In Search of New York’s Little Italy
This past weekend provided some new experiences for my wife and me. Our original intent was to head up to that self proclaimed Irish American capital, Boston. We would probably have walked around Boston Common and followed Freedom Trail again. By mid-afternoon I would need to recharge with a good meal. Having a deep knowledge of Irish American cuisine, we normally gravitate toward Little Italy. After all, this was the Columbus Holiday Weekend so some macaroni would have been in order. However, we opted to stay local. It must have been some type of loyalty to the Yankees. No, that can’t be right, we’re Mets fans. I guess we just didn’t want to spend the bucks. The weekend nevertheless was a fun filled combination of trips. We went in search of New York’s real Little Italy and a relatively new NY State Park called a Walk over the Hudson.
When it comes to Americans and Italians, I’ve come to understand 2 things; American’s can’t recognize real Italians and that may be because there are many people masquerading as Italians. Manhattan’s Little Italy is being compressed by Chinatown (okay, we can all tell them apart). But this recognized Italian landmark is occupied primarily by Albanians and Hispanics with just a sprinkling of Italians. Having found a new appreciation of the Italian language and culture, I’m always looking for a place to confuse waiters and store clerks with my newly learned Italian. A few weeks ago I heard a rumor that there are two other Little Italy’s in New York. One is on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx and the other is on 18th Avenue in Brooklyn. So off we went to the Bronx for a taste of Italy.
We arrived at the corner of E 187th Street & Hughes Avenue to start out our visit. We had espresso and biscotti in Egidio’s Pastry Shop. This was a must stop for us as Karen’s middle name is Egidia. She received this name from an individual who saved her life. So we couldn’t pass this shop up.
From Egidio’s we decided to walk the neighborhood to see what it had to offer. We walked in and out of a few shops including the Terranova Bakery. As we walked in I saw a family moving through an interior door and we filed in behind them. It turned out we walked into the working part of Terranova for an impromptu baking demo. They were all very friendly and the bread was delicioso. Of course they were wondering who Karen and I were.
We continued our walk through Little Italy enjoying the little shops and spying into the Italian clubs. I got my nerve up to try a little Italian without much success but I remained hopeful that someone would be willing to put up with my attempts at a new language.
Our next stop was Umberto’s Clam House. They have an open air restaurant with tables outside. We decided to stop here for appetizers. It was a beautiful day with blue skies and pleasant temps. We sat outside and people watched. I looked for my next victim to unload my rehearsed restaurant Italian. One feeble attempt with our waitress was enough for me to retreat back to English. We paid the check and continued with our walk.
We next stopped in a shop that was demoing an espresso maker. The machine appeared to be as complicated as my DVD recorder. I was handed a freshly brewed cup of espresso and while I was drinking it I imagined myself making first rate cappuccinos for my family and friends during the holidays. That dream evaporated when I was told that the sale price was only $3000. It was time to move on to our next stop.
We selected Dominick’s Restaurant for an early dinner. Dominick’s is a landmark of sorts. It is a family style restaurant that has shared tables. There are no menus so you need to establish a quick rapport with your waiter. Our waiter had a heavy accent and I was sure I would be able to practice Italian successfully. Non posso. I’m not sure what nationality he was but it wasn’t Italian. The glazed look on his face as I spoke my perfectly rehearsed phrases didn’t connect. Hopefully I didn’t say something obscene. The food was good but it was time to move on. I was determined to connect with someone in Italian.
We stopped at Palombo Pastry Shop for dessert and more espresso. A young waiter came up and he too had an accent. I attempted to order in Italian without success, “Loui non capisce Italiano”. I quickly switched to English and we continued to have a little trouble connecting. After another attempt the waiter went off with an order for what I’m not sure but we had a few giggles over the exchange.
It was now Karen’s turn to lead and she was in search of a couple of Italian crafted dishes to commemorate our trip. I was a bit language weary by this time. So I said, lead on. We walked Arthur Avenue to Lojom a small shop with Italian made merchandise. Karen found two handed painted sunflower dishes on a table outside (is this an Under the Tuscan Sun moment or what). The dishes were perfect and we went inside to pay. The clerk carefully wrapped the dishes. We exchanged some money. I decided to give it one more try. So as I turned to leave I said, “Arrivederci.” I then heard a little voice return, “Arriverderci.” But where did it come from? It wasn’t the sales clerk. As we continued to walk out I looked around the counter. There was a little old Italian woman sitting there with a big grin on her face. That was the perfect moment for a wonderful day.
Little Italy (Bronx) is a real blend of European looking individuals working in Italian stores & restaurants. They may be Albanians, Croatians, Slovenians, or Bosnians. However, one visit to this New York neighborhood and you will feel that you’ve walked into a special place steeped in rich ethnic culture. This is a trip well worth making.
One last note, you may be wondering what this has to do with a site set up for nutrition; well sometimes you have to feed the soul.
Ciao
(A Walk across the Hudson will be talked about on a future blog)
