Undiscovered New York: Is the “Real” Little Italy in the Bronx?

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Welcome back to this week’s installation of Undiscovered New York. New York has a longstanding love affair with all things Italian. From the Feast of San Gennaro to some of the world’s best pizza outside Italy, to our town’s infatuation with the Cosa Nostra, it’s hard to deny that Italian culture has strongly influenced New York culture. In fact, many visitors come to New York specifically to check out Little Italy, a well-known strip of Italian restaurants and shops around the intersection of Mulberry and Grand Street in downtown Manhattan.

For those who came to check out Little Italy, have a cannoli and grab some calamari at Umberto’s, it’s certainly a fun time. Seems like a good dose of Italian culture, right? What if I were to tell you there’s another, some would even say better, Little Italy in New York? Well that’s just what I’m trying to tell you paisano, and it’s in the Bronx.

Curious? Why not click that link below and find out the story behind Arthur Avenue, New York’s other Little Italy.
What is it exactly?
When discussing the Bronx’s very own Little Italy, we’re generally talking about the intersections of 187th Street and Arthur Avenue also known as Belmont by locals. The area surrounding this intersection is a virtual feast of Italian American and immigrant culture in New York, offering a huge array of authentic Italian food markets, butcher shops, bakeries, old school red sauce joints and plenty of Italian gift shops.

Enough with the chit-chat, what can I eat?
If you like Italian food, welcome to paradise. Ground zero is probably the Arthur Avenue Retail Market, a one-stop Italian bazaar full of all kinds of hand-made Italian foodstuffs like sausages, olives and freshly made pasta. Once you’ve worked up an appetite (probably immediately) stop by Mike’s Deli for one their amazing sandwiches stuffed with Italian meats like prosciutto. Don’t forget to hit some of the other area favorites, including Teitel Brothers for Italian specialties like olives and anchovy paste, Terranova Bakery for some hearty Italian-style loaves, Calandra’s Cheese for some mozzarella, and Madonia Bros. for some superb cannoli filled on the spot.

What else should I check out?
The best part about Arthur Avenue is that you can make a day out of your visit. Not only is Arthur Avenue home to Italian culture – lately it has become home to a large populations of residents from Mexico, Kosovo, Montenegro and Albania. The Bronx Zoo and Bronx Botanic Gardens are also both within easy walking distance of Arthur Avenue. Both sites are as good a spot as any to take a leisurely stroll or nap and perhaps sleep off that sausage and peppers you had for lunch. And if it’s baseball season, you’re no more than a 10 minute subway ride from a Yankees game.

How do I get there?
Perhaps the closest subway stop to Arthur Avenue is the Fordham Road stop on the B and D lines. From there, you can jump on the Bx-12 or just walk your way a few minutes east. Another alternative is the Metro North Fordham Road Station, which stops nearby.

A very special “Thank You!” to Steph Goralnick, for all the awesome photos in this story.

Amazing Race 13 recap 8: Kazakhstan makes Bizarre Foods look tame

by Jamie Rhein on

India was easy compared to Kazakhstan–sort of. This week’s Amazing Race 13 was a glance into some of the more unusual aspects of Kazakh culture. As teams sped through the streets of Almaty, even though much of the city looked western and urban with architecture that reflects its former Soviet Union ties, the teams experienced more of Kazakhstan’s agricultural tradition than perhaps is apparent in Almaty daily life.

I’m not sure how much more I learned about Kazakhstan, but I do know what not to order in a restaurant. Plus, Borat made this country famous, something the teams referred to when they found out this is where they were heading.

Travel Tips:

  • If you’re a vegetarian don’t attempt to eat the rear end of a sheep
  • If you make a mistake, the quicker you admit it, the faster you can make up time
  • If you ask people directly for help, you’ll have much better luck than just randomly shouting out, “Can someone give us directions?”

Cultural traditions and Recap: If you find yourself in Delhi and want to head to Kazakhstan, there are three options: through Frankfurt; through Dubai; and through Moscow. In the Amazing Race, it doesn’t matter which flight you are on because when your team shows up to the Alel Agro Chicken Factory in the middle of the night, you’ll have to hang out until 7:30 a.m. when it opens. That means the team that went through Dubai (Andrew & Dan) had time to get there by the time the gate opened. As a bonus, the sunrise over a chicken farm was lovely.

Once the gate opened, the first task of the day was the mad dash to the clue box. Nick, in true competitive spirit, snatched a clue right out of Andrew’s hand, thus propelling Nick & Starr towards the Fast Forward with Terrence & Sarah close behind.

While these two teams tried to down soup made from the butt end of a sheep as belly dancers danced, the other teams donned white jumpsuits, masks, shoe coverings and gloves in order to find one of seven golden eggs among the 30,000 chickens that were milling about the chicken shack.

As the chickens clucked and pecked, one person from each team cajoled the chickens to move in order to find one of the prized eggs. As the team members searched, the other team members clutched their masks to their faces and shouted encouragement. Although I wondered about the stench, I’d rather have done this then the Fast Forward.

Downing the soup was a dreadful process that probably Andrew Zimmern of Bizarre Foods would have had trouble with. Both Nick and Starr tried not to barf with each bite while Terrence tried not to barf as soon as he eyed the guy eating the sheep’s head. Terrence, a vegetarian hadn’t eaten meat for 15 years.

Sarah gamely scarfed her gross looking soup down, but it was too much for Terrence. Why they didn’t give up sooner? I have no idea. Instead, they watched Nick and Starr almost make it to the last bite before they headed back to the chicken factory to look for their golden egg. I was curious about what else the restaurant served. Here’s a link to other food descriptions that sound much better, except I would not want to eat sheep’s head.

As soon as each team found their golden egg, they hopped into a giant crane truck with a driver who was to take them through the city to Koktobe Arch at the foothills of the Tienshan Mountains.

Dallas & Toni were off to the foothills first, while Dan & Andrew had the worst luck–again. Their driver had no idea where to go, and in their resulting miffed state, the guys had a hard time attracting positive energy and someone to give them directions. Instead they thought that the Kazakhs were the “worst people,” even though people in this country have a reputation for their great hospitality.

Toni and Dallas made it up the mountain first. There they were met by Mongol warriors dressed in traditional warrior attire riding on horseback. One of the warriors was a falconer who waited with them for a falcon to sweep in with the next clue held in its claws. That was cool. And, there was a brief glimpse of the beauty of the surrounding mountains. No time to linger, though.

Once teams got their next clue from the falcon, it was off to either dress up in a two person cow suit to find a glass of milk while walking through Almaty mooing at people, or to learn how to play a simple tune on two Kazakh instruments. Each team picked dressing up like a cow –even Sarah & Terrence once they backtracked from their failed attempt at the Fast Forward.

The cow costumes were part of a children’s puppet theater troupe. Dallas & Toni had a great time with their mooing and met with many laughs and smiles from the people they passed. Andrew & Dan, growing weary of each other, had a hard time getting people to help them with directions by continuing their poor tactic of yelling out something like, “Can someone help us?” It took awhile for them to attract help.

Tina & Ken found the milk stand fairly quickly, Tina downed a glass she found on the counter even though it was warm. Unfortunately, she didn’t notice the clue on the bottom of the glass. Off this pair went, searching for another milk stand before they figured out their mistake. Back to the stand they went to get their glass. Then they made the mistake of taking off their cow suit at the puppet theater before heading to the meat stall in the Zelyoniy Bazaar, even though, Toni & Dallas, seeing them, told them they needed the cow suit. The meat market person wouldn’t give them Tina & Ken the clue, so back they went to change into the cow suit once more.

By this time, Toni & Dallas had already found their last clue and were heading to the Pit Stop at Old Square where they came in second behind Nick & Starr.

By the end of the episode excitement ensued as Dan & Andrew messed up and took a cab to the Pit Stop from the meat market. Phil sent them back so they could return to the Pit Stop on foot. He told them to hurry. They hustled. The hustling paid off.

Who was eliminated?: Sarah & Terrence. Despite Sarah & Terrence’s success with each task once they gave up in the Fast Forward, it wasn’t enough for them to edge out Andrew & Dan. Andrew & Dan were ecstatic to find out they were still in the game.

Although disappointed, this couple who uses endearments for each other in about every sentence took the loss in stride. Terrence just can’t eat meat. It’s as simple as that.

Words of Travel Wisdom: Saying things like “Good job my love,” makes difficulties easier to take. Even if you don’t win a million dollars, traveling with the person you want in your life can give you great things and make a relationship stronger. Money can’t buy happiness. (It could help though, don’t you think?)

What Nick and Starr won: Horsepower wave runners. This is the first time a team has arrived at the Pit Stop in first place four times in a row.

Personally, I’d like another team to come in first once in awhile. I was also sad to see Terrence & Sarah go. I’ll miss hearing their endearments.

Naive Travelers Pay $200 for Snack in India

by Josh Lew on

It’s one of those tricks you learn in “How to Rip off Travelers 101”: act friendly, provide food or a service and then reveal that you are charging an exorbitant price. The traveler is at a disadvantage because they have already used the service or eaten the food. In general, they will pay all, or at least a major portion, of the price you are asking.

This is what happened to a Dutch couple recently in the Indian state of Bihar. They enjoyed some samosas (spicy, fried dumpling-like snacks), which usually cost well under $1 ($1=49 rupees). When they were finished, the proprietor of the market stall demanded payment of 10,000 rupees (just over $200). He claimed that the samosas were made with rare herbs that were natural aphrodisiacs. After arguing, the couple paid. It was an expensive but valuable lesson, right? Except that the couple went to the local police station and complained. The police made the samosa-maker return the money, except for 10 rupees, the actually price of the snacks.

[Via Reuters]

Check out the world’s dirtiest cities

New Haven ‘Restaurant Week’ is here and now

by Jerry Guo on

Now that my head is a bit less fuzzy (from drinking six glasses of Joe Bastianich‘s Italian wine, topped off by one–and that’s one too many–glass of grappa), I want to recap the wonderful wine dinner I had last night at Zinc.

Zinc is one of New Haven‘s brightest stars on the culinary scene. Now, this modest town, sandwiched between its big brothers Boston and New York, can easily be forgotten as an increasingly exotic and vibrant foodie destination. But I would say, like the general renaissance that is New Haven, this town’s food scene really deserves to be on the national radar (at least least on the radar if you’re in New England).

New Haven’s makeover could get bogged down by its reputation as one of the original homes of pizza (Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana) and hamburgers (Louis’ Lunch). That’s where the city’s first Restaurant Week comes in–but more on that later and how you can get some of the country’s best dinners, including what the New York Times called the best Spanish restaurant in the states, for $29.

Take Zinc, which serves modern American cuisine that chef Denise Appel (and co-owner) describes as “market inspired and globally infused.” What sets this place apart is the cuisine is top-rated and sourced from local ingredients. That, however, doesn’t mean you’re just left with potatoes and whatever else Connecticut grows (I’m not even sure we grow potatoes).
Last night’s four-course meal started with an airy Bastianich Rosato from Friuli, Italy (his family’s hometown). The first course was a Maine Diver sea scallop (paired with a Sauvignon Blanc and Picolit, also from Friuli), followed by an absolutely delicious wild boar ragu (a white wine that was pretty good), a hangar steak with golden raisin caponata and fried capers (a full-bodied La Mozza “Aragone from Grosseto, Italy), and one of the best desserts I’ve had in recent memory: a honey cake with Mascarpone gelato and lemon marmalade (there was olive oil mixed in, which I had doubts about .. but not after I had stuffed my face). Oh, and then some grappa. Yeek!

For lunch, I was over at Union League, which is always a safe choice if you’re looking for top-rated cuisine. Their coffee ice cream dessert is particularly memorable (if you haven’t guessed, I have the palate of a six-year-old). Ted Sorenson, JFK’s close adviser, was there giving a very captivating Q&A on his thoughts about the Cuban missile crisis, this election, Obama’s first year, etc.

Info on restaurant week

Running Nov. 9 to 14, the week features prix-fixe lunches for $16.38 (a spin on the town’s year of birth) and three-course dinners for $29 (taxes and gratuities not included). Some of the 18 restaurants involved are tried-and-true favorites – Pacifico, Thali, Zinc. Others are new to the scene – the much-anticipated fromagerie Caseus and the upscale lounge 116 Crown. They range from Italian (Consiglio’s) and Spanish (Barcelona) to experimental Japanese (Miya’s) and spicy Malaysian (Bentara).

“Restaurant Week was designed to showcase New Haven’s very diverse culinary offerings,” said Anne Worcester, of Market New Haven, the event’s organizer. “There’s no denying the city’s recent culinary boom.”

She said the promotional menus represent an average 20 to 25 percent savings. Some solid-value dinner entrees: the duck breast in a coriander sauce at Ibiza, the 10-ounce New York strip at Central Steakhouse, the pan-roasted pike fillet with leek fondue at Union League Café. Intriguing lunch options include the Mee Istimewa peanut-based soup at Bentara and salmon teriyaki at Miso.

At Zinc, Donna Curran, the co-owner, said her chef designed a special menu for the week. For lunch she recommended the roasted salmon with a house-made vindaloo sauce (“so much flavor”) and the chai crème brûlée for dessert. “We certainly didn’t dumb our menu down,” she said.

For a complete list of restaurants and their prix-fixe menus, see here. Reservations strongly recommended.

Undiscovered New York: Drinking History in New York’s Oldest Bars

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Welcome back to Gadling’s weekly series, Undiscovered New York. Don’t act surprised when I tell you we like our bars here in New York. Sure, you can grab some suds in just about any town in the United States, but New York boasts a culture of drinking that goes hand-in-hand with the manic highs and crushing lows of our obsessive-compulsive residents. Just take a look at some of New York’s most famous residents as proof.

Writer Dylan Thomas supposedly drank as many as 18 shots of whiskey one fateful night 1953 before meeting his maker. Beyond Thomas, New York has frequently played host to a literal “who’s who” of famous alcoholic artists, including F. Scott Fitzgerald, Truman Capote and Jackson Pollack. Tragic as their alcoholic deaths may be, their lives are inextricably linked to New York’s hard-boozing culture and legendary taverns and nightspots.

Which leads us to another question – are any of these historic watering holes still open for business? Nobody is saying 18 shots of whiskey is a good idea for anyone, but wouldn’t it be neat to throw back one or two in the same spot as Thomas? What about a bar that’s been open since the Civil War? Click below to get Gadling’s picks of New York’s best historic bars.Bar One: McSorley’s Old Ale House
When you talk about historic bars in New York City, the first name off most people’s lips is McSorley’s. Irish immigrant John McSorley first opened the doors to his legendary ale house on East 7th street in 1854. Since then the bar has played host to everyone from Abraham Lincoln to John Lennon. Females give thanks – up until 1970, McSorley’s did not permit women patrons, a policy reinforced by the bar’s slogan: “Good Ale, Raw Onions and No Ladies.” When you stop by down a few pints of McSorley’s famous ale, make sure to drink in the bar’s amazing atmosphere including sawdust-strewn floors and a huge cast-iron furnace behind the bar.

Bar Two: Chumley’s
Ah Chumley’s. Perhaps one of New York’s most famous writer bars, Chumley’s is a former speakeasy and haunt of some of New York’s most famous literary residents. An unmarked door at 86 Bedford Street hides the entrance to the preferred watering hole of such greats as William Faulkner, John Steinbeck and E.E. Cummings. Sadly, structural problems with the building forced the closure of Chumley’s in 2007. But fear not, the reconstruction is in progress – we’re all hopeful that Chumley’s will be back in business later this year.

Bar Three: White Horse Tavern
Opened in 1880, the White Horse Tavern may not be New York’s oldest bar, but it more than makes up for it with historic charm. A West Village favorite in the 50’s and 60’s, the White Horse was played host to New York’s thriving bohemian artist scene, including regulars like our friend Dylan Thomas as well as another famous Dylan (Bob) and other cool cats like Jack Kerouac and Doors frontman Jim Morrison.

Bar Four: The Ear Inn
Dating from 1817, The Ear Inn was a famous haunt for New York’s longshoremen, who passed the hours drinking pints awaiting the arrival of merchant ships on the nearby Hudson waterfront. The Ear Inn was originally owned by James Brown, aide to George Washington during the Revolutionary War. The upstairs of The Ear Inn has an interesting history as well, serving at various points as a smuggler hideaway, a brothel and also as a boarding house. Some say the ghost of “Mickey,” a former sailor still awaiting the arrival of his ship, haunts the bar’s interior. I guess when your drink disappears suddenly you now have a built in excuse.

Bar Five: Brooklyn Inn
Manhattan does not have a monopoly on historic bars, and the Brooklyn Inn is proof. The bar’s beautiful interior is adorned with hardwood and intricate tin ceilings. Believe it or not, the carved wood bar was imported piece by piece from Germany. While you take a moment to comprehend the logistics behind such a feat, don’t forget to check out the bar’s eclectic jukebox which boasts some killer tunes for the hood’s legion of music snobs.