Arthur Ave, The Bronx, July 2008

I had heard so much about the Italian section on Arthur Ave in the Bronx that I finally decided to see it for myself. Getting there by subway would be a nightmare from Innwood in Manhattan. Grudgingly I took the bus. The B12 bus stops down the hill from where I live and takes you along Forham Rd in the Bronx. It starts to get intensely Italian a few blocks down Arthur Ave by 187 St. I am comming back here for my cake bread and pizza needs. The bakeries in my neighborhood are Dominican and they have not learned the sophisticated baking arts commonplace among Italians, Germans and the French. Big slabs of sheetcake covered with huge amounts of icing are called cake by them and pronounced delicious. Similar crappy stuff is made by the Pennsylvania Dutch. Absolute shit. I bought a loaf of bread at the bread bakery that just came out of the oven and was so hot I could not touch it. Delicious crispy crust too. The Full Moon pizzeria was an absolute wonder. The slices were so crisp that if there had been a slot in my table, I could have stood it up on its pointy end without flopping over. A lot of the businesses were closed. Whether it was vacations or because it was Sunday I don't know. However I am comming back. This neighborhood would provide a lesson to out of towners to acquaint them with what fine food should be like.

Arthur Ave, The Bronx July 2008