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ZUCCHINI TREATS ARE ADDICTIVE

The new Cucina di Vargas enlivens the Five Towns restaurant scene with a brand of family-style Italian dining that's big on both quality and value.

At dinner recently, one taste of chef Narciso Vargas' crisp, nutty, highly addictive fried zucchini ($8.95) was followed by another and then another. A half order was enough for four. So, too, was a half order of the very good chopped Italian salad with salami and provolone ($10.95). While the meaty sauce in the penne Bolognese ($11.95, half order) hadn't been lightened with cream, as a proper Bolognese demands, it was, nonetheless, vibrant and satisfying. So, too, was a dish of roasted chicken pieces ($17.95, half order).

Cucina di Vargas is at 12 Franklin Ave., Hewlett, 516-596-7260.

RAW AND ORGANIC

IN ROSLYN

Organic Avenue, a leading provider of organic, cold-pressed juices, raw-food cleansing programs and natural beauty products, has opened in Roslyn.

Heat is the enemy of nutrients, according to Organic Avenue. So all of its food is produced in a 19,000-square-foot kitchen in Long Island City, where the temperature is kept between 38 and 42 degrees. Rather than using a conventional juicer, Organic Avenue uses a high-tech hydraulic press.

The nutrition doesn't come cheap. A 14-ounce bottle of Green Love (pear, lemon, kale, Swiss chard, spinach, parsley, collard greens and romaine) is $9.

Organic Avenue is at 250 S. Service Rd., Roslyn Heights, 347-244-7920.

COOKING FROM SCRATCH

Two brothers, Josh and Dave Cook, are co-owners of the new Cook's Scratch Kitchen & Bakery, which replaces 1014 Coffee House in Northport. Josh Cook said the place is both a cafe and bakery that serves breakfast and lunch. Just about everything served is made "from scratch."

Chef Stacey McDevitt is roasting, curing and smoking all the meat, poultry and fish. Even the pickles and sauerkraut are house-made, as are English muffins and all manner of baked goods.

On the menu: an egg and Cheddar sandwich on a house-made buttermilk biscuit ($5), steel-cut Irish oatmeal ($5), two kinds of Reuben sandwiches -- one made with corned beef, the other with pork ($10.50 each) -- and a salmon Niçoise salad ($10).

Cook's Scratch Kitchen & Bakery is at 1014 Fort Salonga Rd., Northport, 631-651-5480, cookskitchenny.com.