Long Island Restaurant Week is back: 9 top deals

There’s a chill in the air, the days are getting shorter and it’s time for the fall edition of Long Island Restaurant Week, which runs Oct. 27 to Nov. 3. This year, more than 180 eateries in Nassau and Suffolk counties are participating with a choice of fixed-price options: Restaurants may offer a $24 two-course lunch and / or a three-course dinner for $29, $39 or $46. These menus are in effect whenever the restaurant is open, with the exception of Saturday, Nov. 2, when the deal only needs to be offered until 7 p.m.

Among the new restaurants joining Restaurant Week are The James in Babylon, Off the Hook Raw Bar & Grill in Freeport, Oak & Vine in Glen Cove, Tepache in Valley Stream, Vern Restaurant and Bar in West Babylon, Shands General in Patchogue, Amalfi Coastal Kitchen & Cocktails in Hampton Bays and Myles on Main in Riverhead. 

Here are additional notable eateries and their deals:

George White

33 Berry Hill Rd., Syosset

Fans of the long-running restaurant nestled in downtown Syosset know the eatery has a daily prix-fixe dinner menu ($37.75) highlighting steaks, chops, pastas, salads and seafood at a value price. For Restaurant Week, that menu is enhanced for $39: Gnocchi in pesto sauce with burrata, pork tenderloin prepared with either Calabrian peppers or Marsala wine and mushrooms; penne primavera, fillet of sole, steak au poivre and chicken scallopini prepared parmigiana, piccata or Marsala-style. Start with a Caprese or Caesar salad, PEI mussels or a short rib crostini.

If you prefer daylight hours, the $24 lunch menu begins with a house soup or salad, then a burger, crabcake, veggie burger, grilled chicken sandwich, fettuccine Alfredo, penne alla vodka or ribs. More info: 516-364-2144, thegeorgewhite.com

Bluebird Kitchen

2405 Merrick Rd., Bellmore

There’s something for everyone at this chic-casual Bellmore eatery — and during Restaurant Week, it comes at a reduced price. The $24 lunch menu features a choice of the house specialty, big pigs in puff-pastry blankets with jalapeño sauerkraut and bourbon-honey mustard, housemade honey-Cheddar biscuits or Caesar salad with brown-butter-everything crouton. Follow up with challah French toast with mascarpone and raspberries, a bread bowl filled with seasonal soup, roasted turkey sandwich with spicy mayo and house fries or spinach-artichoke flatbread.

The $46 dinner mains menu include squash-apple risotto, grilled branzino with fennel-orange salad, chicken Milanese or, for a $12 supplement, strip steak with garlic mashed potatoes. For dessert: warm chocolate chip cookies, chocolate mousse cake with almond-flour crust or seasonal cheesecake. More info: 516-962-9600, bluebirdkitchenli.com

Foster

39 Roslyn Ave., Sea Cliff

The buzzy international bistro, a Newsday Top 50 restaurant, has a two-course Restaurant Week brunch/lunch menu for $24 that includes Korean-style rice cakes and a fried chicken sandwich. The $46 dinner menu goes all over the map with appetizers like Japanese takoyaki octopus balls and charred broccolini Caesar. Mains include vegan Bolognese, short ribs or Southern shrimp and grits. For a $15 upcharge you can also experience the kitchen's wood-fired grill with bavette steak with confit potatoes and chimichurri. Dessert is old-school bread pudding or bananas foster. More info: 516-759-0100, fosterrestaurant.com 

Ruta Oaxaca

8025 Jericho Tpke., Woodbury, and 30 E. Main St., Patchogue

The stylish pair of regional Mexican restaurants is on Newsday's Best Tacos list. A plate of three mixed tacos, usually $22.66, is a choice on both the $24 two-course lunch and $39 three-course Restaurant Week dinner menus. Additional dinner options include appetizers like seafood empanadas, chicken buñuelos and a choriqueso Mexican cheese dip with chorizo and poblano peppers. Mains include mole enchiladas, chicken and vegetables in mole verde, and a mixed grill alambres with steak, chicken or shrimp smothered in Oaxacan cheese. For dessert, choose from tres leches, stuffed churros or coffee flan. More info: 516-515-9620 (Woodbury), 631-569-2233 (Patchogue), rutaoaxacamex.com

Arlo 

1036 Fort Salonga Rd., Northport

A sprawling art deco mansion on a hill, Arlo is one of Long Island's grandest dining rooms. But a night out at the two-story establishment can get pricey, so this three-course menu for $46 is a steal. Appetizers include fried calamari, chicken spiedini with persimmon and sweet peppers, and a wedge salad for $4 extra. (A place like this calls for a wedge salad.) The mains are tried-and-true classics like chicken parm, salmon with fregola, a dry-aged burger and a pan-seared pork chop for $6 extra. There is also a 10-ounce filet mignon for $15. And for dessert, you've gotta get the chocolate mousse. More info: 631-491-2756, arlokitchenandbar.com

Limani Grille

1 Vanderbilt Motor Pkwy., Commack

A more casual cousin to Limani in Roslyn, Commack’s Limani Grille is an expansive stunner with a large menu that centers on Mediterranean-style seafood with plenty of options for landlubbers. At lunch, starters on the $24, two-course menu include a traditional mezze platter with a choice of two spreads ranging from tzatziki to skordalia to hummus. There's also a Greek salad, classic egg and lemon avgolemono soup and grilled octopus ($8 supplement), while entrées span a light branzino served with lemon potatoes to salmon, chicken souvlaki to Greek linguine with spinach, feta, tomato and onion. There’s also a Limani burger — caramelized onions and mushrooms, bacon and white Cheddar — and a 14 oz. New York strip ($14 supplement).

Similar to the lunch menu, the $46 dinner menu swaps fried calamari for the mezze starter, and entrée choices like filet mignon souvlaki, join salmon and branzino. Upcharge entrées are still a value, from lamb chops ($12 supplement), to lobster linguine ($16 supplement). For dessert: Greek yogurt, walnut sponge cake or sorbet. If you miss Restaurant Week, Limani Grille offers prix-fixe lunch and dinner menus ($29 and $37) year-round. More info: 631-499-6700, limanigrille.com

Roadtrip

3 E. Main St., Bay Shore

This new spot, which recently opened in Bay Shore, takes diners on a culinary journey across the country, with weekly-changing specials focusing on particular states and their most beloved delicacies. For Restaurant Week, Roadtrip's $24 lunch menu nods to Maine with apple cider mussels and California with lollipop street corn that takes inspiration from its Mexican neighbors. A roasted pumpkin dip pays homage to Illinois, the pumpkin capital of the world. For main dishes, try the New York-inspired pastrami on rye, a classic Philly cheesesteak or a spicy Carolina pulled pork and slaw on Texas toast. In the evenings, the $46 dinner offerings include Vermont maple peppered bacon to start as well as chili-lime Brussels sprouts with grilled pineapple, inspired by Hawaii. Entrées abound from house-smoked St. Louis style barbecue ribs to a Cajun seafood tagliatelle to a Gulf Coast mahi mahi. Desserts include an apple blossom pie and carrot cake. More info: 631-876-2530, roadtriprestaurant.com

The Fish Store

836 Montauk Hwy., Bayport

Seth Needleman’s Fish Store has been one of the South Shore’s most dependable market-restaurants since 1978. For Restaurant Week, the $46 dinner menu includes many popular items. Starters include that Long Island specialty, fried blowfish tails (here, with tomatoes and pesto), a "Napoleon" of crabcakes stacked with tomatoes and fresh mozzarella, jumbo shrimp cocktail. Mains include the "bayman’s catch" (half a lobster with mussels, clams, shrimp, corn and potatoes), shrimp piccata over rice pilaf, blackened salmon with mashed sweet potatoes, sea scallops served on gemelli pasta with roasted red pepper sauce. Not in the mood for fish? There’s a strip steak with shoestring onion straws and baked potato. For dessert: pumpkin cheesecake, rice pudding, chocolate cake or tiramisu. More info: 631-472-3018, thefishstoreonline.com

R. AIRE

259 E Montauk Hwy., Hampton Bays

Many of chef Alex Bujoreanu's greatest hits are on the three-course $46 dinner menu at this country-chic Spanish restaurant at the venerable (but recently updated) Hampton Maid hotel. Starters include patatas bravas (potatoes tossed in a smoked-paprika-garlic aioli), imported Spanish sardines and albondigas (Spanish meatballs made from beef, chorizo and Manchego). The must-order among mains is the seafood paella, served here with a proper socarrat (crust) on the bottom. Or try the sous-vide Crescent duck with broccolini and mashed potatoes or, for a $25 supplement, Wagyu filet mignon with hand-cut fries and mushroom sauce. Flan is always a great dessert choice, but the edge here goes to the tarta di Santiago, the almond-flour (and gluten-free) cake that takes its name from Spain’s most famous pilgrimage site. More info: 631-728-4184, hamptonmaid.com/raire

Long Island Restaurant Week, Oct. 27-Nov. 3 at more than 170 participating eateries, longislandrestaurantweek.com.