The Fourth Annual Long Island Restaurant Week from November 1 to November 8, 2009 has been so successful that some participating restaurants will continue to offer their $24.95 prix fixe menus for a bit longer.

Among the restaurants extending the "week" are Jonathan's Restaurant in New Hyde Park, Bistro Citron in Roslyn, E.B. Elliott's in Freeport, Grasso's in Cold Spring Harbor, Fiddleheads in Oyster Bay, Tava Restaurant and Bar in Port Washington, P.J. Lobster House in Port Jefferson, Blue Sky Mediterranean Lounge in Sag Harbor and many more. Please contact individual restaurants for more details.
_{Photo © Linda Tagliaferro}

Sustainable Long Island invites the public to join them for an important discussion about Food Equity on Long Island: Challenges and Solutions. According to the organization, not all communities on LI have access to healthy, affordable food. Some economically distressed communities on Long Island have few retail outlets and their residents depend on fast food that rarely offers fresh produce and other healthy options.

On Monday morning, November 16 from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., a panel of experts will discuss accessibility to healthy and affordable food across Long Island. It will be held at the Old Bethpage Village Restoration, Round Swamp Road, Old Bethpage.

You can register and purchase tickets ($55 per person) for the breakfast and discussion at Sustainable Long Island or by calling (516) 873-0230.
_{Photo © Linda Tagliaferro}

If you look over to the left side of this home page, you'll see a small, red link to "My Forum." Please click on the link and join our community of Long Islanders sharing tips, posting questions and writing comments.

It's free, and you can connect with like-minded people who live on Long Island. You can either start by reading posts as a guest, or by signing up for a member name to both read and post messages. Again, it's all free.

There are just some About.com guidelines that you'll have to follow. Although you can refer users to relevant websites, obvious commercial messages are not allowed. And of course, no flames, harassing or rude and insensitive remarks, please. These will be deleted from the forum. Click on this link for a full list of Forum Guidelines.

See you at About.com's Long Island Forum!

In honor of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, Atlantis Marine World Aquarium is offering FREE admission to Riverhead Township residents every Friday in November, as well as on Thanksgiving Day.

This special free admission applies ONLY to Town of Riverhead residents, and you must show proof of residency upon entry. To qualify for this special offer, you must reside in one of the following towns: Riverhead, Wading River, Jamesport, Aquebogue, Laurel, Calverton, Baiting Hallow, Northville, and parts of Manorville.

You might also be interested in:

• Atlantis Marine World
• Atlantis Explorer Tour Boat Cruises

_{Photo © Atlantis Marine World}

An article in The New York Times this Sunday explained that Saul Friedman, a columnist for Newsday for over 20 years (and wrote for newspapers for over 50 years), quit his job last week as a reaction to the newspaper's recent decision to charge for some access to its online content. Cablevision is the owner of the newspaper, and only customers of Cablevision's ISP and those who have a paid subscription to Newsday's print version will continue to have access to all of the web archives and current news. But now there will be a $5 weekly charge for others who wish to see much of the website.

Alfred Hitchcock's thriller, North by Northwest, debuted 50 years ago, but the film is still loved by fans of the master of suspense. With an intricate plot that involves the mistaken identity of an advertising executive played by Cary Grant, the film contains a scene that shows a car driving on a high cliff, with crashing waves far below. The only problem is that it's supposed to be Glen Cove, Long Island.... and the scene was shot in California. The scene gets a laugh out of many Long Islanders who know that Glen Cove, as most of the island, stretches out on mostly flat land.

Interested in owning a copy of the movie? Click on Compare Prices to find out what the DVD sells for online.

Legendary movie star Tony Curtis will appear at the Cinema Arts Centre, 423 Park Avenue in Huntington on Friday, November 6th. Tickets are $90 for the general public and $75 for Cinema Arts Centre members. The ticket price includes an autographed hardcover copy of The Making of "Some Like It Hot": My Memories of Marilyn Monroe and the Classic American Movie by Tony Curtis and Mark Vieira. A major portion of the proceeds will go to Tony and Jill Curtis' Shiloh Horse Rescue Foundation.

You have two options: Option 1 starts with a 5 p.m. book signing and reception, Conversation with Tony Curtis at 7 p.m. and a screening of Some Like It Hot at 7:30 p.m.

Option 2 begins with a 7:30 p.m. book signing and reception, a 9:30 p.m. Conversation with Tony Curtis and a 10 p.m. showing of Some Like It Hot.

Tickets can be purchased at the box office, by calling Brown Paper Tickets (800) 838-3006 or by visiting Cinema Arts Centre. No refunds. For more information, call the 24-hour information lines: (631) 423-FILM or (631) 423-BOXO. Their travel and general information line is (631) 423-7611.

For information on more events this month, please go to November Calendar of Events on Long island.

Next week, on Tuesday, November 10th at 7:30 p.m., comedian and actor Tracy Morgan will appear at the Book Revue in Huntington. Known for his comedic performances on Saturday Night Live and the NBC sitcom, 30 Rock, Morgan will speak about and sign copies of his new book, I Am the New Black. The event is **FREE** and open to the public.

Book Revue, one of the nation's largest independent bookstores, is located at 313 New York Avenue in Huntington. For more information, call (631) 271-1442.
_{Photo © Getty Images/David Livingston}

A study, financed by federal grants and published in The Journal of the American Medical Association on Wednesday, October 28, 2009, found that 257 young children and adolescents on Long Island and in New York City gained an additional 10 to 15 percent of their weight after taking antipsychotic medications for less than 12 weeks. This is the largest study to date on the childhood use of such drugs.

An editorial in the same issue of the journal, written by two child psychologists, said that weight gain in these patients does not bode well for their long-term health. Diabetes, hypertension and other diseases could be the result of the rapid weight gain.

The lead researcher of the study was Dr. Christoph U. Correll of the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research in Manhasset and Zucker Hillside Hospital in Queens.

The patients from LI and NYC ranged in age from 4 to 19. They gained one to one-and-a-half pounds per week on average after taking the medications. The four drugs in the study are Zyprexa, Abilify, Risperdal and Seroquel.

What do you think? Are there benefits for those with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and other mental disorders if they take these drugs? Or do the side effects pointed out in this study outweigh the benefits?
_{Photo © iStockphoto}

Last Sunday, Limani restaurant in Roslyn, known for its authentic, gourmet Greek seafood, provided the backdrop for a private dinner in honor of the arrival of His All Holiness, Bartholomew, Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch, a.k.a. The Green Patriarch. He is the spiritual leader of 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide.

Joined by Archbishop Demetrios of America and hundreds of orthodox clergy, His All Holiness enjoyed Limani's savory Greek spreads, Greek salad, octopus, and fried calamari to start. His main course was red snapper. He enjoyed the dessert sampling including traditional Greek baklava, ekmek, karidopita and fresh fruit.

To read a review of this gourmet Greek restaurant, please go to Limani restaurant review.