Venturing to the Bronx Little Italy is always a fun adventure. A few weeks ago, we headed down to the Bronx to check out the KUSAMA: Cosmic Nature exhibit at the New York Botanical Garden. And, wow, that was incredible.
A trip through Kusama’s imagination and world, we loved looking at the bright bursts of pumpkins, bursts of colors, and patterns — all intermixed within nature. It was wild, immersive, awakening, and so much fun (more on that soon!).
After our cosmic adventure, we ventured to the Bronx Little Italy to try Emilia’s Restaurant. Located right on Arthur Avenue, this neighborhood restaurant offers indoor, outdoor, and back patio seating options. We opted for the outside patio that felt like a hidden nook, nestled away from it all.
The menu was filled with tons of incredible options, including a hefty range of pastas, including whole-wheat and gluten-free options, salads, entrees, appetizers, and specials. We finally decided on the Mozzarella Caprese, Cesar Salad, Pasta with Meat Sauce, Grilled Salmon, Lasagna, and Chicken Parmigiana.
We stared with the Mozzarella Caprese and Cesar Salad — both were incredibly flavorful and memorable. The Mozzarella was a big hit that is actually made fresh right at the restaurant and the dressing on the salad was bursting with the flavor that my daughter actually still talks about.
For our main courses, I had the Grilled Salmon with a side of spinach was deliciously covered in garlic.
The kids happily ate their pasta dishes with my youngest raving about the lasagna. Filled with meat and cheese, the star of the dish was the classic red sauce that was incredibly flavorful and fresh.
The Chicken Parmigiana was another hit that was perfectly cooked and slathered in their magical red sauce.
My middle daughter is a little picker who originally ordered the Nonna’s Sicilian Meatballs. Knowing that this dish isn’t for all kids, the waiter explained that these meatballs have raisins and said that he could do a meat sauce with spaghetti for her instead. I loved how he “got it” and was easily able to work with me to try to find another option for her. She dug right in and ate almost of all it!
After dinner, we tried a few desserts and a heavenly decaf cap (for me!) to wind down the day. The kids loved the rich Black Forest Cake and the homemade cheesecake was special and so creamy. On the way home, we keep saying how good everything was and how we couldn’t wait to go back.
In addition to Emilia’s, the Bronx Little Italy is hosting “Piazza di Belmont” through the fall during weekend evenings, featuring al fresco dining on Arthur Avenue. All vehicular traffic will be closed from East 188th Street to Crescent Avenue from 6 pm to 10 pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and 1 pm to 9 pm on Sundays.
Visit Emilia’s Restaurant
2331 Arthur Ave
Bronx, NY 10458
