Displaying items by tag: phil manganaro

On Monday, June 30th, Park Place Café & Restaurant owner, Phil Manganaro, posted a message on it's Facebook page personally thanking everyone for their support over their 3 years in town, especially the support of old and new friends at the Drive Thru. It really helped carry Park Place through a tough time and was truly appreciated. "I chose to close the Drive Thru and bring a dining situation so unique and exclusive on its heels, but with dine-in being cancelled (by Governor Murphy) again today, I regret to inform you that Park Place will be closed until further notice and could be closed for good given the uncertainty of these times and trying to run a small BYOB." Park Place will still be posting pictures of foraging and our AT HOME dinners for those who love what we do. If you would like to schedule an "AT HOME" dinner please contact us at 856-662-2200 to do so. Thank you for helping me build Park Place into what it was and encouraging me to keep digging deeper. 

Phil Manganaro doesn’t brave the markets for much of the produce on his menus these days. Ingredient shortages? Something’s always blooming. High prices? His precious haul is always free. Social distance shopping? You could say the chef has taken that to the extreme, with only a big lodge of beavers nearby currently in sight. The Merchantville chef and his 8 year old son, Dean, regularly spend hours after home schooling on foraging missions to fuel the unconventional menus at his Park Place Cafe - the intimate fine-dining BYOB-turned-drive-through - which is unlike any takeout you’ve sampled during this pandemic. His loyal customers have responded, phoning their orders into the hotline to claim one of the 72 time slots for pick up Thursday through Saturday shortly after he posts the menus on Instagram each Sunday night. 

Mayor Brennan sent congrats on Twitter to Merchantville’s own Phil Manganaro, Chef/Owner of Park Place Cafe & Restaurant, for his well deserved recognition as one of the 24 most important people on the NJ restaurant scene. We’re lucky to have such talent and shows that Merchantville is a great place to work play and live! In a recent US Today article on eating your Christmas tree they noted that at Park Place Restaurant in Merchantville, you can enjoy seared scallops with roasted porcini, essence of White Pine and pine ash. Or turbot, poached in olive oil and served with the ash of White and Pitch pines. "It's about tying it all together, for me," said Chef/owner Phil Manganero. "Mushrooms grow under the pine trees, so it makes sense to me." As one of the decade’s 24 most influential people in the NJ restaurant scene Phil has made an indelible mark on New Jersey's ever-evolving dining experience. Our food scene is as good as any in South Jersey and looking to grow soon!