The Bronx. The Boogie Down. The BX. El Bronx. We go by many names and it suits us. This New York City borough with a reputation for toughness also has an origin story linked to the American Revolution (or American War of Independence as Brits still like to call it). A rebellious spirit of independence has fed and fuelled it from its days as a haven for jazz clubs to its key role in the birth of salsa music and hip-hop. It is also the greenest of the five boroughs, with the largest parks and significant points of natural and cultural interest.
When the celebrity chef and travel documentary-maker Anthony Bourdain featured the Bronx in his Parts Unknown series in 2014, he got many things right. What probably resonated deepest with those of us who live here was when he said, “The Bronx is a magical place with its own energy, its own food, its own vibe, its own rhythm.” Like all who write about the Bronx, Bourdain noted its overemphasised reputation for crime and poverty. We who live in the Bronx are accustomed to defending ourselves and our borough, but we would like to shift the focus. If we simply show you the magic we see, we think you will want to come and see, hear, taste and feel it for yourself.
“The Bronx is big. Really big,” Bourdain also noted. We are more than one story, and luckily lots of us are working to tell the stories we have about the place we love and call home. I am here because I chose to stay. We like choices, so for visitors I’d like to present a choose-your-own-adventure kind of tour.
On a small plaque, blocked by a magnificent cherry blossom tree for a few weeks in early spring, at the entrance to Fort Independence Park on Sedgwick Avenue you can read about the various ways the Bronx played a role in the American Revolution.
Join me here for a bike ride I take often. Let’s start with catching the sunrise over Tracey Towers. This is in Kingsbridge Heights, a neighbourhood named after the first bridge connecting the island of Manhattan with the Bronx and mainland United States in 1693, and strategically important during the revolution. History lesson over, for now.
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If hungry, we go right and ride toward Kingsbridge Road, where you will find what I call my old-school eats at the Dominican food spot Caridad (caridadkingsbridge.com), where a mofongo dish or bistec encebollado and tostones are my favourites, or the Mexican restaurant Montezuma, where I love the antojitos platter and red snapper with green tomatillos. Delicious food — and great prices with mains from $20 (£16). On your way, on Sedgwick Avenue, you will pass the building that was designated as the birthplace of hip-hop on August 11, 1973.
If you’re feeling adventurous, ride through Fort Independence Park (tiny) and cross into Van Cortlandt Park (enormous) to the wooded hiking or bike trails, the latter of which can take you far north into Westchester and beyond (a favourite ride of mine). If you want to stay in the Bronx, head east and ride Mosholu Parkway to the end.
You will have choices, depending on how far you are willing to pedal. Turn right at this point and you will pass, or visit, the famous New York Botanical Garden, Bronx Zoo and Fordham University. You could even head over to Little Italy (yes, the Bronx has one too) for pastries, cappuccino or pizza.
Turn left, cross the Bronx River and deepen the adventure by riding all the way along Pelham Parkway to get to Orchard Beach, the “Riviera of New York City”. If you turn off earlier to ride along Mace Avenue you will pass a grotto with the figure of the Virgin Mary presiding over people and pigeons alike. If you want a quiet Orchard Beach vibe, go early on a weekday; if you want culture, go to Salsa Sundays behind the handball courts or at the bandstand. It is a weekly communal dance event. This bike ride is a pilgrimage my family has been making since the 1950s.
Hungry? City Island, a fishing village turned seafood haven, is very bikeable if you take the beach trail. Tony’s Pier fried shrimp, and feeding French fries to seagulls, was my childhood favourite (tonyspiercityisland.com). Or, just a little further away, if you want Puerto Rican food, a brunch with a live DJ and maybe a poetry reading, you can take a longer bike ride to Barrio BX on Tremont Avenue.
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If you visit in early spring or winter, and biking in the cold is not your thing (it is not mine), head up to the five-mile long Grand Concourse, where a bus ride and some walking will get you to the 188 Cuchifritos (on 188th Street), where Bourdain ate his fill of pork, although Elsa La Reina del Chicharron (queen of fried pork) on 183rd Street is hard to resist. Keep south to make an art stop at the Bronx Museum, with a focus on contemporary art such as the recent Swagger and Tenderness show, or the Andrew Freedman Home, which is a cultural centre with temporary exhibits. On 161st you will enter the unmistakable land of Yankee Stadium, home of the New York Yankees. In spring or summer book early for game day.
Eventually you arrive at the South Bronx, our phoenix of continuous rebirth, where a first stop might be the area around Alexander Avenue. It offers the Lit Bar, where you can buy a book and have a glass of wine (from £6; thelitbar.com), Chocobar, where you can eat, drink and dream chocolate for ever (signature cocktails from £11; chocobarcortes.com), the Boogie Down Grind for culture and coffee (from £3; boogiedowngrind.com), and Bronx Native, where you can buy the best of your Bronx swag such as original designs, often by local artists, on T-shirts, hats and bags to take home (bronxnative.com).
This should have you yearning to find your own Bronx story. There are more than a million of us who live here, and each of us have dozens of versions of a good day in the Bronx. Get curious. Get busy. Get down in the Boogie Down. If you know, you know. And now you know what we know: the Bronx is beautiful.
Carmen and Grace by Melissa Coss Aquino is published on Thursday April 13 by Head of Zeus at £16.99
Three neighbourhood stays in New York
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1. Opera House Hotel, Bronx
In a former life Harry Houdini and the Marx Brothers performed in this building. Now it’s a 60-room hotel that keeps its pillared early 20th-century frontage but contrasts that with modern bedrooms. Baseball fans can get to the Yankee Stadium with ease; head uptown and you’ll come to Arthur Avenue and Bronx’s own Little Italy, while the Subway Line 2 will whisk you to Times Square in about 30 minutes.
Details Room-only doubles from £122 (operahousehotel.com)
2. Northern Lights Mansion, Harlem
A classic brownstone house near 125th Street, this hotel is in Harlem’s most historic area, and within walking distance of the Apollo Theater and the statue of the abolitionist Harriet Tubman. There are just six suites — all extravagantly furnished and generously sized — and the kitchen is beyond the large lobby. Guests can cook for themselves and coffee and snacks are provided but there’s little reason to want to stay in. Harlem has some great restaurants, including Sylvia’s for classic soul food and Pikine for Senegalese cuisine.
Details Room-only doubles from £232 (northernlightsmansion.com)
3. Radio Hotel, Washington Heights
Across Harlem River from the Bronx, this 221-room hotel opened in 2021. The bedrooms are simple but sleek — with a co-working space and an outdoor terrace. Jalao restaurant reflects the area’s strong Dominican heritage with Latin-Caribbean food. As well as using the A train to get to Harlem and Manhattan, you can also use it to reach JFK airport, via Howard Beach, and the excellent Met Cloisters museum with its Romanesque and gothic art.
Details Room-only doubles from £128 (theradiohotel.com)
Sarah Turner
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