Places: The Italy in New York

6.29.2011

Yes! Really. There is an Italy in New York City and I'm not talking about "Little Italy" in Manhattan (although it has some great restaurants and Italian festivals.) This is the Italy of the Bronx- commonly referred to as Arthur Ave.

My first trip to Arthur Ave was only a few months ago with Matt and some of his family. They are pros. They knew all the great butchers, bakeries, pizza places, restaurants, and pasta shops- there are multiple specialty shops for each specialty and I'm fairly sure that they're all pretty amazing.

After learning where to park (potential nightmare) and where to shop I felt confident enough to venture over to the Italy of NY with Marissa to pick up some birthday presents for our mom. Birthday presents in the form of food.. for all of us to enjoy.. pretty great idea, I must say.


We left this morning around 10:15am and arrived before 11am.. parking around that time on a weekday seems to be a good bet. We fed the meter and walked around, shopped, and ate until around 2:15pm. Parking on a Saturday, no matter what time, is.. not fun.


Eat..

  • Umbertos Clam house - the 2 food photos above are from Umbertos.. I had the homemade lobster ravioli. ahhmazing.
  • Full Moon Pizza- I am yet to taste this famous pizza, but I've smelled it and heard wonderful things
  • Trattoria Zero Otto Nove- such a gorgeous atmosphere (kind of like you're outside, but you're inside) with delicious food 
  • Roberto's - probably the most famous restaurant in the area, but I've never been. There is no menu and no prices. The waiter will tell you what they have and you'll get the bill at the end. If I ever get there I'll fill you in on how that works (confusing, no??)


Shop:

  • Madonia Brothers Bakery- for biscotti and cannoli (I'm betting the other baked goods are great, too)

  • Teitel Brothers- for fresh pasta and parmesan cheese
  • Casa Della Mozzarella- for fresh, fresh, fresh delicious mozzarella cheese
  • Vincent's- for meat- mmm sweet or spicy sausage- at amazing prices
  • There are a bunch of cute gift type shops that have tons of Italian imports 


Park:

  • Street parking in the area if you can deal (I'd rather not unless there are 2 open spots in a row.. I hate parallel parking.)
  • Municipal Parking Lot! Yay! It's off Arthur Ave between 186th and Crescent. There's a man there that is totally not employed by the parking lot.. but he will help you find a spot if it's a busy time. Apparently he's always there and people tip him for helping out.

Generations of Italian families have lived in the area and you'll hear the language as you walk down the street. I love it. Next time your in NYC you should totally venture over to the Bronx to dine and shop on Arthur Ave. It's also 2 seconds from the Bronx Zoo and the botanical gardens! 3 great reasons to visit one of the other boroughs. 





21 comments:

  1. How gorgeous! I love it how different cultures have their specials little areas. And i hope you bought that giant nutella because that it AWESOME!!

    carla xx.

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  2. Ah, I didn't know there was an "Italy" in the Bronx! And CHEESE, SARAH, CHEESE. I hope you and Marisa bought your mum so good Italian food. :) I did have a question that I've been meaning to ask an experienced blogger....how do you get those little tabs underneath your header?! LOL sounds so silly, but I've been tinkering all day and I fear I'm rather thick. xD

    Aside from me being confused! I'm glad you shared this little tidbit of NYC with us. I've only been there once and Manhattan was CRAZY. I'd love to see something more relaxed and of course, more food-oriented. ;D

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  3. I want that humongous nutella. Seriously. I'm only ever able to find the jippy tiny jars at Walmart. :(

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  4. FUN! I was wondering where that giant tub of nutella came from. hahaha!

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  5. that is a huuuuge nutella (and that was the biggest comment of today!) haha ... oh i'm not the only one commenting that, feeling better now.

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  6. I feel like I should live in New York precisely because of this post. I'm not Italian (German, hollaaaa), but I could live everyday on Italian food only. I belong here.

    http://www.glamkittenslitterbox.com/
    Twitter: @GlamKitten88

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  7. OMG Cheese!!!!!!! And broccoli pasta! And...the most giant thing of Nutella ever! So jealous that all looks deeeelish.

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  8. yum yum yum. I LOVE FOOD PICTURES! Looks like fun, and great suggestions. I wish you could write a little segment about a bunch of different cities around the US it would be fun to read!

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  9. Holy ginormous Nutella! haha
    I never even knew that there was a mini-italy in the Bronx. Im excited to go check it out!
    Thanks for this post.

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  10. I love little italy- so jealous of your food crawl. :) makes me hungry.

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  11. i wish i was there! Xhttp://stumbleduponablog.blogspot.com/

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  12. Oh my gosh I love New York more and more every day, I swear.

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  13. I love that first photo! looks like such a fun day!!!

    The House of Shoes

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  14. Oh! and I forgot to tell you the Easy A quote was from the beginning when she was talking about how books in high school always relate to adolescent drama "who am I? what does it all mean? blehhh." Hahaha.

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  15. What a nice little post! Love it! I know nothing at all about NYC and I love getting to know more bits and pieces of it! Your sister's hat is really cute...I'm on the lookout for one now! haha Thanks so much for sharing these insights with us! :) -Lo

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  16. Wow... what a great find. If I ever go to NYC or the surrounding areas, I will have to come research your blog!

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  17. You are kind of my new blog obsession...
    thanks for you spot on comment and insight on my last post

    Ilove that you drew/made everything on your site. So talented

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  18. Ohh, all that cheese looks really good!

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  19. What a pleasure to look at a piece of my Italy in NYC :) That huge Nutella is fantastic ^-^

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  20. Reading this made me feel proud to be Italian :)

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