Nosh the Bronx Noshwalks

06/22/2022

Exciting this morning to see that the New York Times food reviewer is venturing beyond the walls of eateries in the chicer areas of Manhattan and Brooklyn: A three-star review of a Bronx eatery - on the FRONT PAGE of today's New York Times! Open Saturdays and Sundays only - beware of crowds! This is great ... I wonder if the owners will open a real storefront in time, and add more days. I might be able to fold this place into my "Crossing 149th Street" Noshwalk, as I prepare to revive my tour schedule, with route revisions.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/21/dining/la-pirana-lechonera-review-pete-wells.html

03/24/2022

William Helmreich was a CCNY sociologist who explored all of NYC on foot, wearing down many pairs of shoe sin the process. He "got" the Bronx simply by walking through it. Here's an article about his Bronx insights from The New Yorker, written about nine years ago, called "A Walker in the City." (The title is a takeoff on Albert Kazin's famous memoir of the same name - a wonderful book.)

Helmreich died two years ago in the first terrible wave of COVID deaths - a huge loss. He left us the gift of loving New York City as a compulsive walker. Read on and enjoy!

https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/a-walker-in-the-city?fbclid=IwAR2PZhMs4IOgJkk7KYwGXuZNU8NYe9LCTs82cT9ZUkXkYKjJNnjS3Po5AEQ

Over the past four years, William Helmreich, a sixty-seven-year-old professor of sociology at CUNY, has walked almost every street in New York City: a …

03/24/2022

Hello! I haven't posted here in ages, although I've been doing a lot of Bronx noshing on my own and leading private Noshwalks. I'm thinking of starting a series of "Explora-Noshwalks" including the Bronx, as I check out neighborhoods I haven't been back to since the pandemic was at its most intense. For these tours, I'd invite people to join me (for a modest fee); food and maps would NOT be included, as we retrace Bronx tours I've led in the past. My private tour requests have often included Belmont/Arthur Avenue and Parkchester/Van Nest, which includes Little Yemen. But there are so many other great spots and I intend to go back soon. Stay tuned!

If you haven't "liked" the Noshwalks page, that's where you'll get all updated tour information, and of course I'll post Bronx Noshwalk info here.

10/14/2021

A fun destination in the Bronx is the Saturday "Bronx Night Market," which officially runs from 4 PM until dusk. But when I was there this past Saturday (October 9) at about 2:30 PM, much of it was already set up, and there are only three more before they take a break for winter: October 16, 23 and 30. It's located on the plaza at Fordham Center, opposite the Fordham Metro-North station, super-easy to reach on many bus lines. Here are two photos of the table for Bronx Hot Sauce - made from peppers raised in community gardens in the Bronx. I plan to go back this coming Saturday (and then I'm leading a Noshwalk in Brighton Beach and Sheepshead Bay on Sunday, October 17. See www.noshwalks.com for all details!

05/22/2021

Hi, Everyone. Sorry for no news in such a long time! I have been gradually revisiting Noshwalks neighborhoods as well as continuing to lead private tours (including a few to Belmont and the area near St. James Park and Poe Park where there's a great Vietnamese restaurant, two Cambodian markets, a terrific Dominican take-out place where we get yaroa, and a cluster of three markets representing the Caribbean, South Asia and West Africa). I will soon be walking some of my routes. I will invite a limited number of people to join me, and there will be a modest fee, food not included. If you're interesting in getting more information, please let me know.

It's my impression, from a range of visits I've made throughout the city, that many of the neighborhood markets, bakeries and eateries that are part of Noshwalks have survived. They serve the neighborhood, not tourists, and the residents need them! This is a hopeful sign! Here are some photos from recent Bronx visits:

03/23/2021

I don't normally post items like this, but I was drawn to the story of Chef Angel at Mike's Deli in Belmont, and just made a donation myself. Just as New York City is beginning to open up, I hope we can open our hearts to help this man and his family. Noshwalks is all about support local businesses, and Mike's Deli has been an important anchor in the Belmont community for decades!

If you have enjoyed the offerings at Mike's Deli over the past 25 years- you have … Mikes Deli needs your support for Chef Angelo Survived Covid & Loses A leg

09/23/2020

Little by little our traditions are returning!

(I, too, plan to return with private tours and small scale Noshwalks; an announcement will come soon!)

In any case, except when eating or drinking, please wear your mask!

One of the Bronx's tastiest events will make a comeback later this month.

08/19/2020

This article appeared in the food section of today's New York Times. It describes how an enterprising young Chinese chef, based in New Haven, has formed alliances with chefs from other ethnic backgrounds to create new fusion dishes combining different ingredients and cooking traditions. In one case, he used fonio, a West African grain similar to couscous. The first time I saw fonio was in a West African market in Williamsbridge, Bronx.

At Junzi Kitchen, the young chef Lucas Sin’s collaborative project shows the global reach of his home country’s cuisine.

08/07/2020

The other day the NY Times ran this lovely article about the Bronx before it was developed. You'll enjoy it! I found one mistake, though. Anyone know what it is?

Yankee Stadium was the site of a salt marsh. Concourse Plaza was a valley. Our critic walks with Eric W. Sanderson, a conservation ecologist.

07/01/2020

I wonder if other neighborhoods will do something like this! Exciting to see... and a great solution to the need to be socially distanced!

“Gridlock Sam” helped come up with a schematic — which isn’t 100 percent final — for what the entire strip could look like.