Dining Out sets the table for Restaurant Week

Restaurateurs across Long Island—and, no doubt, legions of diners who appreciate a good deal on meals that might otherwise be out of reach—are making final preparations for the Fourth Annual Long Island Restaurant Week, which starts on Sunday, November 1, and runs through Sunday, November 8.

The eight-day promotion features a special prix fixe offered by all participating restaurants. Under the simple formula, all the restaurants taking part offer a three-course prix fixe for eight days, Sunday to Sunday, for $24.95 all night, except Saturday when the special price will be offered only until 7 p.m. Each restaurant offers its own unique menu. By the end of last week, 221 restaurants had signed on, with new establishments joining their ranks daily.

The Long Island-wide autumn promotion is the brainchild of Steve Haweeli, president of WordHampton Public Relations, who first developed the annual Hamptons Restaurant Week for the East End in the spring based on the popular Manhattan Restaurant Week idea. The success of the enterprise seems to stem from its popularity on both sides of the dinner transaction: both restaurateurs and diners see Restaurant Week as providing opportunities that can yield substantial rewards.

Pietro Bottero, the general manager and executive chef at Annona Restaurant on Riverhead Road in Westhampton, said this week that “Long Island Restaurant Week captures the spirit and excitement of why people dine out. A week-long event dedicated to culinary adventure, people use this time to capture as many flavors and styles as possible that are being offered in today’s fine-dining market.

“Most Long Island Restaurant Week diners give me the dish on either where else they have been that week, or where they are going next, dining in an average of three different fine dining restaurants in a single week. In addition to what these fine establishments are serving is the over-the-top energy that exists when your restaurant is full of patrons who are excited to be out and trying new things.

“I feed off this synergy at Annona and try harder for these $24.95 diners than I do for my Manhattan based summer clientele.”

The director of operations for the restaurant group that runs Nick & Toni’s in East Hampton, Christy Cober, had this to say about the promotion: “Restaurant Week gives us the opportunity to showcase what we do for the locals and Long Islanders,” Ms. Cober wrote in an e-mail.

“A lot of these customers think that Nick & Toni’s is inaccessible except during something like restaurant week,” Ms. Cober continued, “but when they actually come in for dinner, they learn about all the really remarkable promotions we offer throughout most of the year. For a year-round restaurant on the East End, it’s very important to try to cultivate and maintain a locally based business—participating and supporting Restaurant Week is one way we can do this.”

Beppe Desiderio of Blue Sky Mediterranean Lounge in Sag Harbor broke it down this way: “It’s a great way to expose the restaurant to a big number of guests,” he wrote in an e-mail. The promotion offers a great opportunity for “testing new dishes by way of the prix fixe concept,” he continued, adding that it’s the “perfect time of the year to implement a special.”

Michael Nolan is the co-owner of Fresno restaurant in East Hampton, partnered with David Lowenberg of red/bar bistro in Southampton and The Beacon in Sag Harbor. “I enjoy Restaurant Week,” Mr. Nolan said in a telephone interview on Monday. “I look at it as an opportunity to get local year-round residents to see what our restaurant is all about and what kind of meals we’re serving.”

“Diners who come in for the Restaurant Week prix fixe will see what a beautiful space we have here, and also see that we offer our own prix fixe all winter, and not just during Restaurant Week,” Mr. Nolan said.

In addition to the enclosed patio, where a few well-placed heaters keep the space comfortable in the shoulder seasons, Fresno seats 70 diners indoors and has “a beautiful bar, where people love to eat dinner,” he added. On Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday evenings, Fresno offers a two-course prix fixe for $26 and a three-course prix fixe for $29 all evening; the same special is available until 6:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

This year’s Restaurant Week features a promotion within a promotion: DishingonDining.com has announced a “Biggest Long Island Restaurant Week Fan” contest. The grand prize winner will receive a $200 gift certificate for dinner at Long Island’s newest four-star restaurant, Mirabelle at the Three Village Inn, on Main Street in Stony Brook (www.threevillageinn.com). Runners-up will receive gift certificates to other notable Long Island restaurants, including; Legends in New Suffolk, Gurney’s Inn in Montauk, Desmond’s at East Wind in Wading River, Porto Bello in Greenport, and Villa Michelangelo in Manorville, among others.

Entries may be submitted online at www.DishingonDining.com, explaining qualifications as the biggest fan of Restaurant Week in writing, photos or video. All entries must be received by midnight on Sunday, November 8. Winners will be announced on Monday, November 9, at noon on www.DishingonDining.com.

In addition to more than 100 restaurants in Nassau County and dozens more in western Suffolk, the week-long promotion has signed on such East End eateries as 75 Main, The Plaza Café and red/bar brasserie in Southampton; Muse Restaurant & Aquatic Lounge in Water Mill; Pierre’s and Copa Wine and Tapas in Bridgehampton; Blue Sky Mediterranean Lounge, Oasis Waterfront Restaurant, and Tutto Il Giorno in Sag Harbor; Vine Street Café in Shelter Island; The 1770 House, Café Max, Della Femina, Laundry Restaurant, Matto Restaurant, Michael’s at Maidstone Beach, Nick & Toni’s, Fresno, and Rugosa in East Hampton; and Gulf Coast Kitchen at Montauk Yacht Club and Gurney’s Sea Grille in Montauk.

West of the Shinnecock Canal, participating restaurants include 1 North Steakhouse, The Inn Spot On The Bay and Oakland’s Restaurant & Marina in Hampton Bays; Stone Creek Inn in East Quogue; the Restaurant at the Inn in Quogue; and Annona, Casa Basso, Dee Angelo’s Pleasant Avenue Café, The Patio at 54 Main, and Westhampton Steakhouse in Westhampton and Westhampton Beach.

Riverhead restaurants taking part in the promotion include Jerry and The Mermaid, Stonewalls at the Woods, and Tweed’s Restaurant, while farther out on the North Fork the week-long prix fixe will be offered at Jamesport Manor Inn and Jedediah Hawkins Inn in Jamesport; Bayview Inn & Restaurant in South Jamesport; Legends Restaurant in New Suffolk; A Mano and A Touch of Venice Restaurant in Mattituck; Elbow East, North Fork Table & Inn, and the Seafood Barge in Southold; and Porto Bello Restaurant and Scrimshaw Restaurant in Greenport.

A few of the notable participating restaurants to the west are The Bellport and Porters on the Lane in Bellport; Cooperage Inn in Baiting Hollow; Amarelle, Blackwell’s Restaurant at Great Rock, Desmond’s Restaurant & Lounge, La Plage Restaurant in Wading River; and Villa Michelangelo in Manorville.

Long Island Restaurant Week is presented by WordHampton Public Relations, the creators of Hamptons Restaurant Week. The event is sponsored in part by Zrii. Media sponsors include EastofNYC.com, liparentsource.com, Long Island Pulse, News 12 Long Island, Newsday, Walk 97.5, DishingonDining.com, Lenndevours.com and SpotonLI.com.

The First Annual Long Island Restaurant Week won the SABRE Gold Award Certificate of Excellence and was recognized for achievement in branding and reputation by the leading public relations industry analyst, The Holmes Group. The Second Annual Long Island Restaurant Week garnered the Big Apple Award in the Marketing Consumer Services, Travel and Tourism/Hospitality sector by the New York Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) for excellence in research and situation analysis, planning, execution, results and evaluation.

To view a current list of participating restaurants, visit www.longislandrestaurantweek.com. For more information about Long Island Restaurant Week, call 631-329-0050.