On our recent trip to New York City, we planned a lot of our trip around some of the iconic restaurants we’ve seen on such shows as No Reservations, and other various shows on Food Network.  For our first stop, we thought we’d get a little “local flavor” and we weren’t disappointed.  At Manganaro’s Italian Grosseria you’re just as likely to get kicked out of the restaurant for talking on your cell phone as you are to be “instructed” what to order when you have trouble deciding.  So just be ready to make up your mind and make sure you’re not holding up the line, and you might just make some friends.

The salad is simple and refreshing, with a light balsamic vinegar dressing and a roasted red pepper to top it off.

The spaghetti and meatballs were hearty and intense, and to paraphrase Anthony Bourdain, it may not be “Italian”, but it’s definitely “Italian American”.  One thing I will say, is you don’t get meatballs like this back in Nashville.

The chicken parmesan sandwich was a messy, meaty, tomato-ey handful.  The chicken breast was simply made, but after being topped with the crushed tomato sauce and melted mozzarella, it was basically a meal unto itself.  The red sauce is a special but simple concoction of crushed tomatoes and spices, but its simplicity and intense flavor have also convinced us to try homemade tomato sauce of these times we get some good tomatoes.

We were also able to give the rice balls a chance, which were another thing of beauty.

Rice and cheese deep fried and served topped with crushed tomatoes and parmesan, it was a creamy, slightly gooey mess.  It’s also another one of those things we’ve yet to find something comparable in Nashville.

The Tortellini had a butter and olive oil sauce with little carrot bits throughout, which added a nice sweetness to the dish.

Since our hotel room wasn’t ready yet, we figured we might as well go ahead and sample the dessert offerings.  It’s a good thing we weren’t too far from the hotel, because a nap would soon be in order.  The cannoli were crispy and sweet, filled with a creamy, custardy filling flecked with chocolate chips and just a hint of orange or citrus flavoring in the filling.

The ladies sampled an ice cream ball the like of which we haven’t seen anywhere else.

Inside the dark chocolate coating was one scoop of chocolate and one scoop of vanilla, as well as more surprises once you made your way to the center.  In addition to a cherry hidden in the center were also crunchy bits of almond.  Since our first day in NYC topped out at about 95 degrees, it was nice to be able to sit and enjoy our desserts and eventually enjoy some conversation with the owner once the lunch rush had died down.  As it turns out, we really can’t get away from Nashville no matter where we go, as the owner told us about how proud she was of her niece who was playing golf at none other than, you guessed it, Vanderbilt University.