When I mention to friends that my husband John was born and originally raised in the Bronx, a borough of New York City, people always have a reaction. They get a look on their faces that makes me wonder if they are imagining something negative due to films they have seen and perceptions. Never do they probably imagine the verdant oasis that is the reality. Home to New York’s Botanical Garden, the largest zoo in the U.S., and countless other attractions, the Bronx includes many crowd favorites like Yankee Stadium and the best Italian restaurants in our nation’s largest metropolis.
On a recent trip to take my son to visit colleges, we stopped in the Bronx to check out one of my absolute favorite places, Arthur Avenue. Forget Mulberry Street in Manhattan, this is the real Little Italy with people who speak Italian. If you want to try authentic Italian American cuisine made by people who care, this is where you come. In the past, I have visited Dominick’s and Zero Otto Nove – two of my favorite places in the city and enjoyed lunch and dinner. This is where you will find a real braciola Napoletana, rolled beef with peppers or mushrooms, just the way my mom used to make it. And if you want cannoli, Madonia Brothers has got you covered – as long as you bring cash! Or fresh ravioli made right in front of you at Borgatti’s Ravioli. The ladies who work there literally make the pasta in front of customers - it doesn’t get much fresher than this! Another spot I can’t resist is Casa Della Mozzarella. They make amazing deli sandwiches with all manner of toppings. Definitely try the classico with mozzarella, tomato, basil, and olive oil. This is a great spot to stop for a picnic in one of the beautiful nearby parks.
One spot that I never would have heard of if it were not for John is City Island. It is a quaint little island that feels more like New England than New York City and covers only a mile and a half. It’s a fun place to visit and enjoy fresh seafood at one of the many famous restaurants. John’s dad used to keep his sailboat there when John was young, and it is a treasured family memory that he enjoys to this day.
And where else can you enjoy amazing late-night munchies in a standalone market setting? The Bronx Night Market offers authentic tacos, Jamaican jerk chicken and refreshing water ice and ice cream without having to leave the borough!
But enough about the food! The Bronx is a borough that is full of history. The unusual name comes from a Swedish settler, Jonas Bronck, who arrived in the settlement of New Amsterdam in 1639 and purchased 500 acres of land from local Native Americans. Originally, the area was known as “End Place,” but soon took on the name “Bronck’s Land.” In time, Mr. Bronck gave his name to a borough, a county, a cocktail, and a distinctive cheer.
Another famous connection that many people may not be aware of is Winston Churchill. When you drive about the borough, chances are you will come in contact with Jerome Avenue or a reservoir with this name, a park, a post office, and many other businesses. As it turns out, Leonard Jerome was the grandfather of the famous British politician. He purchased an estate in what used to be Westchester County but now is the Bronx. He had three daughters and indulged them frequently with trips to Europe to mingle with the aristocrats. With all of the socializing, all three of his daughters would eventually marry British men. His daughter Jeanette, known as “Jennie” married Lord Randolph Churchill, the younger son of the Duke of Marlborough, and became known as Lady Randolph Spencer-Churchill. Together they had two sons, Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, and John Strange Spencer-Churchill. Winston eventually went on to become Prime Minister of England from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955.
There is also another unique history that I learned about as a result of my husband John’s family settling in this area. It is one uniquely Irish, as the city quickly became a destination for immigrants from all around the world. John is Irish on both his mother and father’s sides. The Irish first came to the Bronx in the mid-19th century as laborers who constructed the New York and Harlem Railroad, the Hudson River Railroad, and the High Bridge. Later, Irish migrants filled the newly built Bronx factories or commuted to jobs in Manhattan. They settled their families in houses within the Bronx neighborhoods of Mott Haven, Melrose, and Highbridge. In fact, John’s mother lived with her parents in Mott Haven when she was young, and it was the area where John’s grandparents lived for many years. There is a proud immigrant history that exists to this day. If you visit an area of the borough known as Woodlawn, you will find some terrific Irish pubs, including the Rambling House, Keane’s, and Mulligans. On one of my first trips to the Bronx with John, he took me to this area, and I loved it.
I hope you will love it too and encourage you to visit and go beyond Manhattan. There is so much to see and do and enjoy. Here are a few additional recommendations for when you visit:
Restaurants and Food Stores
I have already mentioned a few of my favorite places, but here are a few more spots of note worth checking out:
Louie and Ernie’s – This is an old school pizza joint that looks like someone’s house on the outside but is known for turning out delicious sausage pies. Unlike some places serving pizza, you can actually get a slice. Sit outside under the twinkling lights and enjoy this cool spot and reflect on how good your evening has been.
Mario’s – This is a super traditional old school Italian restaurant in the heart of Little Italy on Arthur Avenue. It also comes with a story as Mario Puzo, the author of The Godfather had this place in mind when he wrote the famous scene that took place at Louis’ Restaurant in the Bronx where Michael Corleone whacks Salozzo and Capt. McCluskey at the dinner table, with a gun that was planted in the bathroom for him. Director Francis Ford Coppola wanted to film the iconic scene at Mario's, but the owner of the eatery turned him down saying, "I want my restaurant known for its food, not for a fictional murder." I just love this story and I love the food at Mario’s which is delicious! Try the fried calamari, rolled eggplant or chicken parm.
Mike’s Deli Arthur Avenue – Another famous spot located right in the Belmont community in the covered retail market launched by Mayor Fiorella LaGuardia in 1940, is Mike’s Deli. This establishment is known for delicious sandwiches, huge portions, and great service. The Il Montone Ram Special, which has eggplant, chicken cutlet and prosciutto, is highly recommended.
Cerini Coffee and Gifts – This shop specializes in Italian coffee, espresso machines and packaged foods, plus housewares. It is also where you can find Nutella shipped straight from Italy in glass, not plastic jars along with balsamic vinegar straight from Modena. The aroma that greets you when you walk in the shop is amazing. They will grind any coffee you wish, and you might run into the shop’s mascot, a big white, friendly cat!
Recommendations
1. Visit the Bronx Zoo – My husband’s aunt tells a story about the time she took him and his twin brother Bryan to this zoo for the day when they were little, and they both ran in different directions. She laughs now telling the story, but after seeing how large this space is, I imagine it must have been very frightening! The Bronx Zoo, is in fact the largest urban zoo in the country and is within easy reach of Manhattan by way of the Subway or Metro North trains. Up to 600 species call the Zoo home and it is like a walk back in time wandering around the historical campus of one of the world’s oldest habitats for animals.
2. Check Out the New Fulton Fish Market – Fulton Fish Market sat for 180 years at South Street Seaport in Manhattan until it moved in 2005 to Hunts Point in the Bronx. The 400,000 square foot facility constructed at a cost of over $86,000,000, houses 37 seafood wholesale businesses. These businesses offer some of the freshest and most diverse selection of seafood in the United States. The market handles millions of pounds of seafood daily, with annual sales exceeding $1 billion, and is second in size only to Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market. Naturally, if you like to cook and find this kind of thing interesting as I do, it’s a place you might be interested in seeing and experiencing. Every day in the early morning hours, large buyers, chefs from throughout the New York area including some of Manhattan’s most famous chefs, and retail customers arrive to handpick the day’s catch of fresh seafood. The market is open Monday through Friday for buyers from 2:00 a.m. to 7:00am. Retail buyers are asked to come shop either Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Fridays during those hours and after 6am on Mondays or Thursdays. This is a place where you come very early in the morning when the wares are fresh, and it is an experience you will not forget anytime soon. The offerings are quite diverse and include Barracuda, Barramundi, Dover Sole, Eel, John Dory, King Crab, Orata, Shark, Sturgeon, Wahoo, and Whitefish to name a few. Is there anywhere else in the world you might see all of this? Probably not unless you are headed to Tokyo!
3. Pay Your Respects to Luminaries in Woodlawn Cemetery - This remote, historic 400-acre burial ground was established in 1863, and features landscape art and mausoleums. The cemetery is the final resting place for more than 300,000 people, including literary giants Joseph Pulitzer and Herman Melville and musicians like Duke Ellington and Miles Davis.
4. Walk About in the City’s Largest Park – Central Park is world famous, but Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx is the largest, three times larger, in fact. Among the massive park's attractions are Orchard Beach, the Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum, and the recently renovated Pelham Bay Golf Course. You will not believe you are in a Metropolis.
5. Frolic in the Water at Orchard Beach - As we mentioned above, the Bronx’s only public beach spans 1.1 miles, and is notable for its unique crescent shape and stunning views of City Island. The shore was created by Robert Moses in the 1930s and remains one of the most popular beaches in New York to date.
6. Explore the New York Botanical Garden – One of the most magical places in New York is this world-famous garden with over 250 acres filled with over one million tropical, temperate, and desert flora. Founded in 1891, the Botanical Garden was born from a civic movement with a mission to cement New York City as a cosmopolitan world capital through the creation of public libraries, museums, zoos, gardens, and various other now-iconic cultural organizations. More than a century later, the Botanical Garden operates one of the world’s largest plant research and conservation programs, state-of-the-art molecular labs, hands-on curriculum-based educational programming, and incredible outdoor and indoor botanically focused art exhibitions that attract more than one million visitors annually. If there is one place in the Bronx you visit, make this your destination.
7. Have Fresh Seafood on Arthur Avenue - There are a few places right on Arthur Avenue where you can enjoy fresh seafood even in the early hours of that day. Cosenza's will let you stand outside and eat the seafood immediately after it has been shucked right in front of you. If this doesn't interest you, go inside and make a purchase of he many varieties of seafood on display.
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