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HOLA, MONTAUK!

La Bodega, a new Puerto Rican-American restaurant in Montauk, is an ideal vantage point for checking out the local street scene. Settle into one of the comfortable booths and look out the expansive windows that line the curved outer wall. Or, claim a picnic table outdoors.

Chef and co-owner Jose Rodriguez has a bakery and restaurant in Puerto Rico. His Montauk menu combines Puerto Rican and American standards that go from breakfast to dinner and beyond. Friday and Saturday the place stays open long into the night, with a limited breakfast menu offered from 2 to 5 a.m.

For breakfast recently, I ordered a Puerto Rican specialty called avocado toast ($9) -- mashed avocado with honey and dried red pepper on house-baked Puerto Rican bread. Nice interplay among the smooth, the mellow, the spicy, the sweet and the crunchy. The healthy-sounding Maria bowl ($8.95) featured pineapple juice with açaí, mango, banana, shredded coconut, granola and honey. Also on the menu: mofongo, or mashed plantains and garlic with vegetables, pork or shrimp ($15.95 to $19.95) and a Cubano sandwich ($9.50).

La Bodega is at 752 Montauk Hwy., Montauk, 631-668-8338. -- JOAN REMINICK

PORT WASHINGTON HAS A LESS FORMAL ADDITION

The Haven Grill is the new restaurant across from the Port Washington railroad station, succeeding Cafe Capriccio.

Chef-owner Elio Sobrero, who for decades prepared continental and Italian favorites at stellar restaurants that included La Primavera in East Hills and Capriccio in Jericho, said the eatery will have a less formal approach and will emphasize grilled, lighter fare at more moderate prices.

His new menu includes grilled steaks, pork chops with vinegar peppers, barbecued chicken, grilled salmon, swordfish and scrod, roasted Long Island duck and a Kobe-style beef burger, as well as pastas and salads.

Sobrero added that his signature desserts, from the towering meringue bombe to the dense, decadent chocolate velvet cake, will stay.

The Haven Grill is open six days for dinner. It's closed on Mondays.

The Haven Grill, 14 Haven Ave., Port Washington; 516-938-0220. -- PETER M. GIANOTTI

N.Y. TASTING ROOM

Long Island Wine & Spirit Merchants in Commack has an impressive selection of international and domestic bottles. Recently, the store opened a new room dedicated to the wines and spirits of New York State. Wine buyer Adam Schneider said he is stocking wines from more than 20 Long Island vineyards and 30 from upstate -- in all, more than 100 different bottles.

To celebrate, this Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m., Miguel Martin, winemaker at Palmer Vineyards in Riverhead, will be offering tastes of Palmer wines.

Long Island Wine & Spirits Merchants is at 1171 Jericho Tpke., Commack, 631-343-7200. -- ERICA MARCUS