When you grow up in an Italian family, you hear this all the time. Mangia means “eat” in Italian. I don’t know why they say it so much. Italian food, when it’s made fresh with the finest ingredients like at Maria’s, is so good, it doesn’t take much encouragement for most people to dig right in. Take this opportunity to check out our delicious menus but you might want to have a napkin handy because it’s bound to make your mouth water.

Garlic: The secret ingredient to good family relations.
Vampires may not like garlic, but families sure do. According to a study conducted by the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago, (yes it actually exists) researchers discovered that an evening meal enhanced with garlic led to happier family relations.

50 families were given two identical spaghetti dinners, one with and one without garlic bread. Researchers recorded the number of family interactions, both positive and negative, at three one-minute intervals during both dinners.

The research found that inhaling the aroma of garlic bread and eating it decreased the number of negative interactions by 22.7% (!) and increased the number of pleasant interactions by 7.4%. This effect was most pronounced in older family members who liked garlic bread and had nostalgic feelings about its aroma.

So the next time you’re having lunch or dinner at Maria’s be sure and enjoy our delicious garlic bread. Your family will love you for it.