Hot posts from our daily blog
CELEBRATING THE ORIENT
Few reopenings or debuts on Long Island have been as anticipated by diners as the return of The Orient in Bethpage. The popular Chinese restaurant had been closed for renovation, shutting one of the very few oases for the great cuisine in either Nassau or Suffolk.
To judge by the 90-minute wait on a recent, rainy weekend night, you can be sure the pent-up demand continues.
More important, it's worth the wait and more. The reborn restaurant's dining room looks sleek and streamlined, a bit more contemporary than before. But the prices remain very fair considering the quality. Unless you're going for lobster, filet mignon, shark's fin or something particularly exotic, figure about $35 a person for an ample, satisfying meal. The budget-minded can find plenty at less than that.
The Orient really is two restaurants in one. You can order all the familiar stuff, from fine cold noodles with sesame sauce and scallion pancakes to basic chow mein and egg drop soup.
But what makes The Orient special are owner Tommy Tan's specials. There's usually one or more of seafood, chicken, beef or pork. Sliced, delicate flounder paired with yellow leeks and spurred by a rush of ginger is one of the winners. Likewise, the remarkable, big shrimp in a rich, ivory mayonnaise sauce, surrounded by walnuts. And the kitchen definitely knows dumplings, steamed or fried.
The Orient, 623 Hicksville Rd., Bethpage; 516-822-1010 or 516-822-5610. -- Peter M. Gianotti
MUNCH ON WHEELS
Food trucks, all the rage in big cities, have pulled into Long Island. Four Food Studio in Melville joins North Fork Table & Inn in Southold as a serious restaurant serving grab-and-go food from a large motor vehicle.
Ben Durham, executive chef at Four, said The Munch Box is a prime source of sliders and salads.
"It's a quick, easy, fun thing," said Durham, adding that people from surrounding businesses can easily pick up lunch and take it back to the office.
That's precisely what some friends and I did, opting for a "Munch Box" assortment of 12 sliders, accompanied by two orders of terrific hand-cut fries and two soft drinks. The price was $30. A la carte, the sliders go from $3 each (or two for $5, three for $7).
Tops was the "simple" slider, a burger ground at the restaurant and topped with American cheese and ketchup, served on a mini potato bun. A Caprese slider featured a gorgeous yellow Heirloom tomato topped with mozzarella, basil and a balsamic vinaigrette. There was a pulled pork slider with crispy onions and barbecue sauce, a meatloaf slider (nice flavor, but a bit too dense), a crispy chicken slider, and, as the daily special, a fried fish slider topped with slaw.
The menu, Durham said, is still evolving.
To order for pick up, call 631-577-4444. He added that if business is steady, the truck, now open noon to 4 p.m. weekdays, will keep on trucking through the winter, closing only when the weather demands.
Four Food Studio is at 515 Broadhollow Rd., Melville. -- Joan Remick
