Three courses plus dessert for $14.95; Amex modifies NYC Restaurant Week deal

For a $1 supplement, I chose Potato-Encrusted Filet of Sole for my entree at Giovanni's Restaurant, where a three-course Early Dinner is $14.95 (cash) or $18.95, if you pay with a credit card.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

We grabbed a bottle of red wine and drove to Giovanni's in Elmwood Park for three courses of tasty Italian-American food for under $15 each.

The Early Dinner, served daily between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., offers a choice of eight appetizers; nearly two dozen chicken, veal, fish, shrimp or pasta entrees; and coffee or tea and dessert.

Entrees are served with pasta or vegetable and potato. You also get a small salad or tomato and onion.

On Saturday afternoon, I gladly paid a $1 supplement for Potato-Encrusted Filet of Sole instead of the fish of the day, Tilapia.

A small plate of delicious cooked sweet green peppers in balsamic vinegar comes with the warm, crusty bread the restaurant serves.

I was pleasantly full and just had black coffee. My wife chose tea with her dessert, carrot cake.

NYC Restaurant Week

Hundreds of fine-dining restaurants in Manhattan are offering bargain three-course lunches for $29 and three-course dinners for $42, plus tax and tip.

The semiannual NYC Restaurant Week promotion began Monday and runs through Feb. 10.

American Express also has returned with a $5 credit on your billing statement, if you charge your meal to a registered card.

This year, however, you can't get the $5 credit unless you spend $35 in a single transaction. You can get up to four such $5 credits.

A year ago, you could get a $5 credit on lunch, which cost $25 then, plus tax and tip. 

To enroll your card, click here.

At Giovanni's, my wife chose Jumbo Shrimp Marinara over Linguine for her entree.

We both had a Caesar Salad.

My wife's appetizer was Mozzarella and Tomato. Mine was about a half-dozen Mussels in a soupy Garlic Sauce.

I love the restaurant's sweet green peppers marinated in balsamic vinegar.

You can bring your own wine.

Two crisp $20 bills were all we needed to pay for a satisfying dinner for two, including tax and tip.

Over the weekend, Giovanni's changed its name to Al Dente Italian Restaurant, according to its website: "Originally Giovanni's. Same owners, same great food, only the name has changed."

The outside of the strip mall is being renovated.

Details

Al Dente Restaurant (formerly Giovanni's), 430 Market St., Elmwood Park; 201-791-3000. Closed Mondays. BYO, parking lot. Reservations recommended.

Website: Al Dente Italian Restaurant