490 West in Carle Place Offers Eclectic Cuisine - Review A RESTAURANT'S name often gives a diner clues about the atmosphere or the food, but 490 West, named for an abbreviation of its address on Westbury Avenue in Carle Place, gives no such hints. It turns out to be a low-key restaurant geared to adults, with food that can best be described as eclectic. The menu includes escargots and Alsatian onion soup, a lineup of pastas and an Italian eggplant entree, as well as a pork tenderloin dish with German-style red cabbage. Angus beef sliders, crab cakes, coconut shrimp, Long Island duck breast, steaks and fish preparations round out the mix. The chef and owner of 490 West is Pat Ippolito, of Garden City, who grew up in a restaurant family in Cedarhurst; his parents owned La Sila, an Italian restaurant in Inwood, in the mid-1980s. He went on to start a catering company, which he still owns. Mr. Ippolito opened 490 West just over a year ago in a free-standing building that previously housed Camille's, a continental-German place. He made some cosmetic changes to the look of the restaurant, which has a soothing décor: white tablecloths, votive candles, a beige-and-burgundy color scheme and walls dotted with framed mirrors and landscapes. A couple of the attentive serving staff at 490 West are veterans of Camille's. On weekend nights, Mr. Ippolito's wife, Meredith, and his mother, Norina, also help out in the dining room. One of the best ways to start a meal here is with the escargots, a classic presentation of snails in their shells on a tray, lively with bubbling garlic butter. Another dish not to be missed is the tagliatelle smothered in a chunky veal Bolognese sauce; it is available as either a first course or an entree. Other dishes that proved enjoyable, if not quite up to the standard set by those two, included an opener of mushroom risotto and a salad of spring lettuce with mango, goat cheese and red onion. The balsamic-mustard dressing on the salad had punch, but the mango, unfortunately, was under-ripe. The risotto was crowned with tasty mushrooms flavored with bits of pancetta and chorizo, but little of that flavor permeated the rice beneath. The two soups sampled also fell into the category of good but not great: a standard onion with a bit too much cheese and a creamy broccoli that had a lush texture but needed a shake of salt to bring it to life. The bread basket holds ordinary sliced Italian bread, but the butter that accompanies it is far from the standard offering; it is laced with garlic, shallots, red wine and parsley. Mr. Ippolito has a deft hand with fish, evident in both a lightly roasted whole branzino and a thick, moist fillet of pan-seared red snapper. They were accompanied by a flavor-packed mélange of chopped tomatoes, black olives, capers and spinach. Other entrees that hit the mark were fork-tender braised short ribs atop creamy polenta with crisp-tender glazed carrots on the plate; a large, sweet red pepper stuffed with Black Angus chili; and a cooked-to-order pork tenderloin in a pomegranate reduction with whipped sweet potatoes and excellent sweet-and-sour red cabbage. The only also-ran we encountered was the Italian eggplant, in which large slices were fried till crisp, then topped with fire-roasted tomatoes and fresh mozzarella. The heavy cheese weighed down the vegetables. All the sweets are made in house. One especially appealing choice was a crepe oozing with ricotta filling and covered in a hot compote of sliced strawberries. On a busy Saturday, one of the hostesses stopped by our table when she saw we had ordered the lush tiramisù. She proudly told us that she was the chef's mother and had made the dessert herself. 490 West is a friendly, comfortable place in the best tradition of the well-run chef-owned restaurant. 490 West 490 Westbury Avenue Carle Place 490west.com THE SPACE Free-standing building with three comfortable dining rooms. Complete wheelchair access. THE CROWD A quiet crowd of couples, middle-aged and older, and small groups of friends; no children on the nights of my visits. The staff is animated, friendly and attentive. THE BAR A small granite-topped and mirror-backed bar with a half-dozen stools. Full bar service. List of 60 wines by the bottle ($24 to $280) and 15 by the glass ($7 to $13). THE BILL Lunch entrees, $10 to $15. Dinner entrees, $18 to $36, with most in the low- to mid-$20s. Three-course, prix fixe menu ($27.95) from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; 4 to 5:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and all day Sunday. WHAT WE LIKED Escargots, tagliatelle with veal Bolognese, short ribs, pork tenderloin, stuffed red pepper, branzino, red snapper, crêpe with ricotta and strawberry compote, tiramisù. IF YOU GO Open Tuesday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Saturday, 4 to 11 p.m.; and Sunday, 3:30 to 10 p.m. Closed Monday. Reservations are essential on weekends.