June 15, 2006
The Hungry Cabbie Eats The Outer Boroughs: Mike's Deli
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.
Jersey tomatoes are some of the best on the planet (Italians didn’t even know what a tomato was until it was brought back from the New World just a few centuries back). So the base ingredient shouldn’t be a problem, especially since ripe Jersey tomatoes can be found at almost every market in city during these summer months. Crisp, aromatic basil, if it's not one of the plants growing on your window sill, can be purchased fresh from the farm at any of the city’s myriad farmers markets. And a tin of high quality olive oil is an investment in flavor that will pay dividends well beyond your next dinner party.
The fresh mozzarella is the most important ingredient, but it is also the most difficult to find. Even some of New York’s world class cheese shops like Murray’s don’t take the time to make mozzarella fresh on the premises. While there are downtown shops that make fresh mozzarella (Joe’s Dairy), Mike’s Deli in the Arthur Avenue Retail Market in The Bronx is where you’ll find the best.
Mike’s Deli makes mozzarella fresh all day. Just stand there looking hungry, and the counterman will gladly fork over a generous taste of mozzarella while it’s still delightfully warm. And once the mozzarella has taken its cold bath, you can buy a great, squishy ball of it in a plastic quart container. Mike’s mozzarella is salted to perfection, and the texture strikes an ideal balance of stringiness and softness. It is so flavorful that, if you are anything like me, you’ll devour half of it before you have the chance to marry it to your tomatoes, basil, and olive oil.
Mike’s also sells some of the best dry Italian sausages in the city as well as an array of giant, mozzarella-centric heroes. But it is their fresh mozzarella that can make your homemade caprese salad taste like you ordered it at Lupa.
Mike's Deli 2344 Arthur Ave, Belmont, TheBronx 718-295-5033
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I gotta disagree with you - I think the boconcini at Joe's around the corner on 187th beat Mike's fresh mozzarella any day. But that's just me.
I'd like a squishy ball of cheese, please.
That place looks great! What's the best subway stop to get there?
mmmmm
Pastoralia - 4 or D train to Fordham (bit of walk from there)
I went to Fordham for four years and Mike's is fantastic. Joe's Deli used to be good, last time a I went there ( a year ago) it seemed like they were selling the place.
IMO, Tino's Deli is the best. The best mozarella, the best meats. It moved around the corner onto Arthur Avenue, in a bigger place, I haven't been to the new location yet though.
The Belomont Area of the Bronx has the best Italian food in the city.
Wait,
So gothamist actually mentioned something close to culture existing in the Bronx?
Did someone get a new subway map to replace that old one that must have been missing spots north of 127th street, or is the Bronx actually getting some respect?
It's been hard to ignore the third largest borough, I'm sure.
nice picture
very nice picture
mike deli isnt that great i mean the owner is a bit mean he could be a you know what ! what is the whole big fuss about mikes deli??? i know other delis around there that could beat mikes deli
Mike's is great. the food is spectacular, and I don't think Dave or Mike is mean. Just part of the bronx Baby!