Arthur Avenue
We're thinking about checking out Arthur Avenue this weekend if the weather holds up.
Looking for recs for the best bakery for bread and pastries, pizza, cured meats, cheeses and a restaurant with great pasta dishes.
I have the Arthur Avenue cookbook and will be studying it tonight but I'd love to hear about some personal favorites as well.
TIA!
CornflakeGirl
May 25, 2006 11:28AM
BREAD: Madonia, Terranova, or even Addeo bakeries. They're all very good. Madonia for seeded semolina bread, Terranova for very crusty pane di casa, and Addeo for a less crusty pane di casa or lard bread. Addeo also has the best long seeded hero loaves. Try those. Absolutely delicious.
PASTRIES: DeLillo or Egidio. Excellent pastries at either one. You choose.
CHEESES: Firm grating cheeses, cold cuts, dried (bagged) pastas, olives, canned goods, etc. go to Teitel Brothers on Arthur Avenue. For fresh mozzarella, ricotta, and a variety of "other" cheeses go to Calandra further up on Arthur Avenue.
PASTA: For fresh pasta, ravioli, etc. try Borgatti's on E187th Street across from Mt. Carmel church. Make this a "Must see" on your list. Get the fresh egg noodles (size #3 linguine, or #4 fettucine) and cook them up al dente (don't overcook - they need just a few minutes to cook).
MEATS: Any meat or good dried sausage can be had at Biancardi's on Arthur Avenue. Also stop into the Calabria pork store right near there and admire all their cured pork products as well.
PRODUCE: Stop in the Retail Market. It's accessible from Arthur Avenue and is close to Biancardi's. Fruits, vegetables, imported kitchen items, etc. Mike's deli is located in the Market, if you're interested.
Enjoy your trip to Arthur Avenue. Little Italy - the Bronx.
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a copy of my arthur av posting from several years ago.....still applies tho! and yes for evening dining.....roberto's would be my choice.
i have an order that i usually do this trip in so i will set it out there but it's just a guideline....
In the indoor market itself, where I always begin - I stop at mike's deli for the olives and the capers as on a crowded day, the olives can sell out. They are very similar to the 'dolce' olives that you can only find in rome and it's as close to being in rome as you can be w/o actually....well....you get it. They are soft and green and plump and sweet(ish). Then always lunch asap at the cafeteria in the market. Fabulous broccoli rabe pizza slices, even better rabe frittatas and an assortment of pastas, gnocchi, hero sandwiches, other pizza choices. I order, grab a table and mentally make notes about what to buy at the generally more expensive but often useful stand right next to the tables. Eating something wonderful next to an old hollywood movie photo while people scream in italian around me contemplating all that I will buy and cook is pretty exciting. Particularly for the bronx.
This stand offers a range of fancy dried pastas, abruzzi oregano, a wild selection of paprikas as well as olive oils from all over italy and a great selection of aged balsamics ranging from 12 bucks to 200$$. I like them mostly for their balsamic possibilities and the oddly great prices on cans of san marzano tomatoes. Sometimes a stray purchase falls my way but I move on fairly quickly.
The vegetable stall to the right of the cafeteria has good figs when in season, usually two choices - not always so expensive), great melons, white peaches -fruit- and my favorite (quality&price) fresh porcinis, shitakes, etc..
Two doors to the left as one leaves the grand hall going onto arthur av is the calabrian sausage store. Sausages hang from the ceiling and practically everywhere else - apparently they're great. (I should say now that I don't eat meat though everyone else in my world does and I trust their food ideals.) However, what they do have here that I enjoy is out of this world fresh ricotta (usually sheepsmilk!) where they dip in the basket and place the contents carefully in a container for your pleasure alone. With some figs - on some toast. Amazing. They also have great prices on dried pasta, those little hazlenut biscuits in the orange bag and meat, more meat. Sometimes the owner's daughter is there with an electronic keyboard singing in italian. Hard to move on. But here's where a trip back to the car is ususally necessary to deposit bags.
I won't make you all crazy with my order of stops - but you need a system depending on where you park. Across the street from the sausage store and a bit to the left, just pass the famous restaurant dominicks is randazzo's seafood market. Beautiful, sweet, tiny clams, shimmering fish, lovely choices. Frankly I like both seafood markets on this street and happily split my allegiance. Depends on the day. The other market is smaller but does have a raw clam bar on the street that's nice for a pick me up. Across from randazzo's is the cheese store (calandra?) but i don't usually shop there - i have favorites in other places but worth checking on.
The bakeries - both to the left of the indoor market if you're facing it from the street are quite good and very different. Macedonia Bakery has many choices of biscotti, breads, ( a great jalapeno/cheese bread) cookies - walnut delights (for the ride home) and freshly filled cannollis (but imo the latter you wait for until the very last stop). The other much simpler bakery - Addeo's - has frozen pizza dough if you're lazy and a delicious pane di casa as well as the seeded hero rolls. Terranova is a nice bread bakery around the corner on 187th st and has an excellent (and yes crustier) pane di casa as well.
Biancardi's is the butcher shop. It's in between the clam bar and the bakery. Friends rave about the meats particularly the steaks - I don't linger as the bunnies and goats hanging upside down in the window are not my thing. Always a long line.......
Teitel Bros, which some of you know has by far the best prices on italian tuna - a case of genovese or pastene is 35$ for 24 cans large size. Great prices on anchovy paste, san pellegrino limonata and incredibly wonderful parmesean. My other favorite parm is from dipalos on grand street but this is a tough rival. The best tuna imo is flott and it's sicilian. More expensive, so I mix and match the genovese with this. They only sell it in a jar - 10 1/2oz for $5.99 but around the corner they do have the canned version for a similar price. As much as I like the genovese - flott is definitely superior. (As is cento but that's harder to find.)
On to 187th st,- going around the corner to the right is casa di mozzarella.....the mozzarella guy from tino's across the street has relocated here - tino's used to have the best. The sliced proscuitto here is very popular, I get the buffala, the handmade and the tuna. Other items come up all the time but I'm sure you'll spot your favorites.
Continue on down to mt carmel wine store - fantastic selection of italian wines that are hard to find eleswhere, some very special chiantis etc and you can do it all in italian if you'd like. I've also had them deliver a case here and there.
Then borgattis for some homemade pasta and homemade ravioli (large and small!) to leave in the freezer when you just need something great to be there for you. Carrot and tomato pastas are particularly delicious. Great prices on packaged faro and other grains - truly many dollars less than downtown.
Then either to the car with a bag drop off before the finale or just drag yourself over to gino's bakery - back across arthur av but still on 187th. Photos and ptgs of the now departed gino are everywhere but mrs gino still sings his praises and son of gino serves you at the counter under a photo of his father and the likeness is astonishing. The very best in handfilled-while you wait-and salivate cannollis. Just to prepare you for the return trip and about 20 minutes before you slip a tiny bite of walnut delight in your mouth and think about what to have for dinner.
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okay this is how it really is trust me i live here !
Bread- addeo for heros
madonia for olive bread
Terranova for pizza bread
Pastries- Delilo great ices and pasties
Artusos frsh cakes
borgattis- frsh ravioli
Restaurants- Tra di nio tradital southern italian food
Robertos expencive but good
delis- case di mozz
Tinos deli great homemade sauce great selection of pasta and chese best chicken parm. they also cater which is great
a lot of people like mikes deli i think it is too overpriced and the service is horrible
Teitel Brothers is another popular place but the place smells really bad how can you eat their food knowing the place is a dump!
arthur avenue bakery has also gone down hill the place looks like it is closed 24/7 and the bread is never fresh
Dominicks resteraunt i like to know if im using my fork or the guys next to me ! and their dishes are horrible
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okay this is how it really is trust me i live here !
Bread- addeo for heros
madonia for olive bread
Terranova for pizza bread
Pastries- Delilo great ices and pasties
Artusos frsh cakes
borgattis- frsh ravioli
Restaurants- Tra di nio tradital southern italian food
Robertos expencive but good
delis- case di mozz
Tinos deli great homemade sauce great selection of pasta and chese best chicken parm. they also cater which is great
a lot of people like mikes deli i think it is too overpriced and the service is horrible
Teitel Brothers is another popular place but the place smells really bad how can you eat their food knowing the place is a dump!
arthur avenue bakery has also gone down hill the place looks like it is closed 24/7 and the bread is never fresh
Dominicks resteraunt i like to know if im using my fork or the guys next to me ! and their dishes are horrible
Permalink | Reply
okay this is how it really is trust me i live here !
Bread- addeo for heros
madonia for olive bread
Terranova for pizza bread
Pastries- Delilo great ices and pasties
Artusos frsh cakes
borgattis- frsh ravioli
Restaurants- Tra di nio tradital southern italian food
Robertos expencive but good
delis- case di mozz
Tinos deli great homemade sauce great selection of pasta and chese best chicken parm. they also cater which is great
a lot of people like mikes deli i think it is too overpriced and the service is horrible
Teitel Brothers is another popular place but the place smells really bad how can you eat their food knowing the place is a dump!
arthur avenue bakery has also gone down hill the place looks like it is closed 24/7 and the bread is never fresh
Dominicks resteraunt i like to know if im using my fork or the guys next to me ! and their dishes are horrible
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make sure you go on saturday as most stores are closed on sunday.
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Any idea if most of the stores will be open for memorial day?
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Try Roberto's for lunch/dinner. Order from the specials board. Be prepared for pleasant surprise when you ask about wines. Order family-style and don't forget the risotto. No reservations.
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