Bites Nearby: “Twilight” Dining at West End Café

Tucked away in a little shopping center, West End Café in Carle Place has been satisfying diners with handsome decor and exceptional food for 19 years.

Located on the inside corner of the Clocktower Shopping Center, on the east side of Glen Cove Road, north of the LIRR trestle, this is a beautiful Mediterranean style restaurant, with polished wooden floors, soft lighting, rattan chairs and a high ceiling softened by wide swaths of beige canvas.

West End Café – the twilight dinner special is a good way to experience the cuisine. For $29.95 you get an appetizer, entrée and dessert. The choices are numerous and the portions are large. Two good appetizer choices were the jumbo lump crabmeat tower with avocado, papaya and mango salsa and the Asian style duck slider.

The entrée of braised boneless short ribs (made with amarone, a rich Italian wine) and served with gnocchi, pancetta, fava beans, carrots and spring onions, was wonderfully deep flavored. Crab cakes were tasty.

The Chewy Coconut Blondie Sundae, with Dulce de leche ice cream, hot chocolate, caramel sauce, pineapple-mango salsa and real whipped cream, was a great dessert choice.

The Twilight special is all day Sunday; Monday to Thursday from 5 to 6:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from 5 to 5:30 p.m.

187 Glen Cove Rd., Carle Place, NY 11514, 516-294-5608
www.westentli.com
Hours: Monday through Thursday: 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., 5 to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday: 11:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m., 5 to 11 p.m.; Sunday: 3 to 9 p.m.
Prices: range from $6 for soup and $15.95 for steak & shrimp stir fry during lunch to $30 for an Angus Shell Steak at dinner.