cake
served on a Kaiser roll with tartar
sauce and lettuce. |
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Tips and
Tidbits
Breakfast is served Saturday and Sunday
until spring, when it will be served
daily.
Live music Friday and Saturday nights.
Mangia provides free delivery to Somers
Point, Egg Harbor Township, Northfield,
Linwood and points beyond.
There is a room available for parties
and special occasions.
Plans call for a 40-by-60 deck and Tiki
bar this spring. Rocking chairs will
overlook the 18th green.
Mangia provides party trays and
catering.
Robin Waldron’s son David is an
assistant casting director in New York
City on “Law and Order Special Victims
Unit.” Son Zachary, 14, helps out in the
kitchen and son Cole, 10, serves as
unofficial host at Mangia.
Ask for a Shrek, made with lime vodka
and Red Bull.
Chicken Milano is not on the menu, but
they’ll make it if you ask – sautéed
chicken, roasted peppers, spinach, extra
sharp imported provolone and Marsala
sauce.
If You
Go
Mangia by the Greens
3016 Ocean Heights Ave.
at McCullough’s Emerald Golf Links
Egg Harbor Township
(609) 601-8369
Hours: 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily; often
open later
Happy hour: 4 to 6 p.m. Monday through
Friday
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