Manca's Reincarnation Worth Getting To Know

Restaurant review

XX 1/2 Manca's, 4000 E. Madison St. ($$) Pacific Northwest cuisine. A la carte menu. Main courses $12.95 to $15.95. Saturday and Sunday breakfast. Full bar. Major credit cards accepted. Reservations: 323-7686. -------------------------------------------------------------------

An ornate brass cash register holds matchbooks at the entrance to Manca's restaurant. It's a cherished remnant of an earlier Manca's - one of Seattle's first restaurants, that served up basic Northwest fare before the turn of the century, at the corner of First and Cherry.

In 1905, Manca's moved to the corner of Second and Columbia, where it dished up a wide-ranging menu, but was most famous for puffy Dutch Baby pancakes. In 1955, Manca's closed. Gene Manca tucked the recipes into his pocket, and took over management of the Broadmoor Country Club.

Now, after nearly 40 years, Manca's is back. And you shouldn't miss it.

The new Manca's - 1 year old this month - is run by a Manca quartet: Morrie Manca; his niece and nephew, Michelle Manca-Hey (a former manager of Cucina! Cucina! in Bellevue) and Mark Manca, a veteran of the Spirit of Washington dinner train; and their father, Michael Manca. They bought the former Peter's on the Park, kept chef Jodie Benson, and made changes slowly.

Manca's is a neighborhood place. "Eighty percent of our customers come from the Madison Park neighborhood," said Manca-Hey.

But with a menu and service as good as this, the place deserves to be more widely known. The a la carte menu is a balance of old favorite standbys such as steak and salmon, and inventive Northwest dishes such as fettucine cambazola with chicken, green apples and roast walnuts.

Health-conscious items

A trio of dishes, cooked without additional fats or oils, is a welcome section of the menu. Entrees such as Asian glazed sea bass baked in soy marinade and salmon pasta sauteed with king salmon, onions, tomatoes, dill and white wine sound like a feast, not a famine.

Want a hamburger? They're happy to oblige. Granted, it's a $7.95 hamburger, made with cheddar cheese, avocado, tomato and mayonnaise, on toasted French bread.

But we were looking for something more substantial. We began with baked brie, served with roasted walnuts and slices of tart Granny Smith apples, followed by skewers of lamb satay marinated in lemon juice, pepper and honey, seared over the grill, and served with an understated peanut sauce that carried a hint of cayenne.

Two soups were specials: fresh mushrooms in a chicken stock made from scratch, and roasted potatoes with mushrooms and garlic, in a rich beef stock. Both were nothing short of outstanding.

Canlis salad is a menu holdover from the days when the place belonged to a Canlis grandson. It resembles a Caesar salad, minus anchovies, with mint, oregano and crumbled bacon. We also liked the warm spinach salad, wilted into a tangy sweet-and-sour dressing, with grated mild cheese.

By the time we ordered a main course, the waiter cocked an eyebrow. Most of Manca's customers skip a course or two. We were hitting them all; we didn't want to miss a thing.

I was torn. Should I order medallions of Ellensburg lamb roasted with bread crumbs and Dijon mustard, glazed with port and dried cranberries? Or go with barbecued baby back ribs, a dish I rarely can resist. I asked the waiter's recommendation, which in many restaurants would result in an automatic nod to the more expensive dish. That didn't happen.

"It's Saturday. It's a rib kind of night," he said thoughtfully.

He was right.

Easy-to-eat ribs

My reservations about barbecued ribs came from visions of myself with sauce dripping from my elbows, spattering a dashing pattern on my sweater as I gnawed.

But these are ribs that can be eaten with a knife or a fork. Moist, but not dripping, they are so thoroughly cooked that the meat comes cleanly and easily away from the bone, saturated with spicy flavor.

My husband raved about his Manca pollo, chicken breast stuffed with spinach, pesto and ricotta, wrapped in prosciutto with a light mushroom sauce.

Both dishes were served with a blend of wild and long grain rice, and roasted rounds of Japanese eggplant.

I probably would have skipped dessert had the foursome next to us not made a trip in just for dessert. It begged to be tried.

I discovered a Northwest treasure: a perfect vanilla ice cream, from Snoqualmie Gourmet Ice Cream.

Oh, yes, one more thing: Manca's dishes up the famous Dutch Babies at breakfast from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday. Times staff reviewers make visits to restaurants anonymously and unannounced. They pay in full for all food, wines and services. When they interview members of the restaurants' management and staff, they do so only after the meals and the services have been appraised. They do not accept invitations to evaluate restaurants.