Date Night by Mama Pat and Uncle Nunzio, Emilia's Style

So the missus and I were granted a childless date night to celebrate our fourth wedding anniversary (thank you Lizard), and we decided to go back to the scene of the crime.

You see, we held our rehearsal dinner at Emilia's on Arthur Avenue (the nuptials were celebrated at Fordham University Church). We had dined at Emilia's before our wedding preparations, but we had such a lovely time and were treated so well at the rehearsal dinner that we've become lifers. We're always warmly welcomed and treated like family. Pat usually calls us "the kids."

I must admit it was rather nice this summer when we went out to eat with the whole family. The Yankees were in town and the place was packed with Westchester folks fresh from the stadium and Pat gave us a table without our waiting (much to the chagrin of a bitchy looking rich white lady from Scarsdale, or some other homogeneous environs, who appeared thoroughly aggrieved by being bumped).

the veal parm...delish

Now there are a lot of worthy candidates for your Arthur Avenue dollars (Antonio's, Roberto, Zero Otto Nove, Tra Di Noi, Dominick's, et al), but we give the overwhelming BoogieDowner stamp of approval to Emilia's.

The food is consistent, delicious, and reasonably priced. We always share the hot antipasta della casa; the missus always gets the veal parmigiana; and I am a sucker for their pork braciola. The tartufo (aka bomba) is a must for dessert. You can actually view their full menu complete with prices here.

Pat's munificence continued on our most recent anniversary meal, when she sent over a glass of wine for me and a dessert for the missus (no wine for the one who is laden with child).

So in short, if you are debating as to where to eat on Arthur Avenue for a babyless date night, let Pat and her husband Nunzio do the heavy lifting. Tell them "the kids" sent you.

Emilia's Restaurant
2331 Arthur Avenue
718-367-5915
*reservations are recommended if you're planning on dining during primetime dinner hours during the weekend

~ErLu

Listing of the Day: Little Italy Obscured

474 East 187th Street, 2 Family House - $439,000

There's not much to tell you about the house itself. The only listing picture is like a real estate Lady Gaga - you can never quite get a good look at her face because it's always obscured by some outlandish accessory. Well this huge tree is to the listing as a ridiculous facial accessory is to Lady Gaga. We're kind of sure there's something decent underneath, but can't be certain. That's why we keep looking.

In any case, the unit is in a pretty fun hood (even if it is a bit further east from Arthur Avenue than I'd like). You'd still be in the whole Little Italy scene.

Here's the old BoogieDowner Belmont bit (Now with Umberto's Clam House hatred!):

Belmont is an ideal hood for the foodie in all of us. There are 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 the 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. Whatever you do, DO NOT waste your money on Umberto's Clam House.

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 make an investment 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

*image of LadyGaga courtesy of http://images.mirror.co.uk/upl/m4/jul2009/2/0/news-image-2-481761701.jpg*
~ErLu

Umberto's Clamhouse Stinks, and It's Not Just the Raw Bar

On my last day of summer vacation (teacher meetings start today), I decided to take the fam to the Zoo. Our normal ritual involving Zoo visitation includes eating brick oven pizza at our absolute favorite pizza spot in Belmont, Antonio's Trattoria, on Crescent Avenue.

Unfortunately, our beloved Antonio's is closed on Mondays. We called Zero Otto Nove - closed as well. We even were willing to drive over to Eastchester Road in Morris Park to visit Coals - they only open at 4pm on Mondays, and we were looking for lunch.

We decided just to take a ride over to Arthur Ave, see what was open and grab some lunch.
Now we've never eaten at Umberto's because it kinda, sorta looks like a cheesy tourist trap (we found out it is), and we have our normal loop of places we patronize: Antonio's for kid-friendly sit down pizza, Emilia's for almost every childless date (we even had our wedding rehearsal dinner there), and Roberto if we want to spend some cashish (although with only one income, Roberto hasn't seen us in a hot one).

So we grabbed a meter spot and ambled down Arthur Ave to see what was what. As a side note, I will say it's fun seeing all the Fordham kids back in the hood and their parents capitalizing on the move-in trip by grubbing out on the Ave.

We decided to check out Umberto's Clam House because it was a beautiful day, they had some outdoor seating, and they had a lunch special. BAD DECISION.

The service was atrocious. I think our waiter might have grown up in a household where lead paint chips were on the menu for every meal. Umberto's apparently has a pretty bad bee problem with its outdoor seating (I was constantly shooing and eventually killed a bee who was too lazy to fly away from my bottle of Peroni).

I might be able to overlook the bees, and the waiter who might have been considered legally brain-dead in 49 other states, but the food was horrible as well. We both had the special, which came with soup or salad, an entree, and coffee for $12.95.

My soup was good (New England Clam Chowder), but the missus' salad was a pretty week iceberg garbage pail that was way too heavy on the red wine vinegar. My entree of chicken parm and linguine was horrific. (I still ate it because my appetite puts me one gastronomic step above an animal, and I couldn't dream of wasting the $12.95 and having to grab something at the Zoo). It was dry, warmed over, rubbery. The sauce was like doctored up ketchup. The missus had penne alla vodka that was penne with the aforementioned doctored ketchup, doctored even more with some cream and maybe gut rot vodka. We didn't even get our coffee.

When we complained, the manager, Roger, made excuses for his staff instead of apologizing.

We can be pretty forgiving, but Umberto's gets the old anathema from BoogieDowner.

There are so many other quality spots on Arthur Avenue and the surrounding area, that you'd be a lunatic to waste your money at Umberto's.

~ErLu

Some Changes on Arthur Avenue (Anyone Up for a Hot Dog and Cigar?)

Estrellita Poblana III

We went over to Arthur Avenue yesterday to grab lunch before hitting sea lion feeding time at the Bronx Zoo. We just wanted something quick, cheap and easy, so we headed to Estrellita Poblana III (2328 Arthur Avenue), a little Mexican place that we've tried before and liked. We were pleasantly surprised to see that they have renovated the interior and are also now accepting credit cards (previously it was cash only). Once again the food (quesadilla for me and Pearl, sopes for the hubster) was excellent and the service was both friendly and speedy. They have a couple of booster seats and it's pretty kid friendly. Just be aware that Estrellita Poblana is tiny, so be careful about going during peak lunchtime hours.

There's a new Albanian restaurant on the strip now:


There's also a new high-end cigar joint and a hot dog place right next to each other... No, I'm not kidding. There's a restaurant specializing in hot dogs on Arthur Avenue now.

Hot dogs and cigars... together at last!

Oh yeah, we also finally checked out the Parisienne Cafe (below) the other day. Cute place! Nice and roomy and casual. We got gelato and iced cappuccinos - both were awesome.


~ErLu

Is Roma Luncheonette Closing?

Closed for good, or just doing renovations?

ErLu went over to Arthur Avenue yesterday for some dinner ingredients and were not happy to see Roma Luncheonette (cute little diner on 187th and Belmont, and also the site of ErLu's first date back in college) was closed with blue tarps covering the windows... We certainly hope they're just painting or doing some renovations and not closing for good. They have the best hot chocolate! Anyone know what the deal is? (Update: BoogieDowner reader Greg said he walked past Roma and they now have a sign up saying they are closed for vacation. Whew!)

On another note, it appears Arthur Avenue Floral is relocating from Arthur Avenue to 187th Street between Arthur and Hughes. We saw workers hanging a new awning on the new site:~ErLu

Another Cheese Option On Arthur Avenue

Okay, so this is just a brief heads up to all the cheese lovers out there. BoogieDowner, like the rest of the turophiles (fancy word for cheese-lovers) within a hundred miles of Arthur Ave., swears by the fresh mozzarella at Casa della Mozzarella on 187th street. As the missus and I tried to purchase some of the famous mozzarella and asiago from the renowned cheese-purveyors, we were met by a line out the door and an old fashioned "take a number" machine. Our number was 74; they were serving 58. It dawned on us that this was the weekend before Thanksgiving and that every foodie in the tri-state area had descended on Arthur Ave. to buy provisions. What to do?

Well, BoogieDowner found a great plan B in Calandra's Cheese, which is all the way down on Arthur Ave. near Cresent. The mozzarella is great and really just a small step below Casa's, and the asiago was actually better! And most importantly... no line. The only annoying part was that there is a $25 minimum for debit cards. Although it's kinda scary that it wasn't that hard for us to buy $25 worth of cheese (keep in mind this is cheese for personal use, we're not hosting Thanksgiving this year).

In any case, Calandra's is a viable option for impatient cheese heads.

*photo courtesy of www.apassionforfood.blogspot.com*

~ErLu

Arthur Avenue Italians Put Hit Out On McCain/Palin Campaign

CUNY Graduate School of Journalism student Rachel Senatore hit the streets of Little Italy to talk politics with the locals.

According to Senatore's piece, the blue-collar residents of this old-school Italian enclave of the BoogieDown are feeling the love for Obama.

Click here to read more.

~ErLu

Grazie, Giancarlo!

This past weekend I had a hankering for some good Italian food so off I went with my friend Isabelle to Little Italy - the one in the Bronx, that is (and whom many say is far superior to the one in Manhattan. I'm just saying...) We had a great day walking around cappuccino tasting in various cafes and bakeries and stocking up on items from Europe that are such TREATS to find stocked on Bronx shelves! We also stumbled into Tino's Delicatessen and were warmly greeted by the owner Giancarlo Pacuillo and his lovely wife Rosa (both originally from Salerno, as their charming accents can attest) and whose establishment feels more like a comfy Tuscan home than the deli and catering company that it is. We ordered some fresh and delicious sandwiches that, between $5 and $7, were a great value. (I wanted to try either the Godfather or the Godmother just for the story, but ended up with a much smaller and more manageable vegetarian Caprese. There's something about fresh basil that gets me everytime!) We sat with other diners on a huge communal farmhouse table, enjoyed the aroma's coming from the freshly cut meats and cheeses and had a grand old time people watching patrons coming in for their weekend shopping. And before we left, we filled up our bags with some tasty items from their amply stocked store - sundried tomatoes, olives and various cheeses. The only (and I mean ONLY) thing that disappointed little ole me was the many signed Bush photos on the mantel. (Ugh!) BUT as he also had The Pope and Anthony Hopkins there as well (this guy is connected!) I figured redemption was indeed possible so I just turned my back on the W. so as not to spoil my meal and I was good to go!

So, the next time you want some European charm, head down Fordham Road to Arthur Avenue where you will not only find Tino's but a bunch of other culinary treats. You can either spend a whole afternoon or evening there in the many restaurants, bars and bakeries or you can fill up on picnic supplies from all the great speciality shops before heading out to, say, the zoo or the gardens. Bon appetit!

~Simone Davis