Manducatis Rustica manifests. LIC’s Italian cafe dreams have come true.
Manducatis Rustica, open for biz
Fall brings another kind of bloom in LIC, that of eateries! Well hallelujah and praise… Jesus? Uh, in this case, let’s praise the Cerbone family instead, who have brought to Vernon Blvd an old world style Italian cafe called Manducatis Rustica.
Think European style where people crowd in the mornings at the counter drinking espresso and eating a quick pastry while standing up and gossiping with the barista. We don’t do a lot of that in NYC, which is surprising considering our 1) European roots, and 2) our fast paced lifestyles… Though Manducatis Rustica also lends itself nicely to vegetating in front of the fire place with some brick oven pizza or hand-made gelato.
Speaking to the owner, Gianna Cerbone, a lifelong resident of LIC, the emphasis is on serving fresh, handmade food with high-quality ingredients. Offerings include espresso drinks, gelato, brick oven pizza (homemade sauce), cakes, cookies, and other pastisserie-type treats. The space has a 50’s style table set-up, with a few couches and a working fireplace. There’s also a large open kitchen where cooking classes will be held, and a banquet room for large parties. Open early morning to 9ish pm, everyday except for Mondays.
Vernon Blvd, between 46th Rd & 47th Ave
1, are you nuts? Manducatis R. is much more than just a brick oven pizza place. Most neighborhoods would kill to have an authentic place like that. Wonderful!
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.
Yeah, #1 has no idea what they are talking about. Go there first before you judge. Gianna has done something amazing for the community. Bravo!
Good thing I read this twice to see “Closed Mondays”…I was already running out the door to buy a pie.
4, exactly. The Cerbones should be congratulated and supported for investing in the neighborhood and opening such an appealing place. They are a hardworking, successful family business that was able to adapt to the gentrification of LIC. Good for them, and us.
Hi liqcity – For the most part I love your catchy headlines – but puleeze – check your thesaurus for some other ways to say “manifest”.
Bella via pizza flat out sucks. Foodcellar is much better but the best pizza by far in LIC is manettas.
As for Manducatis Rustica when the hell is the place going to open?
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!
8, Bella Via seems to have lost their pizza making skills. For a long time they were right up there with Manetta’s and sometimes better. Something has changed over the past couple of months and I wish I knew what.
Rustica is quite good – very delicate dough – tasty toppings but I wonder if they will be able to keep selling them at that price point.
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…
They’re officially open all the time now.
#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!!
Manettas is nasty, I don’t know why people rave about it. Horrible, rude service, the ambience is Tony N Tinas Wedding meets SAW and the food is vile, reheated slop.
tony and tina’s wedding meets SAW???? what in heavens are you talking about!
No. 14, there is no way Manetta’s food can be characterized as “vile, reheated” slop. You clearly are either (1) uninformed about what is good food (and there are plenty of your breed in NYC), (2) a disgruntled customer or former employee, or (3) a competitor.
Manetta’s is great – as good or better than most of the italian places in my current neighborhood on the UWS.
Manettas has bad service, no doubt.
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.
I’ve experienced Manducatis Rustica’s homemade gelato and I must say it’s some of the best, if not best, gelato in NYC. The place is totally low-key authentic and has a similar vibe to the Manducatis restaurant, with it’s cave like seeting and fire place and table for paperwork. I’m yet to try their pizza but I bet it surpasses anything in the neighborhood. It’s the quality of the food she imports that makes it great. One may not be used to it cause pizza in the states is so different from the Neapolitan style they are going for. This really is a great addition to our neighborhood/community. I agree with all of the above that this family should be applauded for their contributions to a better quality of life in LIC.
McReilly’s was one of the few place in LIC that had working man’s prices. Those days are long gone now.
I like how the place is pretty unassuming looking from the street, but inside is very nice and much larger than I thought. Looks to be a great addition.
#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.
Dear Townie–HAW!
does anyone have a phone # or know where to get a menu for Manducati Rustico?
To #25: Walk in. Be a part of…
No offense, but $14 for a personal pizza is robbery.
#27 everything about prices in lic is robbery. we’re midtown east don’t you know? :)
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.
At Manducatti’s they are really friendly and generous and their pizza is great. I think it’s going to be named after the woman who runs it–Gianna[sp?]. Anyway, they hired the former pizza chef from Manetta’s. The pies aren’t exactly tiny; they’re well worth the prices. And try the pistachio gelato. I don’t think you can find this much homemade baked goods except maybe at Manetta’s, also a fave.
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!
#31, your comments sound a little too biased to be trusted.
I’m trying Manducati’s Rustica tonight, but I’m already not pleased about a 14-dollar pizza-for-one. At that price, we should be able to easily share it. Fact: even with the increased price of ingredients, a small pizza should not cost $14 in LIC. I’m a neighborhood foodie and I won’t support that. So please don’t tell people, when they are startled by the restaurant’s prices, that they should just eat less. Rude.
RIP McReilly’s. I miss them. The beer was good and cheap and the broccoli was never overcooked. Not bad for a pub.
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.
I love this place!
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.
I loved the food!! My friends brought me there for a celebration and i was impressed. The gelato was excellent and the waiter was very patient with us (which i was suprised because there was alot of people in the party. But it ended up being a fun time. I would definately go back and i recommend it!
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LIC is going to be all wine stores, brick oven pizza places and sushi establishments. Yuck.
Love the cooking class idea though!