Bellissimo

Amato's, the longtime Amityville landmark, is gone. The restaurant, the building, the works -- arrivederci.

It was an old-fashioned Italian restaurant, remembered for husky plates and an atmosphere that years ago suggested Sunday dinners gone by.

Bellissimo, the current occupant of the site, plays the same theme but adds new notes.

The performance takes place on a stage that has been built to order, in a dining area that could have been designed by a Renaissance version of Fred Flintstone.

There's lots of embedded rock and solidity here. And Bellissimo has a certain formality. If you're looking for a more casual approach, consider their popular pizza eatery, in the next room.

Those pies are quite good. The four-cheese number with Parmesan, mozzarella, fontina and Gorgonzola; and the white pizza, with ricotta, mozzarella and garlic, stand out. But you're advised they're not available in the main room.

There, the cheese lover is left with a dark and dry mozzarella in carrozza. Instead, try the bresaola, or cured beef, accompanied by shavings of Parmesan cheese, atop a mesclun salad.

Baby greens are the bed for smoky, bacon-wrapped prawns, finished with a satisfying mustard sauce. The seafood salad, with squid, conch, shrimp and octopus, is a respectable selection, dressed with olive oil and lemon juice.

But the strudel di pesce is dull stuff, with overcooked shellfish and vegetables trapped in phyllo and given the final blow by a sad cream sauce. Baked clams oreganata suffer from an overdose of salt. Fried calamari fall short of crisp.

You're better off with a snappy Caesar salad, or the mesclun salad with poached pears, goat cheese, and toasted walnuts, in a raspberry vinaigrette. The house's pasta e fagioli leads the soups, along with a modest stracciatelle, the Roman egg-drop soup. Potato-leek soup, however, unfortunately has the consistency of porridge.

Pastas aren't Bellissimo's strength. Orecchiette alla Barese, or the little catcher's mitts tossed with sausage, broccoli rabe, garlic and olive oil, is surprisingly bland. Rigatoni ripieni, stuffed with cheese and sauced with tomatoes, seem glued together.

Things improve with linguini and manila clams in a garlic-parsley broth; and the straightforward penne with a sauce of tomato and basil. The kitchen prepares a pleasing, creamy risotto with porcini mushrooms, that's ideal on a cold night.

Mignonetti di manzo al pepe translates into a tender filet mignon crusted with black pepper, in a brandy-cream sauce. Just as flavorful is the thick, center-cut pork chop alla Roberto, which means a mantle of garlic and peppers, vinegary and right. The grilled strip steak and the seared New Zealand lamb juice up the competition.

Tripe casalinga is a fragrant, hearty and homey production, with potatoes, peas and tomato sauce. Chicken scarpariello, while not a big, rustic course, is commendable, with sausage and a garlic-and-white wine sauce.

Skip the saltimbocca. The Roman veal dish, with prosciutto and sage, is more leathery than a Thom McAnn special. Vitello alla rustica, under a cover of arugula, endive, radicchio and mozzarella, is about what you'd expect.

Salmon in mustard sauce is the basic, reliable choice. Likewise, the shrimp scampi-style, in a garlic-white wine sauce. The zuppa di pesce fra diavolo, while ample, is unevenly cooked and short on firepower.

For dessert, consider the cannoli -- on the sweet side, but worthwhile -- and the mild tiramisu.

And for old time's sake, maybe they'll bring back that gratis bowl of fruit, which used to end the meal at Amato's.

Reviewed by Peter M. Gianotti, 1/09/05.