Restaurant Review: Little Dominick's in Hastings, NY

The people involved in eating at Lil Dominick's (the restaurant I chose to review, recommended by a gas station clerk) are as follows.

The husband: usually orders a burger and fries no matter where he goes.

The toothpick sized youngest step-daughter: is the pickiest eater you could imagine. At the same time, she will eat anything if you tell her it is steak or expensive.

Of course I was eating, and a 6 month old child attended as well but he had his own food (a bottle) with him.

Upon entering you immediately notice the abundant seating capacity. This is a restaurant well equipped for large groups, and smaller groups like a date or a family my size must almost never have to worry about making reservations, or waiting forever to get in. Don't you just love a place where you can come in and be seated right away!?

At the same time, with the soft lighting and quiet atmosphere, Lil Dominick's is a far cry from a "local diner". Everything about Lil Dominick's says "nice restaurant" as you're led to your table.

Given time to situate ourselves (and the overtired infant member) the wait was not too long for the waitress to take drink orders. With the same family at other places, it has often been a longer wait in a smaller diner... so this was pleasing.

As usual, the husband orders Mt. Dew while the stepdaughter and I both order milk. Several varieties of wine are available at very affordable prices, and a few mixed drinks are available as well. Although the "Oatmeal Cookie" sounds intriguing, I decide to pass on the alcohol. I am honestly a bit worried that the bill already may come back as more than we could afford, after having judged the quality of this restaurant.

When the waitress returns with drinks, the order was all ready. Although there is much to choose from, we had all made our decisions quickly.

After having convinced the child-with-expensive-taste to look at the back page (where the kids menu is located). She orders her 'usual' kids menu choice... chicken tenders with fries.

The husband was intrigued with (as read on the menu) The HUGE Philly Steak, loaded with American cheese, mushrooms, peppers & onions; served with fries. (This is exactly what the gas station clerk recommended, and it only costs $5.99... much the same as you would spend at any of the "local diners" .

I unknowingly chose to be daring, and ordered the Beef Tips fra Diablo over Fettucini that is on special for $13.99.

Shortly after receiving drinks and placing the order, the waitress returns with bread. This action confirms labelling Lil Dominick's as a "nice restaurant" even more... but it was the bread itself that truly stood out.

This bread is not your usual basket of pre-sliced bread, in any way. This bread is truly home made, and the aroma of the bread alone is enough to tease your senses and spark your hunger. This bread is an actual loaf, apparently pulled fresh out of the oven, and served on a cutting tray with a knife stabbed into the center.

Now there are some things that should never be DIY when you go out to eat. As far as slicing your own fresh, home baked bread... well, more restaurants should try this! Yet, it's doubtful any other restaurant could get their bread as good as Lil Dominick's does it.

There are two kinds of butter served with the bread... regular and garlic. I can not tell you a thing about the regular butter because I could not pry myself from "sampling" that delicous garlic butter, even for the third slice of perfectly soft bread.

The Beef Tips special came with a choice of salad or soup.

The soup was wonderfully creamy with a soft hint of cheese, including chunks of (unpeeled) potatoes and sausage with little bits of celery. No crackers are necessary to enjoy the taste of this soup!

Again, there is no excessive waiting for the meals. For that reason alone one could say that Lil Dominicks is better than both nice restaurants and local diners.

The chicken tenders are two large pieces of real chicken... more than you'd imagine that little child would have the appetite for, and it was accompanied by little Smiley Face shaped fries. The vedict is: "This puts KFC to shame!"

The husband's Philly Steak is very appropiately titled. It was Huge! This two hander is overloaded with steak, cheese, and other fillings. If you are already from NY you find yourself mocking the Fucillo commercial... because "that sandwich is huuuu-ggggge!"

I, on the other hand, recieve a lesson in language and even more-so I learn a lesson in paying attention to what you order. As mentioned, I had been unknowingly daring to order the Beef Tips fra Diablo over Fettucini special. This is a lesson my tongue will not soon forgive me for!

Did you know that Diablo means H-O-T !!! ? (No, not hot, and not spicy... H-O-T !!! exclamation points included!)

Fortunately, and yes I was very lucky here... the husband is a big lover of hot and spicy foods. In his words "if it doesn't make you cry, if it doesn't clean out your nose... then it's just not hot enough."

We immediately traded plates, after the entire glass of milk I'd been wise to order had been guzzled (after only one bite!). From an expert in hot and spicy, the husband says "MMMMM! This is really good!"

The husband saves some leftovers to bring out to his father, who shares a taste for food that hurts. I am still wiping my nose and wishing there was more bread. Everybody has only eaten half of their meals because if I am going to review this place it has to be done right... we can not skip out on dessert!

In an effort to keep the bill down, the husband and the child both split a brownie, and I order a blueberry cheesecake. The brownie is (without a doubt) large enough for two people to share, in fact it is large enough that I end up with a quarter of the brownie to sample.

It is a moist brownie with chocolate frosting, and while neither the brownie or the cheesecake were too rich... I would have to declare the cheesecake winner in this contest.

Without a crust, this cheesecake was creamy and filling without going over the top. While the husband is an expert in food that hurts, I consider myself an expert in food that makes you happy (meaning desserts) and I would say Lil Dominick's got their cheese cake just right. Yum-my!

We chat a little with the waitress while our stomachs settle. The husband, wiping beads of sweat off his forehead, compliments her on the Beef Tips fra Diablo. She advises us that the chef, Edward, is to thank and that he is the 2nd best chef... following Dominick (whom I assume is the owner, otherwise the name is a bizarre coincidence).

According to the waitress, the spiciest things available... if you like spicy... would be the chicken riggies and the sauteed cajun chicken. Clearly I am no expert in this field, the memory alone makes my tongue tremble in fear again... but the husband says "they do spicy right" so I will pass that information along.

As for everything else, the bill was only $33, meaning that this was far from over the top. For a family outing, for a date, or for a business get together you can't beat Lil Dominick's. Great food at a great price, it doesn't get much better than that.

The servings are large enough that you're guaranteed to need a to-go-box and you will be riding home with a very full belly.

Lil Dominicks (315) 676 - 1000
(Call for reservations or directions)
1331 US Rte. 11
Hastings, NY