Bites Nearby: City Cellar Wine Bar & Grill

“If you feel like coming for pizza – great,” says Scott Dexter, managing partner of City Cellar, an American-style wine bar and grill in Westbury, hoping that the place meets a variety of expectations that are not limited to the pizza crowd.

City Cellar Wine Bar & Grill – in addition to hearth baked pizza, the menu features interesting salads such as pine nut crusted warm goat cheese with mesclun greens and fig balsamic vinaigrette ($12), pasta (from $21.75 to $23.75) and fish, poultry and meat. Some entrée choices are grilled twin seven-ounce pork chops ($28), Atlantic salmon with artichoke and English pea risotto ($26.50) and steak frites with creamy spinach ($27).

The lunch menu offers large salads and hearty sandwiches.

City Cellar’s wine collection has won awards and can be sampled by the bottle, glass or by a “flight” of tastings of wines selected by the restaurant from specific regions, vintage or wineries. On a recent “flight” three wines from the Coppola Winery were offered – 2009 Chardonnay, 2007 Merlot, and 2007 Cabernet. City Cellar features a daily selection of artisanal cheeses, priced according to the market.

Dexter relishes City Cellars’ contributions to the local community and many organizations have benefited from the restaurant’s support, such as , Tomorrow’s Hope Foundation and the Islanders’ Children’s Foundation, to name just three of a long list.

City Cellar has outdoor dining in warm weather and a room for private parties.

1080 Corporate Drive, Westbury, NY 11590, 516-693-5400
Hours: open seven days a week, serving a full lunch menu from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and a limited mid-day menu from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Dinner is served from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. six days, and from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Sundays.
Prices: at dinner, starters range from $8 to $15; salads from $8.50 to $12; pizza, $13 to $15; pasta $20.75 to $25.75; and fish, poultry and meat entrees from $24 to $36. Most desserts are $8. Lunch special: two entrees for a total of $22.99.