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CASUAL BRUNCH IN FLORAL PARK
Bob's Place, the casual American restaurant in Floral Park, has started offering brunch on Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The a la carte menu's price range is $5 to $9.50 for small plates; $10 to $19 for larger plates. The fare includes eggs Florentine, steak and eggs, grilled andouille sausage with braised red cabbage, fruit with yogurt, and baked goods.
Bob's Place, 230 Jericho Tpke., Floral Park; 516-354-8185, bobsplacerestaurant .com. - PETER M. GIANOTTI
HOMEY RETURN TO OYSTER BAY
Getting back to basics, The Homestead has returned to downtown Oyster Bay with lots of burgers, and beer to go with them.
It's a comfortable spot, with plenty of exposed brick and black-and-white images of the old town. These days, the bar is busy pouring very good Samuel Adams Octoberfest, among other beers and ales. And you can dive into a husky "meatloaf stack," a pile of slices, backed with slices of applewood-smoked bacon, caramelized onions, potatoes, broccoli and brown gravy.
The kitchen still offers pastas and steaks, as it did in the restaurant's Il Piatto period. You can pick pork osso buco without hesitation. But you'll feel more at Homestead with a pulled-pork sandwich buttressed with fries and coleslaw; the onion soup, under a lid of melted cheese; and, just because you're in his hometown, the Roosevelt salad, a bully combo of spinach, pear, pancetta, walnuts and blue cheese.
The Homestead, 107 South St., Oyster Bay; 516-922-9293, ilpiattooysterbay.com. - PETER M. GIANOTTI
MAINSTAY ON THE HARBOR
Grasso's, a relaxed and comfortable mainstay on Main Street in Cold Spring Harbor, has lots of options for diners, among them the bargain-priced bar menu.
Listening to vocalists, a pianist, a sax player, is a regular event at Grasso's. The best perch is the big, handsome bar. There, you may order a very good Caesar salad topped with a grilled chicken breast, a pulled-pork quesadilla, shrimp cocktail, an 8-ounce burger and more. It's all in tune.
In the dining room, the house's menu also has easygoing appeal. There's a good, slightly smoky calamari salad with tomatoes and arugula; and the Caesar salad, minus chicken, is fine, too. Try the tenderloin of pork, with a caramelized apple-and-onion compote and red cabbage. On a cool night, consider the autumn risotto, starring butternut squash, roasted apples, radicchio and chard.
Grasso's, 134 Main St., Cold Spring Harbor; 631-367-6060, trattoriagrasso .com. - PETER M. GIANOTTI
BARGAIN LUNCH IN BABYLON
Horace & Sylvia's Publick House in Babylon has a new lunch menu, offered Tuesday to Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. A marinated skirt steak sandwich goes for $6.50, a grilled salmon BLT is $8, and an 8-ounce sirloin burger is $5.
Horace & Sylvia's Publick House is at 100 Deer Park Ave., Babylon, 631-587-5081, horaceandsylvia.com. - JOAN REMINICK
