Yesterday afternoon, a Bronx jewelry store owner attended to a well-dressed man and woman who came into his Arthur Avenue store. But when they put a gun to his head and told him to open the safe, Anthony Spinelli grabbed his licensed gun and fired at the couple, as well as the suspected lookout who was outside the store. WABC 7 asked how Spinelli was doing hours after the incident, and the 49-year-old said, "Nobody wants to be in that position... I'm fine, thank you. I can't wait to get home." more ›

On Monday night, the owner of Arthur Avenue restaurant Dominick's was followed from the Bronx to his Hastings-on-the-Hudson home, where a group of robbers tied up him, his wife and son during a home invasion robbery. Charlie DiPaolo had exited his car when he was jumped and pistol-whipped by the robbers; his wife was in the garage, and the robbers forced them into the house and to open a safe. Greenburgh Police Chief John Kapica said that DiPaolo's 17-year-old son managed to call the police, "He came downstairs to listen to what was going on, got his cell phone. He went upstairs and secured himself in a closet and called 9-1-1 from the closet." The robbers later found him and tied him up with his parents. Police arrived as the thieves were putting the safe's contents into DiPaolo's car (intending to use it as a getaway vehicle); they managed to arrest Francisco Cordero, but the three other suspects fled. Kapica praised the son, "This kid really had it together. He had a lot of guts. If it wasn't for him, we don't know what would have happened." more ›

In addition to running the kitchen at NY dining landmark Brasserie, Chef Franklin Becker is also a tireless advocate for two particular causes: Raising awareness for Autism research, and developing recipes and healthy food choices for diabetics. Becker, who turned 38 at the beginning of the month, has been in the business for a staggering 24 years. Many New York Times stars later, he now cooks at Brasserie, and was an awarded a StarChefs Rising Star Award last year. After one recent lunch rush, Becker spoke to us at a side table about the benefits of growing up in Brooklyn, an Arthur Avenue restaurant with no menu, and what it’s like to clean the kitchen at 4 AM with the ghosts of Studio 54 keeping time at the bar. more ›

It would seem to be nothing less than dereliction of duty for an Italian-American food writer to have never been to the Italian food mecca that is Arthur Avenue, but it does on occasion happen. This oversight is even more glaring given that said food writer is half Calabrese and had never set foot in the Calabria Pork Store. more ›

New York pizza can be divided into many categories: neighborhood standbys, brick oven legends, non-traditional pies (thank you Wolfgang Puck), square “Grandma slices;” stuff like that. Good thing there are websites like Slice to sort out the taxonomy of NY pizzeria, and the hundreds of gems throughout the five boroughs. To this list we’d like to add one more- Sal and Paul Pizzeria in Brownsville, a.k.a. Steve’s Pizzeria. The restaurant has changed hands, but still makes the same pies, and they’re good. more ›

The only thing better than a tasty slice of pizza on a warm summer day in New York City is a tasty slice of pizza and a squeeze cup full of Italian ice. It’s been a grand culinary tradition in this town for generations: pizza and a frozen treat. more ›

New Yorkers tend to get themselves riled up about certain things. A tourist stops short walking in front of you to look at the lights in Times Square? Fly into a rage and curse all residents of the Midwestern United States. The price of a bleacher seat at The Stadium goes up another dollar? Work yourself into a tizzy complaining about Steinbrenner’s boundless greed. Can’t catch a cab? It’s an international Jewish conspiracy. One subject... more ›

Everyone loves a good caprese salad. The Italian delicacy is genius in its simplicity. It can be nothing more than sliced tomatoes topped with fresh mozzarella, garnished with basil and drizzled in olive oil. Anybody can make caprese as well as any Italian restaurant in town so long as anybody has access to high quality ingredients. Ay, there’s the rub: Where to find those ingredients. more ›

There's a NY Times article about NYC TV, our city's TV station, and basically crediting the turnaround from just showing City Council meetings and mayor press conferences to showcasing more cultural and social offerings, like short films, shows about hip-hop in the city, and what do for $9.99 in one day. But some critics, like City Councilwoman Gale Brewer, think the shows are too much about tourism and stuff that doesn't matter to real New Yorkers, "What are we learning from it? They're focusing on tourists and visitors rather than on New Yorkers who need basic services and want to know what their elected officials are doing." To which Deputy Mayor Edward Skyler says he enjoys "What's Cooking at Gracie" because his "idea of cooking is cereal." more ›

Gothamist heads to the Bronx for a few things, Yankees games, trips to the zoo and dinners on Arthur Avenue, but a lot people are now heading there to live. With prices in the city becoming ever less affordable, the South Bronx may be the last bastion of reasonable value. more ›

CBS New York morning anchor Jim Ryan is doing the show from various locations for a Breakfast With Jim Ryan segment each day. Now, if you've been watching the local news for a while, you'll know Jim from hosting Good Day New York on Channel 5. We always thought that Jim was at his best when he was needling weather man Dave Price, who moved over to CBS a while ago, so we were thrilled that they could be reunited. Today he was at Mike's Deli (you can see the segment here) on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx, and tomorrow he'll be at Natives in Queens. CBS 2 is taking suggestions on fun places for him to hang out (email CBS2Crew@cbs.com), and ours would be the Fairway Cafe (interaction with insane Upper West Side shoppers) or a Chinatown dim sum emporium like Triple 8 Palace (eat pigs knuckles at 5:30AM!). Do you have picks for breakfast fun? more ›

Gothamist loves travel - but hates travelling. Who actually enjoys shuttling to the airport, long flights, the interminable wait for your luggage when you finally arrive at your destination? Let's not even discuss the whole packing process! more ›

As part of our foray to the Bronx, we decided to check out the Arthur Avenue Retail Market. Different retailers sell from the large building - cigar makers, florists, housewares (like a mini, less gentrified Chelsea Market) - amidst the stretch of restaurants, bakeries, fishmongers, and other butchers on Arthur Avenue. We made a beeline for Michael's Deli, in the back right corner of the market, because we had seen Michael give a demonstration of how to make fresh mozarella on NYC TV. After he sort of making fun of us for taking pictures (forcing us to pose with a ball of smoked mozarella, so we could be holding "Michael's ball"), Gothamist bought some fresh mozzarella, which, upon trying when we got home, was some incredible stuff - rich and creamy. We didn't even need to salt it! more ›