A Walk on Arthur Avenue

Full Moon Pizza with Eggplant: Delicious!

As I mentally prepare for my two-night Godfather Dinner undertaking, I find myself reminiscing about/getting excited to spend a Saturday strolling/shopping/eating my way through Arthur Avenue in the Bronx.

My whole life I have always been under the impression that Brooklyn had the best and most authentic Italian specialty items, and YES, the two should not even be compared, but my life sure did change for the better when I finally made my way over to Arthur Avenue in the Bronx.  This is my version of Disney World, for sure.  Everyone is so friendly, and the prices are very reasonable (Ok, so maybe it's not Disney).  I haven't really been there too many times, and can't consider myself an expert, but the following are my standout/can't miss places:

Casa Della Mozzarella-This has to be, hands down the best fresh mozzarella I've ever had, it's EXACTLY what I'm looking for in a mozzarella from the salt level, to the texture: it's perfection.  All the guys who work there have great senses of humor, and it's just a fun atmosphere.  They have so many other great products in there too.  A nice selection of imported cheeses, pasta and dry goods from Italy.

The Arthur Avenue Retail Market-  Basically, it's an indoor market made up of stalls that sell all things Italian.  There are prepared foods/sandwiches, Italian produce, a butcher, cigars, dry goods that are not so easy to find.  Really, there's a lot, and it's fun to stroll through and check everything out.  I usually leave with a bag of dried figs.  I know that's not too exciting, but they make me happy.

Borgatti's- This place is pretty awesome.  This is where you get your fresh pasta.  They have it in sheets, ready to be cut into your thickness of choice.  There's a handy piece of cardboard showing the thicknesses they can cut the sheets down to, so, if you need fettucine, linguine or papardelle, you just let them know and they'll make it.  Love it.  I prefer fettucine finished with some pasta water, butter, grated parmigiana with some fresh black pepper and grated nutmeg.  You can't go wrong, and it takes minutes to make.

Randazzo's- There are a couple of seafood places, but I like this place.  They've got lots of fresh fish, and great selection of Italian specialty fish, some fish I haven't seen since I was a kid and Nonna used to make this stuff.  They also have the clam/oyster bar set up outside, so you could just stroll up, and they'll shuck you some clams, hit them with a little of their hot sauce, and you're gonna be pretty happy.

Calabria Pork Store- You cannot see the ceiling of this place because there is so much sausage hanging from the ceiling!  They've got amaaaazzzzzing soppresata and dried hot sausage.  They have capicola, prosciutto and speck.  They have it all.  They are also very friendly (at least to me) and the prices are really really reasonable.  I have a really funny story about this place, but it's long and funnier when told in person, so ask me about it one day if you haven't already heard it.

The Ceiling @ Calabria Pork Store!

This list really is basic, there is so much more going on there.  Including restaurants, pizzerias (Full Moon Pizza: AWESOME) and pastry shops.  I just prefer to buy up ingredients and make a spread at home.  Anyways, make a day of it if you haven't, it is so worth it.  The Bronx Botanical Garden is right there too, and their orchid show is going on right now.  It makes for a great spring day in NYC.

Pictures to follow when I do my shopping before the Godfather dinner this April.