Manducatis Rustica manifests. LIC’s Italian cafe dreams have come true.

LIC is going to be all wine stores, brick oven pizza places and sushi establishments. Yuck.

Love the cooking class idea though!

will we be able to buy a slice of pizza? bella via and foodcellar both have good pizza, but you have to buy a whole pie.

Good thing I read this twice to see “Closed Mondays”…I was already running out the door to buy a pie.

Hi liqcity – For the most part I love your catchy headlines – but puleeze – check your thesaurus for some other ways to say “manifest”.

The Cerbone family are the hardest working and most attention to detail to food there is in the business. Just go to Manducati and see the people that they have catered to over the decades. Much success to them!

wait, so is this place officially open then?…after we heard of the soft opening, we have gone there almost every hot summer day hoping to get a scoop of gelato but they were always closed when we went by…

#8 – I agree…went to Bella Via on Saturday nite and ordered a pie…not as good as usual. I looked closer at it and found there was extra cheese and pepperoni stragetically placed where the dough part would be. Something happened to my pizza in the oven and the pizza man tried to cover it up. Lame. Anyways, looking forward to Manducati’s Rustica!!

tony and tina’s wedding meets SAW???? what in heavens are you talking about!

Manetta’s is great – as good or better than most of the italian places in my current neighborhood on the UWS.

I really love the flavor of Rustica, It feels very unpretentious and homey. It feels like the old character of the neighborhood will be updated and live on. The Gelato, hands down, it the best I’ve ever tasted. And the family really is lovely.

I do wish that they would charge a buck or 2 more for the pies and make them twice as big. It’s just to expensive a pie. Delicious…….but to expensive. I will stick with Bella Via even though I agree with #10 about their skills going down. I’ve never had a great experience sitting down at Bella Via…but delivery is always fast and efficient.

I did boycott Manetta’s for 4 years as I was lied to once by one of the owners…and I just decided I didn’t want to be there. I go now because I do enjoy Jay at the pizza oven, and the homemade pasta.

I certainly am craving more from Rustica….they are off to a great start in the gelato, ambiance, and taste realm. Just give me more food options…at a working man’s prices. And I’ll be there at least 2 times a week.

McReilly’s was one of the few place in LIC that had working man’s prices. Those days are long gone now.

#14, when I got to Manetta’s, I never order the Vile Reheated Slop. Other restaurants in the neighborhood prepare it just as well, some better. In any case, there are plenty of other things on the menu. I recommend the mixed grill or the mesquite-fired brick oven Pizza.
When I’m in a “SAW” kind of mood I prefer upstairs at The Butcher, duh.

does anyone have a phone # or know where to get a menu for Manducati Rustico?

No offense, but $14 for a personal pizza is robbery.

I went there yesterday. Awesome coffee. She makes these \conettes\ I think she calls them (look like croissants, more brioche dough) which were some of the tastiest things I have ever had. Feels really homespun but they need to work on the lighting I think.

As always, you get what you pay for. Manducatis Rustica is not cheap but it’s about the ingredients. If they’re supposed to be good, they’re not free. And Gianna is not compromising: they are seriously good. The pizza, by far not the only item worth ordering, is so delicious because of what goes in and on it (including a dash of the outstanding olive oil she uses). The pies aren’t huge, but they easily feed one, and if you’re a little more reasonable in your food intake (which would do most of us some good), even two people. I’d rather spend a couple of bucks more and eat a little less but better. Hopefully that’s the future! Buon appetito!

Manducatis Rustica was great. The pizza was very good, but like a poster above, I agree that making it slightly larger at the same price would be a fair deal. It should be shareable, and the current size affords two small slices for a couple. Not a meal for those who actually burn calories. But the crust and toppings were stellar. Thinnest crust ever, yet not dry.

Also had perfectly prepared fettucini with arugula and shrimp, and a side of sauteed rabe. Tried some desserts and the famous gelato and it was, indeed, sublime. Decadent creaminess, yet impossibly light. The service was warm and welcoming.

Friendly neighborhood ambiance, with family members sitting around the front fireplace and chatting well past closing time. This place is a winner.

Oddly enough, the dining room reminds me of Manetta’s, without the unholy accoustics. Fireplaces in back and street view out front, similar hard surfaces—tiled floors, brick walls, bare tabletops—though Manetta’s compounds the din with metal chair-backs. Manetta’s would cure so many ills in their dining room with tablecloths.

It would seem that before anyone would call themselves a “foodie” that they would have experienced the finest food available, and base their opinions around that.

I’ve been to Italy quite a lot and have experienced food from varying areas of the that country as well as this one. Freshness is key and if you want it, you pay for it. Same here in our very capitalist economy. Manducati’s is a mid-scale, VERY authentic restaurant. $14 for a freshly made meal with good ingredient’s is reasonable for that level of establishment. Any restaurant of this level or above provides a reasonable amount to feel satisfied with the meal and not having to go buy new pants when you finish. If you want to pig out I’m sure there is a great McDonald’s within walking distance where you can get 2 number 3′s for around the same price.

Sorry to hear about your pub #32. I’ve heard that broccoli can make or break a bar…. particularly when they have foodies present.