A few weeks ago when I was praising the small mom & pop businesses that are such a vital part of Sag Harbor's personality, I accidentally left Conca d'Oro Restaurant and Pizzeria off the list. Ouch! Considering that I eat at least one meal at this Main Street establishment every week, that's quite an oversight on my part. My apologies to the owners and the staff.

In a way though, it was a good thing that I left them off the list, because now I can write about them today, without feeling that I'm plugging one business too often. For those of my readers who haven't been to Sag Hampton, let me describe Conca d'Oro. In appearance and menu it is a typical Italian-American restaurant/pizzeria. There's one long, narrow room, with pizza ovens and a counter on the left, and a seating area on the right. Except at the front, by the street-side windows, it's pretty dark. In the back, where it's darkest, there's a separate seating area with candles in wine bottles for those wanting to be waited upon. Design features are minimal -- a few posters and chianti bottles, and fake plants about covers it.

But, it's not the decor that draws the crowds, and crowds there be. It's the food, and the friendly atmosphere. As I mentioned, the menu is fairly typical for restaurants of this type, with the mainstays being pizza, hot and cold hero sandwiches, plus the usual assortment of red-sauced dinner entrees: veal, chicken and eggplant parmigiana, manicotti, ravioli and other pasta dishes, with or without meat, and a few house specials. And, while I could riff on the pleasures of dining in a neighborhood hangout, where you'll always run into several folks you know, today I want to focus on that seemingly ordinary food, 'cause a recent experience at another Italian dining establishment has made me much more appreciative of what Conca d'Oro has to offer.

A couple of weeks ago, my wife and I, and another couple went to the annual orchid show at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx (spectacular -- more than worth the trip, and the hefty entrance fee). Those of you who've been to the Botanical Garden or the nearby Bronx Zoo may know that both of these institutions are only a few blocks away from the Bronx's Little Italy, also known as Arthur Avenue. I only discovered this fact recently, when I heard Arthur Avenue being praised for its fabulous "real" Italian restaurants. Prime among these was Dominick's.

Since our trip would stretch over two mealtimes, we decided that for one of those we'd dine in Little Italy. We didn't plan on eating at Dominick's though, because we'd heard that it was very popular, with waits of up to two hours to get in. Instead, we picked another eatery -- also highly rated, but not quite as popular as Domminck's. Our plan was to have lunch there, but we arrived a bit early and our chosen restaurant was not yet open. Being on somewhat of a tight schedule, we couldn't wait, and so set off down Arthur Avenue hoping to find some good Italian home cooking. After passing by several establishments, also closed, we found ourselves outside Dominick's, and although they didn't officially open for another half hour, a waiter waved us in, so in we went.

The good news was that since they weren't yet officially open, there was no wait.  There's also, no menu, no checks, and no private tables. All seating at Dominick's is family style. While you cozy up to the new friends seated at your table, the waiter recites the various dishes that are available for each course. You have to pay close attention, as the list is quite long. No prices are mentioned. I guess you could ask, but that would take some of the fun out of the experience. So, you order, and hope you've got enough cash to cover what you've eaten 'cause they don't take credit cards. While it may not sound like it, it was a lot of fun. As the various dishes we ordered arrived, we watched Dominick's fill up with the most amazing assortment of New York characters I've ever seen -- and I've lived in New York. It was like a casting call for a movie about the Bronx. On top of that, almost everyone seemed to know each other, not unlike our experience when eating locally at Conca d'Oro. By the time we'd finished our meal, there was indeed a long line of people waiting for tables.

So that was the good part. The highly praised, authentic Italian cuisine, on the other hand -- not so much. It wasn't bad, exactly, just disappointing. I won't bore you with the details. We skipped dessert and escaped with a bill of $58.00 for four, which our waiter delivered verbally. Not a rip off, and we did have a good time, so, all-in-all, a mostly positive experience.

Yet -- and here's the good news for all you Sag Hampton residents -- gustatorialy, Dominick's was no Conca d'Oro. While not haute cuisine, the food at Conca d'oro is consistently good, and quite a bit better than what we had at the Bronx's best "authentic" Italian restaurant. Score one for Sag Hampton, and thank you Conca d'Oro for continuing to provide Italian food-loving Sag Hamptonites with a reasonably-priced, casual alternative for very tasty family dining. By the way, I highly recommend the eggplant parmigiana, and did I mention how great the orchid show was? Here are a couple of photos I took there: