SEAFOOD DISCOVERY: Jeff’s Seafood – a mainstay for fresh seafood in Halesite – has brought a bit of the harborfront to Jericho Turnpike with the opening of a store at Elwood Road and Jericho Turnpike. With seafood as fresh and reliable as the mother store, Jeff’s Seafood & Galley (1965 Jericho Tpke, E. Northport 631-858-2393) goes one step further with the “galley” part. Actually, it’s a handful of varnished tables and a nautical mural where Elwood insiders have learned is the place for inexpensive, simply prepared fresh seafood. Appetizers include steamers, clams on the half shell, meaty crab cakes and clams oreganata. Fried fish, clams or scallops can be enjoyed as a sandwich or plate, and at $11.95, the lobster roll may be the best bargain in town. Broiler specialties include salmon, swordfish, tuna, seabass, shrimp or scallops, and seasonal catch-of-the-day, prepared with your choice of miso glaze, mint gremolato, New Orleans or scampi style. Tell them the Foodies sent you.

TAKEOUT SCRAMBLE: With the closing of Renaissance Gourmet in Huntington village, working Foodies are scrambling for new take-out sources that are convenient, and more importantly, good enough to feed your family. Our favorite is still Southdown Marketplace (205 Wall St., Huntington 631-351-9660) in the Southdown shopping center. Prepared takeout foods are good enough that you could get away with saying you cooked them yourself, and a variety of wraps and sandwiches and sushi means everyone can leave happy. Our favorite: the Mandarin Chicken salad, a crusty roll and a container of that can’t-get-enough-of-it wild rice salad.

HAUTE DOGS: Forget the controversy over whether Citicorp can still afford naming rights for the Mets new stadium, folks ought to be worrying that the hot dog could go the way of the Dodo there. Hoping to turn the stadium into a year-round attraction, the baseball franchise incorporated some upscale dining into the new Citifield stadium. Among the offerings, David Pasternack, who the New York Times called the undisputed king of seafood and whose partners in NYC-based Esca restaurant include celebrity chefs Mario Batali and Lydia Bastianich, will open a fish shack at Citifield. He’s thinking simple fare like fried clams and the like. Do what you like, guys, just as long as we can still load some kraut on a hot dog.

DROWN YOUR SORROWS: Recession woes aren’t keeping wine lovers away from their favorite vino. In fact, remodeling industry trade groups report that many homeowners are building wine rooms so they can enjoy their favorite vintages at home. And according to the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI), it’s one of those home improvements that holds its value when it’s time to sell your home.

PRIX FIXE: Ruvo Restaurant (63 Broadway, Greenlawn 631-261-7700) offers a dinner prix fixe menu, Sunday through Wednesday. Appetizer, entrée and dessert is $26 per person, plus tax and tip.

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