Bites Nearby: Puglia's City Cafe

You could stand on a corner and look around until a restaurant sign draws you in. But we've got a better idea. Each week, Garden City Patch picks a great restaurant either in town or nearby that is worth checking out. Here’s this week’s choice:

Puglia’s City Cafe: Formerly known as City Café & Piano Bar, the restaurant is under new ownership. Puglia’s (named for a region in southern Italy) calls itself “Long Island’s only supper club,” a term that refers to a dining establishment that also functions as a social club. Dance bands play here Tuesday, Friday and Saturday nights, allowing patrons to dine and dance the night away. Other musical acts perform on Wednesday and Thursday nights.

Entertainment aside, Puglia’s City Café wants to stand out for its food – specifically authentic Italian food with dishes emanating from southern Italy. For starters, there is a large antipasti menu offering “House Special Calamari” served for $19; and “Mulberry Street Mussels,” served in a Tuscan bread and your choice of sauce, for $14. Appetizer salads range from $7 to $9.

Nine pasta dishes adorn the menu, including Ragu di “Puglia,” which is available only on Sundays. This $20 dish is sent out with pork, meatballs, braciola and sausage with rigatoni or cavatelli. Entrée dishes feature Seafood Fra Diavolo (shrimp, calamari, mussels and clams, served with linguini and fra diavolo sauce) for $32; Gamberi Oreganata (with “colossal” sautéed shrimp topped with seasoned bread crumbs and served with potato croquettes and vegetables) for $23; and Costata di Maiale (double cut pork chop roasted with portobello mushrooms, apples and asiago cheese in a porto wine sauce, served with potato croquettes) for $28. Puglia’s also serves USDA prime steaks. 987 Stewart Avenue, Garden City, 516-222-1421. Hours: Open for lunch and dinner, Tuesday through Sunday, starting at noon. Entrees: $17 to $42.

Found a great place to dine? Let us know about it in the comments section below.