POSITIVE THINKING MAGAZINE

Maybe you don't care for wafer-thin beef; believe it or not, Philly guys, not everyone does. Head north for thicker offerings. (Warning: Here is where Philly guys should really jump ship.)

In Moonachie is Manny's. Emanuel Cimiluca opened the place 35 years ago, acting on a couple of hunches. For one, he felt there would be customers among the pilots and business types flying out of fledgling Teterboro Airport. And he anticipated that his stretch of Moonachie Avenue would, in time, grow to a thriving area for industrial plants and offices. He was right on both counts.

But then a wondrous thing occurred. The state built something called the Meadowlands Sports Complex in his backyard. Today Manny's is the destination of blue-collar guys, North Jersey businessmen, pilots and football coaches. The restaurant is often the site of Giants and Jets events and caters family gatherings as well. A peek at the signed photos on the wall tells you who likes Manny's: John Madden, Joe Namath, Danny Aiello. Unless this particular clientele is overwhelmingly vegetarian, they'd probably give a thumbs-up to Manny's Famous Rib-Eye Cheese Steak.

Here is a juicy number, about a half-inch thick, grilled on a flame, covered with your choice of cheese enclosed in a length of soft Italian bread and served with fries. ''Those Philly sandwiches are like minute steaks,'' says Mr. Cimiluca's son, John. ''They have nothing to do with ours. Ours is Manny's Original Rib-Eye Cheese Steak.'' But is it better? ''Oh, absolutely.''

If nothing else, Manny's offers a vast improvement over traditional street-side steak joints in Philadelphia. How can you compare eating a sandwich on a Philly sidewalk with sitting in a friendly bar adorned with Bill Parcells' jersey, race horses rendered in shimmering copper and 11 televisions tuned to sporting events?

In 1985, the secret got out. In a mayoral wager, Ed Koch bet Harold Washington of Chicago a couple of Moonachie cheese steaks that the Giants would beat the Chicago Bears in the playoffs. The Giants lost. Shortly after, recalls John Cimiluca, two tough-looking but well-dressed men showed up at Manny's, packed the winnings in a cooler, and spirited them away to the Windy City via Teterboro Airport.

Even as the Bears were giving the Giants a taste of superior offensive play that led to their 21-0 victory over the East Rutherford-based team, restaurant patrons got a taste of the local cuisine delivered later in the week to Chicago's Mayor, Harold Washington, compliments of New York's Mayor Koch.

Nearly 200 cheese steaks were sold last Sunday afternoon at Manny's, the popular gathering place of Giants fans, but it was a bittersweet taste that remained in many mouths.

Mr. Koch had become a football betting man in recent weeks, with the wagers being lighthearted and gastronomic. A Giants victory against the San Francisco 49ers on Dec. 28 won him a dozen steaks, but a Jets loss to the New England Patriots on Dec. 29 cost him a corned beef sandwich, the payoffs of bets with the Mayors of San Francisco and Boston, the two cities that claim the challenging football teams as their own.

Those errant cheese-steak sandwiches, the payoff Mayor Koch sent Mayor Harold Washington of Chicago as a result of their bet on the Bears-Giant game last Sunday, are still untasted.

After being held overnight in a freezer at the headquarters of Midway Airlines in Chicago, which transported the sandwiches from Manny's of Moonachie, N.J., they were presented by Midway executives to Mayor Washington yesterday afternoon.

Mayor Washington donned his cowboy hat - the result of an earlier Bears triumph over the Dallas Cowboys - and said, ''They look good, but they're too cold to eat.''

Somewhere along the line, it seems, Manny's instructions on using a microwave oven to heat the sandwiches went the way of the Giants season. Whether the cheese steaks will be eaten, a spokesman for the Mayor said, remains to be seen.

Giants coach Jim Fassel has held dinners for fans there. Bergen County Executive William "Pat" Schuber had agreed to treat a delegation from the Baltimore County government to a steak dinner there if the Ravens won.

Along with more than 200 fans, Manny's saw a half-dozen radio and television stations doing live remotes. That's because the place was packed with serious fans who cheered first downs louder than the best commercials -- when there was still hope, anyway.

When it first appeared that the Giants had scored in the first half, the roar sounded like a jet landing nearby. When a flag was thrown and it was called back, the bar went silent.

"It's just getting a little depressing right now," said Kate Wiggins of West Orange. "It shouldn't be 10-0 at the end of the second quarter."

Steven Scott, 31, of Moonachie, was confident after the game that the Giants would have another chance, saying: "I guarantee they'll be back in the Super Bowl next year."

Mike Liedke, 26, came all the way from Allentown, Pa., to watch his favorite team.

"I don't know how I'm going to be able to sleep tonight, to be honest," he said.