New Local Spot: Umai Sushi

As you probably have gathered already, sushi is my ultimate vice. So of course I was keen to try out the new sushi bar on Arthur Ave., Umai Sushi. First of all, in the four years that I have attended Fordham, there has never been one sushi place in this neighborhood. Now there are two! The first one to open was Sake II on 187th St. near Camberling Ave. I have to say that I do love this place and their sushi is pretty decent, also their prices are great-bento boxes are $12.95! You can even make a delivery order online. (They take 10% off your first order!) The only problem with Sake II is it is incredibly small...There are only two tables in the whole restaurant. So if I wanted to make a delivery order, Sake II is the way to go. 

If you're looking for an evening out with friends or a date, Umai is definitely the way to go. It's a bit pricier than Sake II, but the quality is definitely worth it. Another great thing is that it's BYOB so you can grab a cheap bottle of wine from Mt. Carmel and share it with friends. The decor is quaint but trendy...you almost forget for a second that you're not in Manhattan. 

I actually ended up going to dinner here TWICE this weekend; that's how good it was. Both nights they gave us a free vegetable spring roll as an appetizer...The staff is incredibly friendly and grateful to have you there. We ordered a few rolls; I would recommend the Y2K roll, and the Spicy 2 in 1 Roll, although everything I tried I loved. Also, both nights I went they even gave us a FREE dessert- Oreo Tempura which is exactly what it sounds like, Oreos fried in tempura batter. They were absolutely delicious. If you haven't been to this place yet....GO! 

A few people I talked to were questioning whether or not a sushi place in the Bronx could be decent, but give our neighborhood a little more credit! New places are opening up all the time and a lot of them are here to cater to Fordham students so take advantage of them. Although the Italian restaurants on Arthur are unbeatable, if you want a change of pace try Umai Sushi. 

Fresh & Local Weekend: Oyster Bar

This weekend, I plan on staying in the Bronx and appreciating what my neighborhood has to offer. Because in less than a month (yikes!) I won't be living here anymore and I want to take advantage of it for as long as I can.

Today was a BEAUTIFUL day and my friend Steph and I went for a stroll down Arthur Ave. One of our favorite things to do in the spring is to go to Cosenza's Fish Market and share a dozen oysters at their clam & oyster bar. I know that oysters are an acquired taste, but I absolutely love them. They are so refreshing and delicious....eating an oyster is like tasting a little part of the ocean, which may sound weird but it's true! If you've had doubts about oysters in the past, you should really give them a second chance.

Cosenza's has a variety of different clams & oysters on the half shell to choose from. We went with the Delaware Bay oysters, $1 each, which is pretty inexpensive for oysters. The other popular ones are the Blue Point oysters, $1.50 each.

There are so many sauces to choose from to accompany your oysters. I would recommend the Shark Bite Garlic Pepper Sauce or Cosenza's homemade cocktail sauce. With a squeeze of lemon, of course.

Our Delaware Bay oysters...yum!

Soo delicious...
"Eat Fish, Live Longer" I like that!

All done!

*Cosenza's Fish Market is right next to Umberto's Restaurant on the corner of 186th and Arthur Ave.

Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus

I did it!

I ventured to the Arthur Ave. Market and bought some amazing freshly sliced prosciutto. I just didn't know what I was going to do with it right away. Luckily, I was with my mom. She is an amazing chef, most of my inspiration for wanting to learn how to cook. She reminded me of an appetizer that she makes for parties all the time and it's soooo simple.


It's Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus and it only takes about 15 minutes to make it.
If you want to try it, you'll need:

-A batch of fresh asparagus
-1/2 lb of prosciutto
-cream cheese, or any spreadable, soft cheese
-1 lemon
-parmesan cheese ( for sprinkling )

First you'll want to blanch the asparagus. Cut off the tips of the asparagus. Put your asparagus into a pot of boiling water for 5 minutes. You want to make sure they are still firm and didn't get soggy. Immediately transfer the asparagus to a bowl of cold water to "shock" them. Pat asparagus dry. Take a small strip of the prosciutto and spread a tiny bit of the cream cheese onto it. Next, grate some lemon zest onto the prosciutto (my mom told me this is the secret ingredient). Wrap the prosciutto around the center of the asparagus and repeat!

This really does make a delicious snack. I made it for my friends and they all approved!

Fresh & Local

One thing that I feel guilty about as my time living in the Bronx comes to an end is not taking enough advantage of the fresh produce that is available on Arthur Ave. Shopping at specialty stores for individual ingredients does take more effort, but buying things fresh makes a difference. We are so lucky to have amazing butcheries, a fish market, a cheese shop, a bakery and so many other stores that value their products with extreme pride.

One thing I love about shopping on Arthur Ave is stopping at the oyster bar next to Umberto's to have a few oysters or clams with hot sauce. So delicious!

In the spring, when it gets warmer, I'm planning to utilize my neighborhood for cooking ingredients instead of heading to the grocery store to buy things in bulk and watch as they quickly go bad after a week in the fridge.

Last year, I bought my dad the Arthur Ave Cookbook for Father's Day and I think its about time that I steal it for a little while. Not only does it have great Italian recipes straight from the restaurants in the Belmont community, but it also has a little history about each place and biographies about the families that have owned these places for generations. I recommend checking it out, you can find it at the Arthur Ave. Market