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My mom has been talking about how much she misses Europe and how she can't wait to go back to Italy. Well, we don't have to wait -- we are so close to the Bronx Little Italy! This summer when school is out, The Belmont Business Improvement District (BID) safely welcomes families back to the borough, announcing the latest offerings from Bronx Little...

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If you want to know what one of the most interesting neighborhoods in New York was like before the pandemic—-well, it’s back, and in these times, more important, more fun and more needed than ever. There really is only one Little Italy these days, and it’s in the Bronx, in the area known as the Belmont Business Improvement District. To most of us,...

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On Palm Sunday during Lent, after one of the most difficult years for the world since World War 2, I decided to write a blog post about a long forgotten miraculous event that occurred on October 29th of 1945. The world was still in turmoil from World War 2 just ending a couple of months earlier. A nine year old boy, one of eighteen children born to...

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On her first day working at the cafe she’d bought with her husband, Anna Agovino was nervous. “I’d never made espresso. I’d never made a cappuccino in my life,” she said. But that changed quickly. “In one day, I learned,” she said. Over two decades later, she remains both the barista and the fiery personality behind La Casa del Caffe in the Morris...

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In the last year and a half, the pandemic dealt a severe blow to restaurants in New York City, many of them closing, possibly never opening again. For Regina Migliucci-Delfino, Covid-19 not only forced the closure of her restaurant, Mario’s, on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx, but claimed the life of her father, Joseph, who died on April 6 at age 81, af...

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Long before he began pursuing a career acting on the big screen, Frank Grillo was a Yankees fan growing up in the Bronx. Grillo, 55, recalled his family’s obsession with his hometown club, bonding with relatives at his Italian-American household while his favorite team played on his television set. “I remember the games were always on the televisio...

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A famous photograph of Mulberry Street at the turn of the 20th century shows a neighborhood brimming with life. The street is packed with recent Italian immigrants, young and old. Carts and buggies crowd the streets like cars do today, with merchants selling products out the back. Produce stands are in front of buildings in the same way that outdoo...

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Dominic Ruggiero, the patriarch and former owner of the popular Yonkers restaurant Dom & Vinnie's, died Thursday from COVID-19. He was 87. Ruggiero and his brother-in-law, Vinnie, opened up the restaurant in 1971 in Ardsley. They moved to Yonkers 36 years ago and created a spot that has always been known for their welcoming spirit and its Italian c...

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Although this past year has been filled with darkness and despair, there are two couples working together in Bronx’s Little Italy, both of whom have been married for almost half a century. Lori, 71 and Marco Coletta, 75, own and operate Tra Di Noi, at 622 East 187th Street, best known for their lasagna Bolognese, pasta con fave, calamari fritti, ho...

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The perfect pick-me-up for the coldest month of the year is almost here. Next week, over 100 Italian restaurants will participate in New York City's annual Restaurant Week. This year's lineup of Italian restaurants represents all five boroughs and an array of cuisines, from Milanese fine dining at Casa Lever to family-style Southern Italian spreads...

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