Restaurants in Babylon

Frank's dinner menu is filled with thick, meaty entrees and beefy appetizers. Load your table early with a starter of double gorgonzola bread ($5.95) and lump crabmeat cocktail bedded on fresh greens ($15.95), and then ready the dinner party for the entrees. Frank's celebrated Romanian skirt steak is marinated in a secret garlicky sauce ($27.95), and the 12-ounce filet mignon is served with your choice of béarnaise, bordelaise, or au poirve sauce ($34.95). Or order a 42-ounce porterhouse for two and watch Frank's expert servers forklift it to the table (au jus and butter, $81.95). Beef disbelievers can order a delectable platter of pan-seared jumbo shrimp (with beurre blanc sauce, $24.95) or devour roasted honey-pecan chicken ($19.95). To top off a family meal or a feast with multiple strangers, order a family-style side such as steak fries or mashed potatoes with sautéed onions (each $7.50).

Coyote Restaurant's recently revamped menu focuses on the cuisine of the southern border region. Starters such as chorizo, roasted corn, and avocado quesadillas ($9) and pulled pork carnitos sliders ($8) draw deliciously on influences from both side of the Rio Grande, while new entrees like ancho seared salmon ($22), slow cooked baby back ribs ($21), and warm lobster and avocado salad ($21) hold their own against Coyote classics like the Grilled Cowboy Steak, served with Texas mashed potatoes, caramelized onions, and romesco sauce ($27) (no cowboys are harmed during the making of this steak). Add extras like chili-lime fries, roasted corn and green chili rice, tobacco onion rings, or ranchero beans, each $5.

Save for the sunlight streaming in through the windows, Blue Fish Restaurant and Lounge immerses patrons in a sleek, dimly lit lounge as they wash down the Japanese cuisine with swigs of hot sake. Behind the bar bathed in dim blue light, chefs carefully prepare bites of fresh sashimi and specialty sushi rolls such as the Coco Loco—spicy tuna topped with coconut shrimp and avocado in a piña colada sauce.

The culinary experts at Rachel’s Waterside Grill unite local ingredients and fresh seafood within a tasty array of inventive entrees, salads, sandwiches, and pastas. The waterfront eatery uses fresh-from-the-sea catches, simmering them in house-made sauces, speckling them atop veggie-laden plates, and catapulting them into outer space in an effort to send the first fishes to the moon. The indoor seating area treats guests to a painted seascape, while the expansive seaside deck regales al fresco diners with the real thing.

Philippe Jericho is built on the recipes of founder Philippe Chow, who brought his culinary flair to New York in 1979. While working in the steam-filled kitchen of a Manhattan eatery, the chef spent hours learning to make dim sum, developing proficiency in hand pulling noodles and training shrimp to pan fry themselves. Philippe eventually left to establish a gourmet-Eastern-eateries network in California, Florida, and New York. At the Jericho location, which has been repeatedly lauded by Zagat, diners scoop handcrafted noodles at white-clothed tables, surrounded by slender, modern wall sconces and waving ranks of alabaster orchids. In the dining room that Forbes magazine called "a sea of calm," crimson accents set off hues of red wines and fire trucks with their noses pressed jealously against the windows. Chef Chow passes on many of his recipes and techniques in an array of cooking classes.

A tightly written but well-balanced menu of classic steak, seafood, and pasta dishes emphasize simple recipes and virtuosic preparation. Blue Lagoon's chefs craft familiar dishes—including grilled Atlantic salmon and filet mignon with garlic mashed potatoes—that let guests relish the experience of upscale dining. A wine list longer than the dinner menu further heightens the meal as servers recommend bottles and glasses of sparkling whites, pinot noirs, merlots, and other sips to pair with entrees. The chefs also cater events—weddings, birthday parties, and pet-rock-adoption anniversaries—and the staff frequently hosts buffets, music, and special events at the restaurant.