Cafe Sterling Restaurant and Bar opened last week in the location that was most recently The Landmark Grill, a building on Hempstead Turnpike with a lot of history.

Although Cafe Sterling, an American-style restaurant is replacing Landmark, which lasted only a year and Steve's Steakhouse which did not fare much better, the location is famous for an Italian restaurant which graced Levittown for nearly 50 years.

Caruso's, a Neapolitan-style restaurant, with murals on the wall is remembered fondly by many Levittown residents past and present. Billy Joel, one of the most famous former residents of the local area, said in a recent interview how disappointed he was to come back to Levittown and discover that Caruso's had been replaced.

Cafe Sterling is owned by Dolores E. Kole, of Wantagh, and Fred Dabruzzi, of Glen Cove. Not new to the restaurant business, Kole and Dabruzzi also own Lady Liberty Cruises, which runs dinner cruises into Manhattan, down to the Statue of Liberty.

Kole says that while she is not thrilled with the history of the two previous restaurants that were located at 2716 Hempstead Turnpike, Caruso's had a favorable history and she feels that this restaurant will bring something that is needed into the community.

One aspect of the restaurant business, that Kole believes is missing in Levittown, is a place that can hold large parties and banquets. She noted that Hempstead Turnpike has a lot of fast food restaurants but that Domenico's is really the only regular restaurant that takes walk-in, sit-down business.

Cafe Sterling also brings a familiar face to the business. James Paskin, a 1978 graduate of Island Trees High School, who currently lives in Levittown, will be serving as the chef for this new venture. Paskin graduated first in his class from the Culinary Institute of America and has cooked in New Orleans, Florida, Maryland, Boston, Manhattan and owned his own restaurant in Oyster Bay.

Paskin explained that he will be serving dishes that combine the cuisine from all the areas in the United States where he has worked. "There's dishes from California to the East Coast," said Paskin. "The salads are California style, some of the Cajun dishes on the menu are from New Orleans, certain fish dishes like the crab cakes and shrimps are from Maryland, some of the appetizers are from the Boston area. So it's a really diversified American menu."

Although he hasn't ventured into any of these dishes yet at Cafe Sterling, eventually Paskins expects to one day be serving specialty dishes such as ostrich, wild boar, antelope, and venison. Currently Cafe Sterling is serving more traditional dishes such as salmon, tuna, pasta, burgers, steak and chicken. Paskins puts his own twist on each of these menu items with specialties such as Penabscot Wood Roasted Salmon; Seafood Giovanni, which combines a mixture of seafood dishes and linguine; Bourbon Chicken; San Andreas Sliced Steak; and Maui Marinated Strip Loin.

Cafe Sterling advertises itself as being, "Where family and friendly people gather." Patrons can enjoy the cuisine for lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch. Lunch is served from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Saturday, the Sunday Buffet Brunch is served from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dinner is served Sunday- Thursday 4-10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 4p.m.-12 midnight. Cafe Sterling also has a Happy Hour from 4-7 p.m. Monday-Friday, which offers a free buffet and drink specials and an after theater cappuccino and espresso lounge. Besides the regular restaurant features and the private party and banquet facilities, Cafe Sterling also offers take-out service.

Kole concluded, "I really feel that we're going to do well here because it is needed. We are not only looking to do your regular restaurant walk-in business, we are looking to do a lot of banquet and large group things."