Mangia Italiano: Arthur Avenue Food Tour

For years, the spouse and I have wanted to go to Arthur Avenue in the Bronx, often referred to as "The Real Little Italy of New York." So a few weeks ago, we signed up for a guided walking/food tour of Arthur Avenue -- which took place today. Unfortunately, the tour was a huge disappointment*, so the spouse and I broke off from the group a little over halfway through and explored Arthur Avenue on our own.

Following are some of the wonderful shops we visited (both with the group and on our own).

First up Tony & Tina's Pizzeria, where we sampled burek.

Next we visited Borgatti's, which was packed with pasta lovers waiting for their freshly made raviolis, egg noodles, gnocchi, and other pasta.

Then it was onto Addeo & Sons Italian Bakery where we sampled prosciutto focacia and chocolate bread.

Shortly after visiting Addeo & Sons we split off from the group and stumbled upon Calandra's, which had the most delicious smoked mozzarella.

Then we stopped into Calabria's Pork Store...

 So I could take a picture of their hanging salamis (?).

Next, it was into the Arthur Avenue Market.

Our last stop: Cosenza's fish market, where we slurped down half a dozen fresh oysters shucked in front of us.

I only wish we had not wasted so much time with the tour so we could have explored on our own longer! Oh well, next time!

*Too many people, too slow -- it should not take an hour to walk from the Fordham Road Metro-North stop to the start of the Arthur Avenue shopping district, i.e., less than half a mile -- and we were served very little food, and this was supposed to be a food tour! If you are thinking of visiting Arthur Avenue in the Bronx, skip the guided tour and explore the area on your own. You can obtain maps and suggestions online -- or just use this blog post as your guide!  You'll save a lot of money and aggravation.