Listing of the Day: Little Italy Rental

187th and Beaumont Streets, 2 Bedrooms - $1400/month

A two bedroom in the heart of foodie heaven at $700/month for a share. The apartment has new wood floors and an adequate kitchen. 187th is a stretch with lots of cafes, pastry shops, and "social clubs." There are also butchers, cheese shops, fish mongers, bakeries, and fresh pasta shops up and down 187th and Arthur Avenue.

This hood is very close to the Bronx Zoo and the NY Botanical Garden for fun. Fordham University is also a neighborhood presence with tons of cultural things to offer, and lectures, and lots of goofy white kids in the neighborhood. Another added bonus from Fordham University, on top of stability, beauty and top notch education it brings to the hood, is A-10 division one hoops.

BD Restaurant rundown: My favorite 187th restaurant is Tra Di Noi, but to be honest if you lived here you would be REQUIRED to go to Emilia's on Arthur Ave. - simply the best! And try to get a table at Mayor Bloomberg's beloved Roberto's on Crescent Ave. - very good, but in my opinion, a tad overrated. Also, for BBQ-heads, MoGridder's just opened up a few months ago in Roberto's old location (although ErLu has yet to partake). For brick oven pizza everyone raves about Zero Otto Novo, because it is owned by Roberto of the aforementioned Bloomy favorite, but ErLu prefers Antonio's, which is tucked away on Crescent Avenue. There is a whole host of other restaurants to stop at, but we can't give a review of each...take a trip up here and start eating your way through the hood.

For those who like to cook at home there's the indoor retail market, Borgatti's for ravioli, the Pasta Factory for stuffed shells and tortellini, Casa Della Mozzarella for, you guessed it, mozzarella, and Calandra's for general cheese purchases (although their Mozzarella has been reported to be sub par recently). There are also nice wine stores and great delis like Mike's in the retail market - don't mind the laminated photo of Mussolini hanging in the back - and Tino's.

Ditch some grub impoverished and expensive-ish hood like Bushwick and share a place up in Belmont.

The BX12 bus runs down Fordham Rd. to the B/D at Grand Concourse and further to the 4 at Jerome Ave. There is also a Metro-North station at the Fordham stop at Fordham Rd. and Webster Ave. that can get you in to Grand Central in 18 minutes.

FULL LISTING

~ErLu