Clearwater Charlie's

Fancy-schmancy isn't the name of the game at Clearwater Charlie's in Bellmore. Its motto -- "Eat it and beat it" -- tells you as much. Rather, what co-owner Louis Demirakos is going for is a "quick casual" concept, as envisioned by his late father, Charlie, who dreamed of opening just such a restaurant in Clearwater, Fla.

In Bellmore, virtually everything is done to order. Make your selections at the counter and grab a lobster-shaped pager. When it vibrates and flashes, dinner (or lunch) is served. Dinnerware is paper, utensils plastic.

GOOD TIME CHARLIE

Not many places offer a trio of fine fish tacos for $5.75. These come on soft corn tortillas and are topped with avocado and slaw. There's also a highly respectable lobster roll (100 percent lobster plus mayo, olive oil, lemon and spices on a hot dog bun) for $10. True, the lobster salad may be a little too cold, but I've had colder elsewhere at over twice the price.

One dinner starts with a bright Greek-style "Louie" salad, made with crisp lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, pitted Kalamata olives, feta and a very good red wine vinaigrette. A hearty gyro sandwich on grilled flatbread comes crowned with a little of that salad (and, oddly, some fries -- commercial ones) as well as tzatziki sauce.

The satisfying chicken and sausage "gumbo-laya" is highly seasoned rather than fiery-hot. An unconventional (but successful) sandwich is the catfish Reuben, cornbread-coated fried fish with Jack cheese, coleslaw and tartar sauce on grilled rye. A side of sweet potato puffs (not house-made) is just a tad too sweet -- even so, I can't resist them.

SORRY, CHARLIE

The first bite of the foot-long hot dog reveals it to be too cold. I send it back, but instead of a replacement, the remainder of the dog is returned, reheated. Turkey chili is surprisingly bland, a salmon burger is a bit underseasoned, a trifle fishy. A crabcake sandwich harbors a mushy-textured (real, not imitation) crabcake.

As of now, there's no dessert, but that situation should change shortly.

BOTTOM LINE

Eat it and beat it.