Celebrate Restaurant Week on Village Restaurant Row

For village residents looking to treat themselves to a great meal at a local restaurant, the annual Long Island Restaurant Week might help fit the bill.

Several of Babylon Village's restaurants are cooking up various dishes and offering a $24.95 prix fixed menu all this week through 7 p.m. Saturday night. The menu choices are complete with appetizers, main course and dessert. 

For the past five years, the Argyle Grill and Tavern has been a participant in Restaurant Week.

"It has always been very successful for us," says manager Linda Wilkenson. "Restaurant week brings in new people who maybe thought we were out of their price range. But, we actually offer this prix fixe meal all the time. Monday through Thursday and Fridays and Saturdays until 7 p.m."  Wilkenson recommends the ravioli of the day and noted that "the sliced sirloin is a huge hit."

Café Il Villaggio's owner Michele Domingo, who hails from Sicily and always greets customers with a big smile, is excited his restaurant is participating for the third year in a row.

"Restaurant week gives people a chance to try different food," he says. A sneak peak at the menu includes four to five  appetizer options, including a few  shrimp dishes and mozzarella and tomato.  Main course options include a  couple of risotto dishes, as well as salmon and veal.  For dessert there is a choice of homemade cannoli or Tiramisu.

"A little bit of everything that isn't normally on the menu," says Domingo, who says the celebration lets his restaurant spice  things up a bit.  His own personal favorite? The risotto, hands down.  

The Carriage House has also been participating since the launch of restaurant week five years ago. 

"We put out one of the finest menus around," says owner, Cindy Kusack. "Our food is a little different from everybody else's. With our menu, you can get very high- end food for that $24.95 price." 

A couple of favorites on the menu include the crispy thai calamari and the marinated skirt steak. 

Kusack's personal favorite is the pan seared branzino filet.  "It's phenomenal," she says.  The special Restaurant Week menu is reminiscent of the choices they offered over the summer, with some new fall dishes included.  "We got a lot of positive feedback during that week," says Kusack.