For the first time in its 125 year history, Bronx’s Little Italy will be celebrating a New York culinary tradition: restaurant week. From February 3-13, top restaurants of Arthur Avenue will serve customers three-course meals at a fixed price: $20 for lunch and $30 for dinner.
The arrival of this event to one of New York’s most food-centric neighborhoods is something to celebrate. Arthur Avenue’s eight participating restaurants - many family owned - bring to the table a good balance of red-sauce classics like chicken parmigiana and lighter Mediterranean options like branzino and filet of sole. The third course goes sweet and bitter with deserts like Amalfi limoncello cake, profiterole and, finally, espresso.
(ph Abigail Napp)
At the Arthur Avenue kick-off event on January 30, Bronx Council Member Ritchie Torres said Restaurant Week gave Arthur Ave’s family-run restaurants an opportunity to “return their love” by offering “the best bargain in NYC.”
Surveyor Tim Zagat and restaurateur Joe Baum started New York’s Restaurant Week in 1992. They wanted to support local businesses and to offer diners a chance to enjoy Manhattan’s finest restaurants for a “modest price.” They succeeded. Over 360 restaurants signed up this year. Restaurant Week ends Feb 9th in Manhattan, but goes until the 13th on Arthur Avenue.
Make a reservation in advance, if you can. The dining rooms fill up fast with regulars from Westchester and beyond. Note: the prices do not include alcohol and will not be available on weekends.
(ph Abigail Napp)
Here are some of menu highlights from Arthur Avenue’s Restaurant week:
Ann and Tony’s It’s hard to know what Rosa and Eugenio were planning when they bought a two-story brick building for $11,000 in 1927 and started a restaurant that is now run by their great-grandsons. “We never went with the trends or jumped on bandwagons. We are a testament of staying old school,” says co-owner Ralph Napolitano, who helps to manage the restaurant. His brother Anthony cooks the Neapolitan recipes of their family. If you’re tempted to order off the prix-fixe menu, try their baked artichoke stuffed with breadcrumbs and a platter of Italian sausage and meatballs.
Menu highlights: eggplant rollatini, chicken parmigiana, filet of sole almondine, and cannoli.
San Gennaro’s Ristorante A relative newcomer to the neighborhood, Gennaro, an Italian chef trained in Paris who grew up beneath Mount Vesuvio, prepares some of the freshest seafood dishes on Arthur Avenue. Raised in his mother’s restaurant in the Naples area, he learned the family recipes and applied his own technique.
Menu highlights: fresh cavatelli with mussels, squid and roasted cherry tomato, imported buffalo mozzarella caprese salad, filet of sole piccata, and limoncello cake.
Mario’s It’s not hard to imagine Frank Sinatra, James Gandolfini and others leaving their jackets at coat-check, a stiff drink quickly offered as they’re guided into Mario’s dining room and presented with a steaming dish of home-made gnocchi and red sauce. One feels taken care of at Mario’s. Owner Regina has kept her eye on the dining room since 1989, but the restaurant is over 100 years. She says they treat customers like family. The current chef came from Gaeta, Italy, and takes charge of the specials. The main menu delivers classic southern Italian American fare: home-made gnocchi, braciole, and veal saltimbocca, hot and delicious.
Prix-fixe menu available for dinner only.
Gerbasi Ristorant e Gerbasi’s talks up the heat of their dishes, which are never lacking in Calabrian spice and intensity. The head chef hails from Mexico and has mastered many recipes of Italian cooking. Pasta is made in house and so is the sausage seasoned with fennel. Their pork chop melts off the bone and the lasagna comes with locally made ricotta.
Menu highlights: pork chop gorgonzola, home-made lasagna, linguini with clams and branzino rustico.
Other participating restaurants are Antonio’s Trattoria, MangiPasta, Arthur Avenue Fiasco and Michael Angelo’s.