Chef/owner Eddie Figueroa was a teenager when he started working at Augie's in 1992. The restaurant's owner, Augie Vitello, only 26 years old at the time, made him a proposal he couldn't refuse. "Just watch what I do," he said. "Ask no questions; watch, learn, and one day you'll have your own restaurant."

When Vitello opened Augie's in Larchmont in 1990, the entrees on its menu could be ordered as individual-size portions or as big, bold platters intended for sharing. Although a main-course platter cost twice as much as an individual plate, it was voluminous, having a lot more than double the amount of  food served on a plate. What wasn't eaten was cheerfully packaged in Augie-doggie bags to take home. As time passed, orders for platters began to outnumber orders for individual-size portions, and starting in 1995, individual-size main courses were no longer offered.

The trumpeting elephant depicted on Augie's menu is the first clue that monstrous amounts of food will be coming your way, rivaling the portions served at Carmine's in Manhattan.

Carmine's is an Italian-American establishment long famous for generously sized family portions. It was opened by Artie Cutler on the Upper West Side on August 14, 1990, just a few weeks before Augie's entered business on September 10, 1990. Both Carmine's and Augie's have engaging atmospheres and comfortable old-neighborhood decor giving the impression they have been around forever.

Figueroa's main extra-curricular interest at New Rochelle High School had been drama, but the job market for restaurant workers was more promising than the one for actors, so he gladly accepted Vitello's offer. Figueroa related that his first assignment in the kitchen was washing dishes. But six months later, he was given a chance to learn his new trade.

Vitello was true to his word. During the next 14 years, Figueroa learned not only to cook but to shop for ingredients, tend bar and manage a restaurant. He rose from dish washer to prep cook, salad chef, pasta chef and, eventually, to sous chef. Figueroa bought the restaurant in 2006 from a third party who had purchased it from Vitello.

Best sellers on the menu

The current menu offers a wide variety of giant veal and chicken platters, more than 30 pastas, eggplant parmigiana, shrimp scampi and shrimp parmigiana. The entrees are accompanied by mixed vegetables, pasta marinara or pasta with garlic oil.

A highlight of the pasta list is undoubtedly Zuppa de Pesce—a busy combination of linguine, shrimp, calamari, clams, scallops and mussels in a Fra Diavolo sauce.

But a dish called The Kitchen Sink is Figueroa's favorite and is extremely popular with customers. It combines penne with shrimp, sausage, prosciutto and chicken in a tomato cream sauce.  "It was Augie's idea," Figueroa said. "He introduced it in 1996 and it was a big hit from the start; it has been on the menu ever since." 

Figueroa said that a popular appetizer among regular patrons is Little Neck clams and mussels in white wine garlic sauce. A new penne rapidly winning over customers comes with peas, prosciutto, garlic and Alfredo sauce.

"The menu hasn't changed much over the years," Figueroa pointed out. "Chicken Sorrentino with prosciutto, eggplant and mozzarella has been on it since my first day here 18 years ago."  

Most days of the week have a special offer:

• Tuesday - Appetizer, salad, entree, dessert, coffee or tea ($32.95 for two people)
• Wednesday - Unlimited draft beer, wine or soda (one entree per two people required)
• Thursday - House salad and garlic bread with any pasta (one entree per two people required)
• Friday - Unlimited draft beer, wine or soda with meal (one entree per two people required)
• Sunday - Meatballs and sausage, pasta, salad and garlic bread ($23.95 for two people)

Caterer for champions

Photos of major league baseball players hang on Augie's walls. The restaurant was chosen as the caterer for the New York Yankees organization in 1996 over competing restaurants from The Bronx. Before every home game at Yankee Stadium that year, Augie's prepared a pre-game dinner for manager Joe Torre's players and owner George Steinbrenner's key staff members. The Yankees won the World Series in 1996 by winning four consecutive games from the Atlanta Braves after dropping the first two.

Augie's returned as official caterer in 1997; the Bronx Bombers didn't do quite as well in the post season, losing the division series to the Cleveland Indians. But Augie's brought better luck in 1998; the Yankees finished the season with a franchise-best won-lost record of 114-48, finished 22 games ahead of the second-place Boston Red Sox, and went on to sweep the San Diego Padres in the World Series. 

"Whoever delivered the food for the Yankees got to stay to watch the game," recalled Figueroa. 

Accordion music is usually played on Friday and Saturday from 7 to 10 p.m. Occasionally, a guitarist/vocalist is booked instead.

Figueroa is not related to the Ed Figueroa, who pitched for the Yankees from 1976 to 1980.

Vitello, born and raised in The Bronx, is still in the restaurant business. In 2003, he moved his family upstate, and the following year opened Augie's in Ballston Spa, a five-minute drive from Saratoga Springs.  

Augie's is located at 2417 Boston Post Rd., Larchmont, N.Y. It opens at 4 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and at 2 p.m. on Sunday. Reservations are accepted for five or more people. 914-834-3800. www.augiesitalian.com.