Eating Out in . . . Da Bronx!

2 City Island Ave, Bronx, NY 10464 (map)

If you want to eat seafood the way New Yorkers ate it in the 1950s, head up to City Island. There, right on the water, sits Johnny's, serving fried shrimp, fried lobster, fried clams, fried oysters and other fried things. This isn't Le Bernardin. It's an old-school Bronx fish fry and you'll be glad of it. If you got this food at a fancy midtown restaurant you might kill yourself; here it's like heaven.

565 Hunts Point Ave, Bronx, NY 10474 (map)

This might be one of the most random places at which you'll ever find good barbecue. Originally sold out of a semi truck in an auto-parts yard, Mo Gridder's now has an actual sit-down restaurant, though it's still in the same forlorn section of the borough. But it's more than worth the trek, thanks to the sweet cherrywood smoke that permeates the ribs, brisket and chicken for hours before being served. Plus, you can pick up a starter for a 1970 Chevy Nova while you're there.

892 Gerard Ave, Bronx, NY 10452 (map)

No culinary survey of the Bronx could be complete without a nod to the borough's fantastic Caribbean--and in particular, Jamaican food. A Jamaican joint is no better than its jerk barbecue, and at this small, clean, well-lit little restaurant (just a stone's throw from Yankee Stadium), it's exemplary. The meat is smoked in a small oil drum on the sidewalk, and the finished product is flavorful, moist and wildly peppery. In colder weather, the curried goat is also a good choice, but either one goes great with Feeding Tree's various sweet soft drinks like coconut water or sorrel, a kind of ginger beer. Better yet, no matter how much food you order, the total price never seems to exceed $40.

622 E 187th St, Bronx, NY 10458 (map)

Although Roberto's is more famous, there is no better Italian food in the Belmont/Arthur Avenue section of the Bronx's Little Italy than Tra Di Noi, a small family restaurant that is seldom as mobbed as its more widely known rivals. The menu hasn't changed since the place opened, and everything on it is good--especially the carbonara--but the daily chalkboard specials are generally the way to go. It may not sound great, but the stewed rabbit is out of this world.

2357 Arthur Ave, Bronx, NY 10458 (map)

The Bronx has some of the best pizza in the five boroughs, but none better than this latecomer to the scene, which opened in 2008. Its Salerno-born owner, Roberto Paciullo, however, has been known as "Mr. Bronx" far longer than that, thanks to his landmark Belmont eatery, Roberto's. Like that restaurant, this sprawling trattoria has huge waits, but Zero Otto Nove's Neapolitan-style pizza--thin, puffy and made with fantastic ingredients--is worth it. The smoked mozzarella, butternut squash and pancetta is especially great.