Jaunted

Little Italy / Restaurants / Butchers / Bakeries / Desserts / Food Travel / → All Tags

You Can Find New York's 'Real Little Italy' in The Bronx

Hundreds of tourists flood the tiny streets of Manhattan’s Little Italy every day, but we're not such big fans, mostly due to the overpriced lattes, mediocre meals, chintzy souvenirs and, well, hundreds of tourists.

But twelve miles to the North, New York has another, less heralded Little Italy, which is much more up our alley. What we like to think of as "The Real Little Italy," runs along Arthur Avenue in the Belmont neighborhood of the Bronx and it has largely avoided Manhattan-style gentrification, preserving an array of classic markets, butchers, bakeries and restaurants, almost all still family-owned and operated.

From turn-of-the-century cheese shops churning out mozzarella as soft as any you’ll find in Tuscany, to Italian grandfathers sipping grappa-spiked coffee in between contentious games of bocce, this is the Little Italy you've been looking for (unless you're just in search of an "I heart Italian girls" t-shirt – then head back down to Manhattan.

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NYC BBQ / New New York Restaurants / Restaurants / BBQ / → All Tags

New York's Best BBQ: Now In Real Restaurant Form

Discerning BBQ fiends know that NYC's best ribs and pulled pork are found far from the trendy new high-end BBQ joints in Manhattan. The best, they know, are at Mo Gridder's, the eatery-on-wheels that has long had foodies trekking to Hunts Point in the Bronx.

Good news: The often hard-to-find BBQ truck has quietly opened up a permanent location in the Belmont neighborhood to complement its truck service. Well, "real restaurant" might be a bit of an exaggeration, as it's more of a trailer park and picnic tables setup, but it's at least permanent.

You won't spot the celebs that frequent those downtown hot spots, but if you're willing to make the trip, Mo Gridder's is about as authentic BBQ as you'll find this side of the Mason-Dixon.

Related Stories:
· Mo Gridder's [Official Site]
· Opening Report: Cult BBQ Favorite Mo Gridder's Opens Sit Down Location [Eater]
· New New York Restaurants Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Adam "Slice" Kuban]

Museums / Photography / Fall Travel / Street Art / → All Tags

Fall Travel: Street Style in the Bronx

Nowadays, the words "street art" usually conjure up images of quirky Banksy murals or upscale galleries hosting graffiti battles.

But the new exhibit Street Art, Street Life focuses on images of a very different kind--photography that documents New York's fast-paced and posture-heavy sidewalk culture, from the 1950s through today.

The show offers a simple focus on people in the city and how they've inspired artists throughout the years--the kind of straightforward concept that's hard to find in the compartmentalized downtown art world. Not surprisingly, it's far from downtown at the Bronx Museum of the Arts. The show, which opened this weekend, runs through January 15.

Related Stories:
· Street Art, Street Life [Official Site]
· Banksy Travel coverage [Jaunted]
· Street Art coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Bronx Museum of the Arts]

Missed Connections / Tourism Board Travel / Diners / Sports Travel / → All Tags

Missed Connections in the Bronx: Attractive Visitor Edition

Earlier in the week we needled the Bronx Tourism Council for not doing all they could to invite visitors to the borough. But because we are a loving, caring, sharing blog, we're going to throw them a bone this week in Missed Connections.

Maybe these tips will inspire online visitors to be a participatory tourist and date a local! Start at one of these borough hot spots:

Yankee Stadium :: Enjoy the classic home of the Bronx Bombers with all its sticky glory for one more year before they move, uh, across the street. 161st St. and River Ave.

The Rambling House :: We will not invoke the Show That Must Not Be Named, but it is possible to meet a cute fireman at this Irish bar and restaurant. 4292 Katonah Ave.

Tremont Diner :: Bust out your sundress where Rudy Giuliani and Robert DeNiro have been spotted chowing down. 3007 E. Tremont Ave.

Related Stories:
· Missed Connections coverage [Jaunted]
· Bronx Hotels [HC]

[Photo of lovebirds at the Bronx Zoo: steventom]

Tourism Boards / Tourism Board Travel / Websites / → All Tags

Bronx Tourism Council Proudly Entering 2004, Blog TK

Hyping the oft-ignored borough of the Bronx can't be easy when the tourist playground of Manhattan is just across the Harlem River. But when The New York Times checked up on the Bronx Tourism Council the other day, the newspaper found a miserable website full of busted links and outdated information. Calling the office wasn't much help either:

A voice-mail message for the council's marketing director and executive director was not returned. A call to the council's Bronx hot line resulted only in a recorded greeting: "Please join us for the Bronx's official tree lighting ceremony, Monday, December 17, at 5 pm at the Bronx County Building." That's December 17... 2007.

Turns out that getting slammed in the city's paper of record is motivational. A mere two days after the NYT report, the website has been revamped and is newly useful, though that's not saying much. To wit: There are five "Entertainment" options, four of which are multiplexes. Need lodging? You'll find two listings on the site.

How much longer till the Bronx Tourism Council starts a blog?

Related Stories:
· Bronx Tourism Council [Official Site]
· Bronx Hospitality, Unnoticed by the Tourist Guides [NYT]
· If the Bronx Builds It, the Tourists May Come [NYT, via]
· Tourism Board Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: calm a llama down]

Baseball / Celebs / Sports / New York City / → All Tags

Catch the Rocketman at Yankee Stadium

As it turns out, we were at Yankee Stadium when Roger Clemens announced that the Bombers "Came and got me out of Texas." And though not everyone--like the entire city of Houston and this guy--will be clamoring to get tickets to the Rocket's debut, undoubtedly there are plenty of baseball fans eager to watch the overcompensated has-been superstar don the pinstripes one last time. And so, after the jump, our down-and-dirty guide to catching a game at the House that Ruth Built.

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Museums / → All Tags

Hall of Fame for Great Americans

One of the most coolest architectural and sculptural works in New York is also one of the most obscure. The Hall of Fame for Great Americans, designed in 1901 for what was then the uptown campus of New York University, was created by the architect Stanford White. This 630-foot open-air walkway of columns contains 98 bronze busts of American inventors, politicians, authors, and activists: Eli Whitney, Benjamin Franklin, Harriet Beecher Stowe, they're all here. It's like Vanity Fair magazine, Victoriain edition. Many of sculptors are names in themselves: Daniel Chester French (Lincoln Memorial); James Earl Fraser (figures in front of the Supreme Court), and Frederick MacMonnies (reliefs on Washington Square's Arch). Now on the campus of Bronx Community Campus, the Hall of Fame remains open to the public: just have a talk to the security guard to see who passed for the cream of the crop a century ago.
Related links:
·   Hall of Fame [Bronx Community College]