Celebrating Long Island Restaurant Week at Butera's of Woodbury

Earlier this week, I published an article reminding fellow Long Islanders that it was Long Island Restaurant Week - a perfect time to visit a new eatery and sample some of their finest cuisine for a promotional price. The Fifth Annual Long Island Restaurant Week launched on Sunday, November 7th and continues through Sunday, November 14th, 2010.

Our choice for the Long Island Restaurant Week experience this year was Butera's of Woodbury. Butera's is a trattoria-style Italian restaurant, and their prix fixe choices can be found in the promotions area of their website.

After having a very nice gin martini at the cozy bar, our guests arrived and we were promptly seated at a very nice table near the front of the establishment. Several of the menu choices were unusual; for example, dishes that showcased chicken sausage or meatballs rather than traditional meat filling. I've actually been on somewhat of a chicken kick these days, so that worked out perfectly for me.

The four meals that we ordered were:

• Grilled Tilapia, over a roasted potato & mixed vegetable sauté
• Open “stuffed” Chicken Cutlet Fried cutlet, topped with spinach, sundried tomato, focaccia, diced pepperoni & fresh mozzarella over linguine garlic & oil
• Chicken Marsala, with mushrooms in a marsala wine sauce over linguine
• Pan Baked Chicken Lasagna with chicken three ways; sautéed diced chicken, chicken sausage & chicken meatballs in a pink sauce with spinach

Can you guess which one I had?

A lovely foccaccia appetizer was brought out prior to the choice of soup or salad. The salad portions were generous, with a flavorful house vinagrette. Plenty of warm bread was available as well.

We were all pleasantly surprised at the size of Butera's main course selections; the tilapia was seasoned and cooked well, the chicken marsala nicely done (and so generous that the guest took more than half home), and the stuffed cutlet had more than an adequate amount of "stuffing," with no one ingredient dominating the flavor. The linguini had huge slices of garlic (I know, I stole a forkful).

My meal, a unique chicken lasagna, was outstanding. I wasn't sure how this would work out, having diced chicken along with chicken sausage and chicken meatballs, but it was harmonious and flavorful. The pink sauce was similar to vodka sauce, and there was plenty of spinach and cheese layered throughout the dish. It was a "round" dish of  lasagna, with more chicken breast than sausage and meatball - my only suggestion might be to truly dice the chicken breast, because the sausage and meatball were delicious and got a little overwhelmed by the presence of larger pieces of chicken. As far as portion size, I couldn't even put a dent in it; it seemed to be the neverending dish of lasagna, and I took quite a bit with me for the next day's lunch.

Although the prix fixe menu on Butera's website says that the choice of desert is cheesecake or cannoli, in person they offered a "traditional" biscotti as well - which I selected. It was obviously home made - and, in fact, baked on premises by pastry chef, Roxanne Caccavo; the biscotti was warm and dense, studded with cranberries and chopped pistachios. Fantastic! I'd go back just for dessert. I didn't hear any complaints from my companions about the cannoli; they were too busy enjoying it.

Overall, Butera's of Woodbury was a very good experience and a value for the promotional pricing. Our server, Teri, was  attentive and friendly - always ensuring we had full glasses. One place where I could see room for improvement was at the bar; when we first arrived, the bartender was nowhere to be found and it was some time before she reappeared to take our drink orders. But that is a small complaint for what turned out to be a great place to spend our Long Island Restaurant Week dinner.

Normally, dinner with one drink and a tip will set you back about $35 per person - not prohibitive for a "nice" restaurant (mid-range rather than upscale), and we would definitely consider going back to dine there without the promo pricing. Butera's of Woodbury is located in the Woodbury Village Shopping Center on Jericho Turnpike, an easy to access spot with ample parking. Contact them at 516-496-3633. I recommend reservations for dinner; we got there early, so there was no problem. But if you arrive after 7 PM, expect a wait if you don't reserve ahead.

For a list of particpating restaurants in Nassau and Suffolk counties, visit the Dine section of the Long Island Restaurant Week website. The inspiration for this event came from the successful Hamptons Restaurant Week. Long Island Restaurant Week is organized by WordHampton Public Relations, one of Long Island's top hospitality PR firms.

***