Roberto's By Arthur

After a delightful barbecue at my Mysterious Sister-In-Law's house on Sunday I had to schlep back into the city to take care of some business. Everyone else had a play-date at the Bronx Zoo. It has become a bit of a tradition that when we go to the Bronx Zoo we head over to Arthur Avenue to eat at one of the fine Italian restaurants in that neighborhood. Of course I couldn't miss that so I took a subway up there and hooked up with everyone as they were leaving the zoo.

We decided to try a new place this time around. Jim thought Roberto's on nearby Crescent Street looked interesting, so that is where we headed.

Roberto's


We didn't have reservations and there were six of us. It was an adults only gathering, the three neices who had been to the zoo headed off with one of the aunts for a sleep-over. Kind of nice to have an adults only dinner once in awhile, and this was a nice place to have it. Small and nicely decorated. We did have a bit of a wait, but we passed the time at the bar. After a Moretti beer we decided to try a grappa. Jim had never had it before and they did have a fairly large selection.

Coming To Grips With Grappa


Jim Was Becoming A Bit Blurry


Just One Of The Boys


They had all kinds of interesting stuff on the menu and after a couple of orders of grilled octopus to start we got serious with the main course.

Jim Had Lamb Shank

We got to talking too much for me to remember to take pictures, or evern notes, of what everyone else had. I am sure there was some chicken and a seafood something in the mix. I had a rib steak that was covered in an excellent sauce with hot cherry peppers and gorgonzola cheese. Quite delicious. The steak was nice and tender and just the way I like it, medium-rare. It was a large portion and I couldn't eat it all. Jim, after polishing off his lamb shank finished off what I couldn't eat. Everything thought their meal was deicious.

The Whole Crowd


We finished up with a variety of deserts and coffees and one more grappa and then headed off into the night.

The service here was very friendly and efficient and the bartender was also a very friendly fellow. The only jarring note, and it was kind of funny, was that they blared some kind of an Italian birthday song when anyone announced it was someone's birthday. Given the fairly small and intimate setting, it was quite amazing how many people seemed to be having a birthday. Also, it is a very loud place. It doesn't look as though it should be, but the acoustics are such that it is a bit difficult to carry on a conversation. But those are minor complaints and I would certainly go back for the food, service, and ambience. And, of course, a few more grappas.



Tomorrow the Mysterious Chinese Woman and I are heading north for a week or so. Flying into Minneapolis and spending the first night at Black Bear Casino. Maybe I will get lucky. Then up to Ely and on to International Falls, visiting friends along the way. I will end up back in Minneapolis to visit with more friends and watch the Vikings with Brett Favre take on the Browns.

That should be quite an experience and I will be interested in seeing how all of my Minnesota friends react. I have some who I know think Brett will bring the Vikings to the next level and others who have sworn they will not watch a Vikings game while Brett is playing. Unlike in New York where most thought getting Brett was a good idea and you only had a few who were really vocal about stating an alternate opinion. And they were mostly like me, someone who had a history with Brett. In Minnesota, everyone has a history with Brett.