A Satisfying Late Lunch at Chat 19

Chat 19 is an ideal restaurant for a late lunch with friends, spouse or for business.

The building stands out compared to the other businesses on Chatsworth Avenue. It has a luxuriant and warm appeal with rich and bold red canopies, wood paneling, long rectangular windows, and a creamy beige backdrop.

An added bonus? Patrons have the option to dine al fresco during the warmer months.

Once entering the restaurant, patrons can either sit at the sleek and well-stocked bar or at the chic round tables.

Along the exposed brick walls hang large framed black and white photographs of the famous faces from the golden age of Hollywood like Natalie Wood, Marilyn Monroe, and Humphrey Bogart to name a few.

If you prefer a quiet and private dining experience, grab a table toward the back of the restaurant. Sit in the front - near the windows - for a more social atmosphere and a view of shoppers.

I was quickly seated at an elegant table with a classy upscale setting. The narrow menus offered a variety of delicious starters, entrées, sandwiches and burgers.

Torn between the Fried Calamari and the Jumbo Lump Crab Cake for a starter plate, I decided to order the latter to save enough room for an entrée and dessert.

The crab cake was plump and crispy on the outside, and hot and moist on the inside. It paired nicely with the lemon beurre blanc sauce drizzled on the plate. On the side, a colorful corn relish and roasted pepper coulis in an edible red romaine lettuce bowl was a burst of unexpected flavors.

After finishing my starter, I initially wanted the spicy Creole rice with clams, shrimp, chicken and sausage in the Jambalaya dish.

Instead, I ordered the Lobster and Crabmeat Ravioli with asparagus in a chive buerre-blanc sauce. The plate had a spring green and pearl color palate. The asparagus was fresh and crunchy, and the chive buerre-blanc sauce was thick and creamy. The lobster and crabmeat ravioli was a well-seasoned delicious mixture of seafood.

I concluded my lunch by ordering Chat Bites.

The dessert seemed to almost summarize all the desserts on the menu. It was deep-fried chocolate and banana cakes with raspberry and chocolate dipping sauces.

The bite-sized cakes were sprinkled with powdered sugar. They were hot, luscious and yummy. The banana cakes were filled with banana and brown sugar; biting into the cakes a firework display of different flavor sensations set off by the various textures of the cakes.

A crunchy outside, a moist inside, and a velvety sauce was trickled all over.

Overall, my lunch was very satisfying and filling. The average price for an appetizer is $13, $10 for a salad or soup, $20 for an entrée, $12 for a sandwich or hamburger, and $8 for a dessert.

Additional restaurants in the Mario Fava family include Lusardi in Larchmont, and Chat and Moscato in Scarsdale.