always liked debi going back to the late 80's...a good photographer I like named ricky powell shot her, always thought she was the epitome of queens (like i would know living in utopian connecticut ) ...i like her show but that husband is soooo fucking annoying...deeebrraaaaa in that voice...ugh

but ya, i like debi, always have

I don't know if its the best Little Italy, but it certainly has not changed. They have a good, strong neighborhood association that has been vigilant about retaining its character and traditions. Several restaurants still have Italian language (and English) menus. We get mail orders from Vivianno's (an old, and very good Italian grocery http://www.shopviviano.com/) since we can find the good, authentic stuff here in Texas.

LOL Nicky, why do you hate everything about St Lou except the Hill? There are other parts of the city that are fantastic - cental west end, the park, soulard, etc.

Yup, I mean new, Italian immigrants. In recent years, St Lou has had a bunch of Bosnian immigrants (of all places). I think I read somewhere the Bosnians now number over 150,000 and are becoming a political force in the city.

Geez, Tony. An Irish guy in Texas? That's two culinary strikes against you before you even get up to bat .

You know I'm kidding .

Hey Mikey, nice to see someone from my area on here. Don't get me wrong. I do enjoy strolling along Columbus Ave. Molinari's is great. The clam pizza at Tony's Pizza Napoletana is always a homerun. I also like what they did with Joe's right across the street. Giordano Brothers does a nice take on the famous Primanti Brothers sandwich. The owners of the place are originally from Pittsburgh and are huge Steelers fans. Lots of little dive bars I enjoy popping into but when Friday and Saturday night comes around, I stay away from this neighborhood the majority of the time. The streets are packed with drunk 20 something year olds. If anyone plans to visit, you will get a much more enjoyable experience during the day and if you want to have an evening dinner I really suggest you do it on a weekday.

Hahaha!! All good PB. In my opinion, the Italians taught the world the fine art of cuisine. The Irish taught the world how to make alcohol and consume it. I think we can both agree the 2 go very well together.

Can't live without either one of them .

Yeah I agree, there's a couple other nice spots, like the area around the zoo (that might be one of the places you mentioned). But since I'm from Chicago, I hate all of the St Louis sports teams and because of that, I hate the city too

Now I understand Nicky. Not that you need a reminder, but...

21 EVENTS THAT HAVE OCCURRED SINCE THE CHICAGO CUBS WON THEIR LAST WORLD SERIES

Both radio and TV were invented
Fourteen teams were added to Major League Baseball
George Burns celebrated his 10th, 20th, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th, 70th, 80th, 90th and 100th birthdays
Haley's comet passed Earth, twice
Harry Caray was born, and died
The NBA, NHL and NFL were formed, and Chicago teams won championships in each league
The US fought in World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Persian Gulf War, Iraq War, Afghanistan War
Man landed on the moon
Sixteen US presidents were elected
Eleven amendments added to the Constitution
Prohibition was created and repealed
The Titanic was built, set sail, sank, and was re discovered
Wrigley Field was built and becomes the oldest park in the National League
Flag poles were erected on Wrigley Field roof to hold all of the team's future World Series pennants, which have since rusted and been taken down
A combination of 40 Summer and Winter Olympics have been held
Thirteen baseball players have won the Triple Crown
Swing music, bell-bottoms, and disco came in style, went out of style and came back in style
The Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox and Florida Marlins have all won the World Series; what next, the Nationals?!?
The Cubs played almost 15,000 regular-season games, losing the majority of them
Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Oklahoma and New Mexico were admitted to the Union
The St Louis Cardinals have been to the World Series 19 times, winning 11 championships.

Ouch! I have a buddy who is a Cubs fan. You know what he says before the first game of the season? "well, there's always next year."

no offense taken! I'm a Sox fan!

Youch. Kinda, says it all.

@ TonyG /me chuckles

(Though Technically LN is a Sox fan)

Do you still live in the city PB?

Yes, we live in the Throggs Neck/Country Club section of the Bronx. But today we also live in Delray Beach, Florida for three or four months a year, depending on the weather, family, etc.

Weeknights are the time to go, I'll second that. The area was better when the Stone, the Mab, On Broadway etc... were open. Not as many out of towners just looking to get as drunk as possible and start fights after being thrown out of every Deja-Vu joint.
I still like having a drink at Gino & Carlos, the Columbus, Specs and Tony Niks. Then some Golden Boy to cap off the night!

Yes! Gino & Carlos is my go to also. Sometimes Grant & Green, Columbus Café is another spot I like too. Planning on going to the North Beach Festival this weekend? Tons of jerk offs but I still succeed in having a good time.

I might go by there Sunday if I've got time. I'm supposed to work this weekend. However I will not miss this...

http://www.sfiacfesta.com/

I got the joke PB
I was just replying...with poor humor...
I guess that I better catch up with Larry David

Even though tuscany is indeed north of rome it's still considered central italy.
it's basically the northernmost region of central italy, along with marche.

Yes, any American that goes to Milan is in for a treat: overpriced bogus and plenty of friendly gypsies.

I wrote all about it in another thread.

Don't you even get me started with Laurino...or I'm gonna get myself banned

What a self-hating, radical chic, closed minded, racist, elitist, lazy researcher she is

If she would have gone into therapy instead of writing "books" she'd be better off

The fact that people in the academia freakin love her shows how biased and sectarian self-proclaimed "incellectuals" actually are.

Marking that one on my calendar. We'll be there.

All good, LK .

Huh? The reason they are cultural metropolises is because things DO change. You need the churn and influx and out migration.

NY is an alpha world city, with 42 major skyscraper projects ongoing or in design right now, the highest population ever, and one of the lowest crime rates per capita of any US City. How is that worse than 1990 New York? Because there are less Italians? Blame the people that moved away then.

It can't stay the same forever. If a city does not change it becomes Detroit. That is disgraceful.

Little Italy is on the brink of extinction

By Kate Briquelet

March 30, 2014 | 2:52am

Little Italy is on the brink of extinction
A piece of New York City history is bidding arrivederci.

Rising rents and changing demographics have driven Little Italy to the verge of extinction. Once a teeming neighborhood stretching 50 square blocks, it now barely covers three blocks of Mulberry Street — and even that strip is under threat.

“You can’t rebuild Little Italy,” said Robert Ianniello Jr., owner of the famed Umbertos Clam House. “If we go away, it will never be here again. You can’t build an Olive Garden and say it’s Little Italy.”

Ianniello is battling a rent increase from a new landlord who bought the building last month for $17.5 million. He recently got a rent bill for $34,000 a month — more than double what he used to pay.

“It’s a landlord problem,” said Ianniello, who heads the Little Italy Merchants Association. “They think this is Fifth Avenue.”

Eight eateries have shut down in the past year.

Il Fornaio, once owned by Gambino mobster Joseph Corrao, remains empty.

Friends gather to talk at the Caffe Bella Napoli on Mulberry Street, Little Italy, the Italian community of New York City in 1944.
Giovanna’s shuttered after a six-year run when the landlord doubled the rent. Ads show the owner wants $32,000 monthly for the space.

A block south, at Positano Ristorante, a legal notice in the window shows the city marshal took over the storefront on behalf of the landlord in January.

At S.P.Q.R., the monthly rent jumped to more than $50,000 and the eatery was forced to close. The space currently is home to a year-round Christmas shop.

One Mulberry Street apartment building is converting the ground floor into retail, while a hotel is being constructed on Grand Street next to the now-shuttered Florio’s restaurant.

But it’s not just development that’s pressuring Little Italy. Cultural conflicts are also cutting it down to size.

In 2011, Nolita boutiques demanded the city remove three blocks from the famous Feast of San Gennaro to keep revelers’ “greasy hands” from besmirching their $300 frocks.
The shopkeepers’ request had festival boosters hotter than a plate of baked ziti. More than 100 protesters packed a community board meeting.

“We had Italians from all over writing to the mayor,” said John Fratta, whose grandfather co-founded the annual festival in 1926. “It’s something that’s very sacred . . . You’ll see venom if you try to change it or stop it.”

Italian immigration surged in the late 19th century. By the early 1900s, nearly 10,000 Italians lived in the neighborhood, which once spanned roughly from Lafayette Street to the Bowery and from Kenmare to Canal streets.

Many residents flocked to the outer boroughs after World War II, and an influx of Chinese immigrants moved in, blurring the lines between Chinatown and Little Italy.

Today Little Italy’s heart is three blocks of Mulberry Street between Canal and Broome streets.

Emelise Aleandri, an author on Italian history and theater, said that the neighborhood remains a cultural touchstone for Italian Americans across the country — and that it would be a huge loss if it disappeared.

“Right now, there is just enough of a population to keep up traditions,” Aleandri explained. “But it’s going to be more difficult to keep the area Italian if the merchants and businesses leave.”

My wife just told me this our old church Mt.Carmel on a Hun 14 in east Harlem has masses in Polish now. What is this world comming to?

I sent you a pm, footreads:)

There are Spanish masses at Mount Carmel, but I'm not aware of the Polish Masses. And there aren't any Italian Masses left, either: http://www.parishesonline.com/scripts/hostedsites/org.asp?ID=10134.

I've told you before that's where my parents got married back in 1958. My Dad is still on the Giglio committee, so we still get over there every so often. It's still a beautiful church .

@Foot

Is that a parody article?

"greasy hands"? No way is that a quote.

also, said it before and will say it again...if writers don't get the F out of here with these new era nicknames....Nolita?

do these names come from real estate brokers?

====================================================

I just assumed that the real estate in L.I. was still in Italian hands

where the fuck is Nolita? below soho and above chinatown?

North of Little Italy, south of Greenwich Village. But so is SoHo for that matter .

Like I said, Nolita sounds like an underage hooker.