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FEEL FREE TO UNCORK A BOTTLE
One of the pleasures of Orto, the new Italian restaurant in Miller Place, is its corkage fee. Zero.
Yes, there's no charge if you bring your own wine. They even provide the corkscrew. This civilized gesture extends to Orto's siblings, Kitchen A Bistro and Kitchen A Trattoria (which doesn't have a bar) in St. James.
Lately, you might find corkage fees in the $15-to-$35 range. I've heard of a $100 corkage fee, too, which may be understandable if you're bringing in that 1945 Mouton-Rothschild. But, given the relentless markups that define so many wine lists, and the fact that reading the list from right to left is standard, the no-fee corkage makes a restaurant especially appealing, and frees up some cash to spend on an extra course or two.
Orto, 90 North Country Rd., Miller Place; 631-473-0014. -- PETER M. GIANOTTI
SOMETHING DIFFERENT
Recently, at House of Dosas in Hicksville, I had a new dish (for me): bisibila bath. This is a specialty of the Karnataka region in southwest India and, translated from the Kannada language, means "hot lentil rice," a pretty good description -- though hot in this case means spicy. It was tender and soupy, highly aromatic and punctuated by chopped vegetables.
While eating, I had the impression that bisibila bath was like a very loose risotto. But after doing some research, I see it is a far more complicated dish. It starts, as so many Indian dishes do, with spices being toasted in a pan to bring out their full flavor. Then vegetables, lentils and rice join in, water is added and everything is left to simmer into tenderness. Meanwhile, another batch of spices plus coconut and more lentils are toasted, then ground to a powder. This is added to the finished dish to thicken it slightly, and, I guess, to "kick it up a notch."
House of Dosas is at 416 S. Broadway, Hicksville, 516-938-7517. -- ERICA MARCUS
STOP AT THE FORK
"Bivio" means "fork in the road" in Italian, and it's a very apt name for this month-old Huntington restaurant: Bivio Ristorante Italiano is situated right where East Deer Park Road veers off from East Jericho Turnpike.
The restaurant is owned by Omar Ortega who was, for almost 15 years, the owner of Mario's in East Meadow. More recently, he worked as a manager -- and dining-room fixture -- at Luigi Q in Hicksville.
The cooking of chef Pastor Alfaro, formerly of Luigi Q and La Veranda in Glen Cove, is a decorous blend of Italian and Continental. Enjoyed on a recent visit: baby spinach salad with pancetta and ricotta, a special of rabbit alla cacciatora served over homemade pappardelle.
Bivio Ristorante is at 1801 E. Jericho Tpke., Huntington, 631-499-9133. -- Erica Marcus
