For a Luxurious Lunch: “Grand Lux Cafe”

After celebrating my mom’s birthday the previous night at Alfredos 100, it was time to go out to eat for her actually birthday this time for lunch. We were meeting up with friends and family and wanted some place not too far, not too expensive, some place that would seat walk-ins, and of course some place with delicious food. That place turned out to be the Grand Lux Café in Garden City, Long Island. It is a place I have frequented many times and have never had a bad experience. This time would be no different.

As soon as we arrived the rest of my group did as well. We were seated right away in the extra large dining room. I cant imagine what it would take for this place to be so packed there would be a long wait. More restaurants should take this approach.

Upon seating and despite our initial gabbing, we were all able to pick out what we wanted to eat. There was an order of salmon (some of the best I have ever tasted), salads, pizza, sandwiches, and my personal favorite from now until eternity the Spicy Flatbread chicken sandwich, which came with black bean mayo. That mayo should be sold in vats in Costco or some other wholesale club. I would buy it in a New York second and smear it across anything I ate. It has been months since I have had it and I still crave it. It was the best-grilled chicken sandwich I have ever had. Prior to this the only other sandwich I had was the Santa Barbara because I liked the avocado on it. It was quite tasty too but this time I wanted to try something new and I am glad I did. But this is precisely the kind of place where an old favorite never lets you down.

After we were stuffed to the gills from lunch we knew we were still going to forge ahead with dessert. We can say that’s because we were celebrating a birthday but that would only be a half-truth.

The possible dessert options all sound better than the next and it was tough to choose from but at least it was only one page unlike the encyclopedia that held the lunch and dinner menus. With a few exceptions the desserts can be ordered when you are ready. However if you want desserts that come fresh and warm from the oven (the baked to order desserts) you need to tell the waitress when you order your meal. That is unless you want to wait another half hour or so between courses. That might be fine for lunch but if they are more crowded on a weekend or evening you may want to order early to ensure that you get one. My friend’s favorite is the warm apple pie, but our table also saw crème brulee (very creamy, slightly heavy but easily devourable), sticky toffee pudding cake, and the warm brownie sundae. For those who adore Cheesecake Factory (both places have the same creator) Cheesecake, that is served here as well.

I left this lunch date full of good food and good memories. I was able to have some laughs, play with my baby cousin, and enjoy a day where time was no object. We were able to sit and talk without anyone hovering over us. It was the perfect environment. The only thing left to do afterward was to hit up the near by movie theater. I was so full for so many hours afterward popcorn never even tempted me! That was some chicken sandwich.

Now that I told you why we ended up at the Grand Lux Café let me tell you how it came to be. Interestingly enough this restaurant was created as per request of The Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas. The Hotel was looking to have a place where guests could have a luxurious experience both with the look of the restaurant along with the quality of food found in the best cafes in Italy and France. I don’t know that I would go that far but it certainly has its own charm and standards.

Besides New York and Nevada, the Grand Lux Café can also be found in Florida, Texas, Illinois, and New Jersey.

As for me, this concluded my mother’s birthday meals for 2014. Well that is if you don’t count Pittsburgh.

But for that story you will have to check back in later this week. I promise it will be worth the wait, just like the meals I had there.

For More Information:

http://www.grandluxcafe.com/