NoLita Pizza on Kenmare Street between Mott & Mulberry Street in Manhattan was founded a few years ago by pizzaiolo Tony Salihaj, who learned expert pizza-making skills while working for many years at Bleecker Street Pizza. 

We first tried his signature #pizza, Regina Napoletana last week but went back yesterday to also try their classic cheese slice and both were extra extra good! The Regina Napoletana features homemade Marinara sauce, mozzarella, Parmigiano Reggiano, fresh basil 🌿 and imported cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil. Not only did we rate this #nycpizza shop as one of the best in NYC, our dog Hudson, who is also a pizza 🍕 connoisseur gave both slices all 4 paws 🐾 up approval!  

• To watch our livestream video where we visit @nolitapizzanyc 🍕 & to watch Hudson give his paws 🐾 up approval, please subscribe to our JamesandKarla YouTube channel, see direct link below & in bio and IG story.  

• Full livestream video:  https://youtu.be/oDyxpkYIyF4

Peter’s Grocery Store on Madison Street in the Lower East Side was founded in 1947.

When we interviewed the 2nd-generation owner, Peter Migliorini in 2008 for our book “Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York” he told us that his father opened the shop “when the neighborhood was mostly Irish with some Italians and Polish immigrants and was largely residential. But over the years, many apartment buildings have been demolished and or converted into office towers.”

Sadly the lack of customers was one of the reasons Peter closed his grocery store just a year later in 2009. There has been a few different businesses occupying the #storefront in the past decade but none to us, have the charm of Peter’s with its gorgeous #handpainted signage and the 7Up insignias flanking each side.

 #disappearingfaceofnewyork #jamesandkarla #momandpopshop #lowereastsidenyc #signpainting #signage #grocerystore

Susie’s Pies in the Bronx

Susie’s Pies in the Bronx is a perfect example of the quintessential classic New York pizzeria #storefront with its walk-up window to order & grab a slice from the counter and its beautiful #handpainted signage complete with phone number showing no area code as this #pizzeria was founded in the 1970s, when the Bronx  was still part of the 212 area code. 

In fact, for the first 37 years after the establishment of the North American Numbering Plan in 1947, all of New York City was a single numbering plan with area code 212. But in 1984, New York Telephone asked the New York Public Service Commission to split part of New York City into a new area code to "prevent an impending exhaustion of telephone numbers." 

On February 1, 1984, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island were split into a new area code, with Manhattan and the Bronx retaining 212. The announcement of the impending split triggered protests and threats of legal action from local officials and lawmakers representing the outer boroughs. 

Despite this, New York Telephone implemented the new 718 area code on September 1, 1984 and on July 1, 1992, the Bronx and the neighborhood of Marble Hill, Manhattan were also split from numbering plan area 212, and were added to 718. 

#disappearingfaceofnewyork #pizza #nycpizza #italianfood #pizzapie #pizzalover #pizzalovers #pizzalove #pizzaislife #calzones #thebronx #jamesandkarla #pizza🍕

NoLita Pizza on Kenmare Street between Mott & Mulberry was founded by pizzaiolo Tony Salihaj, who learned expert pizza-making skills while working for many years at Bleecker Street Pizza. 

Yesterday, while we walked the length of the Feast of San Gennaro in Little Italy 🇮🇹, we took a short detour and visited @nolitapizzanyc to try their signature #pizza, Regina Napolitana (slice seen in 1st photo) which features homemade Marinara sauce, mozzarella, Parmigiano Reggiano, fresh basil 🌿 and imported cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil. Not only did we rate this pizza as one of the best Margherita pizzas we have had in NYC, our dog Hudson, who is also a pizza 🍕 connoisseur gave the slice all 4 paws 🐾 up approval! We loved this pizza so much that we returned after finishing exploring the Feast, and purchased a whole pie (swipe left for 2nd photo). 

• To watch our livestream video where we visit the Feast & NoLita Pizza 🍕 & to watch Hudson have his share of pizza, please subscribe to our JamesandKarla YouTube channel, see direct link below & in bio and IG story.  

• Full livestream video: https://youtu.be/_8BgDBkeKhw

Casa Latina, East Harlem, NYC

Casa Latina on 116th Street in East Harlem aka El Barrio was founded in 1948 by Puerto Rican musician Bartolo Alvarez. It is the longest running Latin 🎶 Music store in the area and the nation’s first Spanish language music store. 

We visited Casa Latina to say hi to owner, Vicente Barreiro (2nd photo) as walked around East Harlem to help support the many small businesses in this lively neighborhood, many of which are family owned and operated.  

• To watch our East Harlem livestream and subscribe to our JamesandKarla YouTube channel, see direct link below & in bio and IG story. 

• Full livestream video: https://youtu.be/u5KVUlgcP2s

Capri Bakery on 116th Street in East Harlem

Capri Bakery on 116th Street in East Harlem was founded in 1984 and specializes in elaborately decorated cakes 🍰 for every occasion but also serves Cuban breads and sandwiches, pastelitos de guava (guava pastry) and a large variety of cookies. 

Yesterday, we visited Capri Bakery and walked around East Harlem to help support the many small businesses in this lively neighborhood, many of which are family owned and operated. 

• To watch our East Harlem livestream and subscribe to our JamesandKarla YouTube channel, see direct link below & in bio and IG story. 

•Full livestream video:  https://youtu.be/u5KVUlgcP2s

Yesterday was the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Asian holiday also known as the Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival, which celebrates the brightest and fullest moon 🌝 of the year as well as the Fall harvest.

In China, the holiday is celebrated similar to Thanksgiving with families gathering for a meal accompanied by lantern lighting. To celebrate the annual #mooncakefestival yesterdayday, we visited the family-owned Golden Fung Wong Bakery on Mott Street in Chinatown to purchase #mooncakes 🥮 which are round pastries traditionally filled with red bean or lotus seed paste wrapped around a salted egg yolk that symbolizes the moon and gives them a sweet and savory flavor. The #mooncake is then pressed into molds to emboss the top with elaborate designs. Fung Wong is one of the few bakeries in New York City which sells mooncakes year-round as well as other #Chinese pastries and cookies.  

• To watch our livestream visit to Chinatown and see our “Mooncake Battle” where we try mooncakes from three different bakeries, please subscribe to our JamesandKarla YouTube channel, see direct link below & in bio and IG story. 

• Full video livestream: https://youtu.be/gnphZmA7Yjo