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Lee's Diner reborn as Italian restaurant
Raviolis stuffed with lobster and scallops and topped with jumbo shrimp and a red sauce is an occasional special from Amici’s chef Sean Donohue. STEPHEN HOLMAN / Tulsa World
By Staff Reports
Published: 10/29/2009 2:21 AM
Last Modified: 10/29/2009 6:28 AM
Oldtimers wouldn't recognize the place. The building that housed Lee's Diner in Prattville for nearly 30 years today is home to a spiffy new restaurant called Amici's Italian Eatery.
Lee's Diner had survived a succession of owners before finally closing its doors for good earlier this year. That's when chef Sean Donohue and business partner Mike Carter stepped in to perform an extreme makeover.
"Mike and I had discussed opening a restaurant, and when we got word Lee's Diner was up for lease we decided it would be a good location for us," Donohue said. "It took us three months to get it ready, and we've been open about four months."
The transformation is impressive. Amici's (Uh-MEE-cheez) has a Tuscan look with a copper pan set on one wall, Italian prints, four chandeliers, granite-like tables (mostly high top) and black cushioned chairs. A wallpaper border of grape vines is set against red walls.
The moderately priced menu of traditional Italian fare looked inviting when four of us visited on a recent rainy evening.
Marsala di Digione del Porco (pork medallions with Dijon Marsala sauce) probably was our favorite entree that night, but it was an appetizer, funghi farciti (stuffed mushrooms) that stole the show.
The big portobello mushroom ($5.95) had a strong earthy character with a cheesy stuffing and sauce seasoned with rosemary, sage and dill. The flavors in this dish blended beautifully.
The bruschetta appetizer ($3.95) also was a winner. It included four
large pieces of toasted homemade bread with a topping of onions, green bell peppers, shredded mozzarella and a ton of diced tomatoes in a tangy vinaigrette.
These appetizers, along with a loaf of sourdough bread served with butter that had been doctored with parsley and garlic, had us almost full before the gigantic entrees arrived (to-go box please).
The three pork medallions ($12.95) — more the size of a cowboy's belt buckle — had been oven roasted and topped with a flavorful Marsala sauce that picked up a little zing from the Dijon mustard.
A special that night was seafood raviolis ($13.99) that included raviolis stuffed with lobster and scallops then topped with three big shrimp and a red sauce. It came with a side of fettuccine alfredo, and by accident we found we liked the seafood better with the alfredo sauce than we did the red sauce.
The big, thick, meat-loaded lasagna ($10.95) had a good flavor and was enough to feed three people. It also came with the side of fettuccine alfredo.
The success of the spaghetti-and-meatballs ($7.95) depends on the style you prefer. If you like the old-world, slow-cooked, meaty sauce (some call it gravy) with thick-textured meatballs then it would be best to order something else. If you are a fan of fresh tomatoey sauce, then this one's for you, except the meatballs were a bit mushy.
I was told later that the most popular dish has been the chicken Sinatra ($8.95), a mix of sauteed chicken breasts, mushrooms, onions, garlic and shallots with angel hair pasta in a cilantro sauce.
A Caesar salad ($3.95) was fine with romaine, shredded mozzarella and a hint of anchovy, but the garden salads were not particularly memorable.
Tiramisu ($4.95) included layers of espresso-infused sponge cake with mascarpone cheese and cream cheese topped with a dusting of cocoa, and was the favorite over cannoli ($4.95) that featured two pastry shells filled with sweetened ricotta and dusted with confectioner's sugar.
Among a variety of lunch choices not found on the dinner menu are rotini salad, two-foot meatball sub, Italian grinder and Italian sausage dog.
Amici's offers beer and wine, although the wine list could stand an upgrade. Even a table chianti or an inexpensive lambrusco would help.
Donohue said he has been an executive chef for 23 years, mostly with the Sheraton hotel chain, and had moved back to the Sand Springs area to be closer to his two children. His ex-wife, Jennifer, is a manager ("We're best friends," Donohue said.)
Sous chefs Darren Braeshears and Anthony Hiltzman both have culinary degrees. Laura Holt is catering manager.
Donohue graduated from culinary school in Dublin, Ireland, were he resided with his family from the sixth grade through college.
Something special
Amici’s Italian Eatery
is running three weekly
specials:
Sunday-Monday nights:
All-you-can-eat lasagna or
spaghetti-and-meatballs
for $9.95.
Sunday: Free dessert
with entree purchase and
children eat for $1.99.
Tuesday night: Dinner for
two for $14.95 with choice
of chicken Sinatra, pepperoni
spaghetti, fettuccine
alfredo, chicken puttanesca,
penne jambalaya
or pork medallions.
AMICI’S ITALIAN
EATERY
1½ W. 41st St., Sand Springs
245-3224
Food: Italian
Price: $7.95 (spaghetti-andmeatballs)
to $16.95 (16-
ounce bone-in ribeye);
lunch entrees, $4.99 to
$11.99
Credit cards: All major
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m.
to 10 p.m. Friday-Saturday
Food: 
Atmosphere:
Service:
(One is fair, two good,
three very good and four
excellent.)
By Staff Reports
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