A great find in a section of Mott Haven that doesn’t see much upscale action! Delicious food, huge glasses of Sangrias (no liquor license so sadly they cannot sell their famous Pisco Sours), friendly staff and lively, energizing music make for a fantastic atmosphere. Congratulations on making this year’s Zagat list for the Bronx, guys! Check this place out - but make sure to bring cash (unless you want to be running down the street in high heels to the nearest bodega in search of an ATM like I was last night - NOT fun!) Note to owners: Who only takes American Express these days?!!?

Nestled in the beautiful expanse of Van Cortlandt Park, this 1748 historic home is a must for history and architecture buffs as well as anyone fond of antiques and the decorative arts.  To book a $5 tour, just call ahead to make sure one of the volunteer guides are available.  My friend and I showed up today sans reservations but were lucky that the wonderful David Kappes was around! Thanks David!  I can’t wait to return for the Decemeber Christmas Evening Candlelight Tour!!! (Check out their website for a list of upcoming events.) Afterwards, you can cross the street to grab some great Mexican food at Santa Fe Grill (I had a fantastic shrimp enchilada platter for $6.50) or a meal at the more upscale Jake’s Steakhouse.

Valentine-Varian House 

Danny - owner of Parisienne Cafe. Merci, Danny!

 Indoor market, Arthur Avenue

Check out the huge new condo development being built in Classon Point. 
Uh, yeah… I’d kill for those views!

The Rambling House, Woodlawn (or, as some like to call it, The Little Ireland of The Bronx)

Another great find in the Bronx.  After spending three hours in the Woodlawn Cemetary, I was famished.  After checking out the many Irish Pubs along Katonah Avenue (most of which I will be sure to return to soon) we settled for The Rambling House Bar and Lounge.  This place is huge and is divided into a loud and busy bar (today, they were hosting a Halloween Party so cute kids in even cuter costumes were just as abundant as were those downing pints of Guinness and Murphy Irish Reds) and a more sedate (thank Heavens!) dining room.  I had a superb clam and linguini dish and my friend had a killer burger. And they have one of the largest beers-on-tap selection that I’ve seen in a long time (We each had a $5 pint of Blue Moon).  Oh - AND they have waiters like Kenny (pictured below) who are not only super friendly, but have got a TON of guts!!! Thanks Kenny! You rock!

 

I have to admit being surprised at all the sushi places I have seen just in the last few weeks in the Bronx - from Mott Haven to Throgg’s Neck to City Island and even a temporary sushi bar this month at The Bronx Botanical Garden.  And those are just the places I have seen first hand.  I look forward to finding others to add to the list. 

 

…here’s more proof that housing in the Bronx isn’t about burnt out buildings, run down tenements and crack houses….(I know that’s what your thinking, but I’m just sayin’…)

Teasing aside, Country Club is actually a little enclave in the East Bronx, a place that has a serene, small-town feel unlike most places in the Bronx, or in NYC for that matter (Well, ACTUALLY, the Bronx does have  City Island, Riverdale, Throgg’s Neck, Pelham Bay…)  Some of the homes in CC are right on the water.  To have those views coupled with Bronx real estate pricing, is (in my opinion anyway) to die for!

Whether you’re gettin’ married or just need a place to impress your guests, the Marina Del Ray facility should be on your list.  Gorgeous property with fantastic views!

Gotta love a good brick oven when it comes to pizza.  Read my Boogiedowner review “When The Moon Hits Your Eye…” to learn more about Patricia’s.

SAVE THE DATE: Revolution!’s Bronx Halloween Bash, October 24th 
 South Bronx

It’s that time again! Time for another Save the Date for this month’s Revolution! party in Mott Haven at the Bruckner Bar & Grill.  (See past party photos here)  

Check out these great photos from last month’s party where Kissy Kamikaze, William Control (NSFW) and others performed, courtesy of Richard Scott:

Readers will now be aware of the fact that even though I have lived in the Bronx for almost two years, it wasn’t until I started TheBronxRocks that I learned of many of the great attractions this borough has to offer. I’ve discovered restaurants just blocks away that I never knew existed and now I have to clue you into yet another TREAT I came across just two weeks ago.  New York Sports Club!!!!  (Behind Sizzler on Bronxdale Avenue).  $69.95 per month will give you access to this brand nearly spanking new club (only 1 year old) with a pool, sauna, smoothie bar, lounge, babysitting service and several studios for classes and world class equipment (including cardio machines that come with their own personal TV screens!).   The times that I have been there, the place has never been crowded and I’ve never had to wait for anything (not so at the clubs in Manhattan).  

See you in Spin Class!

(Great staff at The Gallery Lounge)

I wrote about a great time a friend and I had last week when we hopped aboard the Bronx Trolley. During our many stops (here, here and here) in the South Bronx, we popped into the The Gallery Lounge (see my post here on The Boogiedowner).  It was great to finally check this place out, meet the very friendly staff and eat some great sushi. Check out there website for a funky and fabulous slideshow.

Yes, Sangrias…and great Mexican food!!! You have NO IDEA how fired I am about finding fresh and AUTHENTIC Mexican food right around the corner from my apartment! Growing up in Southern California, I crave this cuisine just about every other week and the many Dominican and Criolle eateries to be found in the Bronx just don’t always do it for me.  (Even in Manhattan, great Mexican cuisine is hard to come by). Taqueria Tlaxcalli (run by a former Mexico City resident - Mauricio), therefore is to die for.  And by the customers packing the place tonight, I’m obviously not the only one who believes they’ve just discovered a little slice of Heaven!  (Read some other favorable reviews here.) And pssst….don’t pass up the fabulous Sangrias!

 Judy (Go Fordham!) and Howard - Regulars at Tlaxcalli

Owner Mauricio - on the right - and his very talented kitchen staff.

Borgatti’s

The Bronx’s Little Italy is such a short bus ride from my home in Parkchester that I can’t believe I didn’t take advantage of it the first year and a half I was here.  It was only doing research for TheBronxRocks, that I finally figured out where it is (in between Parkchester and The Bronx Botanical Gardens, which I have been visiting regularly since I moved to this borough).  I posted about two fabulous restaurants early on here. But now I have to rave about the other shops one can enjoy during a stroll down Arthur Avenue.  I coaxed my friend Isabelle to join me last weekend and being Swiss-Moroccan and having spent her early years in both Paris and Switzerland, I knew she would appreciate this little enclave.  Reminiscent of the fromageries, boulangeries, chacuteries of the streets of Paris and other European villages, many of the shops of Little Italy specialize in their own…well, specialities – meat, cheese, bread, pasta, seafood and so forth.  Our favorite (and something neither of us had seen before) was Calabria Pork Store where the ceiling is literally filled to the brim with hanging salamis and sausages! After lunch at Tino’s Delicattessen and capucinnos at a bakery close, by we shop-hopped all the way down Arthur Ave for supplies to have an evening picnic-style dinner. French baquette, camembert, grapes, figs, olives, sundried tomatoes and a bottle of wine? Heaven!

Calabria Pork Store

A Little Taste Of Cuba