Mulberry St, Chinatown

A decade or two ago, any mention of Little Italy would have been greeted by the preponderance of New Yorkers with groans of disdain. Less an ethnic enclave than a red-white-and-green tourist trap, Little Italy, with its main artery running down Mulberry Street, offered little more to the casual visitor than overpriced pseudo-Italian food and the September San Gennaro parade. But now that so much of Little Italy has been subsumed into other districts, including NoLiTa and Chinatown, there's something plucky - even spunky - about the small sliver of Italian-American culture that remains here, a testament to a once-thriving immigrant, primarily Neopolitan, community. Visit St. Patrick's Old Cathedral, with its 19th-century architecture, as well as other Catholic churches with traditional Italian shrines. The restaurants here tend to be more Italian-American than traditional Italian; foodies used to dining on Tuscan truffles and porcini mushrooms might find the highly Americanized Southern Italian recipes to be bland and simplistic. Nevertheless, restaurants like Ray's and Lombardi's offer solid comfort food in an equally comfortable, if not always authentic, neighborhood.

Mulberry is THE Little Italy street. It is filled to the brim with Italian restaurant after Italian restaurant. And, while some of them are strictly tourist place -- i.e. kitschy with terrible food -- some of the best Italian really is on this street.
The corner of Mulberry and Bleecker is the site of the first Police Headquarters in NYC. It's a cool building and I enjoy the history of that sort of thing, so it's worth a look. The Puck building on the corner of Mulbs and Lafayette is a gorgeous Roman Revival built in the late 1800's. It used to house the Hearst Humor paper called Puck but that folded in 1918. It is one of the grandest buildings in the city. Old St Patrick's Cathedral is on Mulbs at Jersey. It was the first Catholic Cathedral in NYC and, apparently, the walls were built so high to protect the church from rioters. They also put the stained glass windows high enough that people couldn't break them. It is a really beautiful building. The inside is breathtaking.
8 Mile Creek (Mulb and Prince) is an Australian bar that I love. It has a street level and basement level that both serve Australian grub (like Kangaroo skewers) and all of the employees are actually Aussies. The staff is really cool and I would definitely recommend it even though the downstairs is a little grubby / dirty. Directly across the street is the building that John Gotti always hung out. It was tapped and led to his arrest. Spring Street Lounge (at Spring) used to be a speakeasy in the 1920's and is now a fun sports bar with stuffed sharks all over the place. Great place to watch a game in the fall. Umbertos Clam House (at Broome) is a great Italian place with a ton of Seafood. The decor leaves for wanting but it is pretty famous for Italian grub.
Once you get past Broome, you are in the thick of Little Italy. There is almost nothing but Italian restuarants. And, they are either hit or miss. Il Cantile would be the one that I recommend.
Every September, the Feast of San Gennarro goes up on Mulberry. The street is closed to cars and there is a sea of people, music and food. I only go on weekdays during the day because it gets so packed. But, the weather is always beautiful this time of year and the feast is so much fun. I would highly recommend it.

On just about any street in Little Italy, a plethora of little Italian restaurants can be found, and Mulberry St. is no exception. It seems like only tourists venture down here anymore, but if you’re looking for a mom-and-pops kind of place, and you don’t mind being goaded into spending money, then go ahead and give Mulberry Street a stroll. Depending on the day of the week, this area is either pretty busy or very quiet.

The types of restaurants a street has is a good indicator of the street itself. Mulberry Street has some of my favorite Italian restaurants, actually the streets is filled with Mom and Pop restaurants and shops. When ever I go to Mulberry Street I get a sense of going back to a simpler time. Im only really familiar with the Little Italy part of Mulberry Street and I find quite picturesque and quaint. Its a family friend street,

The spirit of Italy resides in this magnificent street, Italian food restaurants can be seen lining the streets. There are a few shops in this area where one may find gifts, but it is lacking a supermarket or similar store. Rarely is the street busy with traffic, its very peaceful. The people in this area are all friendly and would love to have a chat over some coffee.

… and never the twain shall meet states the poet and author Rudyard Kipling in his work titled the Ballad of East and West, but both these worlds co-exist along Manhattan’s Mulberry Street which hosts the city’s Little Italy district as well as a section of New York City's Chinatown. The main thoroughfare of Chinatown, Canal Street separates these two very distinct sections of Mulberry Street.
The Chinatown section of Mulberry Street is home to some excellent south East Asian grocery stores like Asia Market located at 71, Mulberry Street which carries almost all the various exotic ingredients which are required for Asian cooking as well as several Chinese bakeries, Chinese medicine shops, fishmongers and fruit sellers . The Chinatown end of Mulberry Street terminates at Chinatown’s only patch of green, Columbus Park which is extremely popular with both the young and old residents of the area.
The Little Italy section of Mulberry Streets extends onwards from Canal Street onwards onto E.Houston. Little Italy is a major tourist attraction in New York City and it is littered with souvenir stores, gelato and desert shops and seemingly authentic Italian restaurants like ( Il Cortille, Paesano of Mulberry Street, AmiciII) whose maitres d’ wait outside their restaurant as they try to entice the crowds to sample their wares. Little Italy is always busy and bustling but more so during the annual feast of San Gennaro which is celebrated over eleven days in September during which the street is shut to vehicular traffic. This celebration features many parades, live entertainment, a cannoli- eating competition and all kinds of vendors who set up shop on Mulberry Street solely for the celebration of the feast.

The Little Italy part of Mulberry Street is a confection, not a street. It's nearly overcome by a saccharine display of so-called Italian details, faux old-fashioned street lamps and year-round tinseled arches in red, white, and green that hang above the street. Whatever the old Little Italy used to be, this most certainly is not it. One bar with ye-olde-shoppe lettering and prominently displayed posters of the actor who played Tony Soprano, made me shudder. Surely Italian Americans object to the galling Disney-fication of their culture that goes on here, don't they? How did they let Little Italy become a cartoon of itself? People have praised the Italian food, and I'm sure there are good restaurants among the tourist traps, but do you really want to be accosted by countless maitre'd's that stand out front at every restaurant, trying to lure you in, just in the hopes of eating decent Italian? True authenticity can be found below Canal, since Mulberry Street is a good starter place if you're looking for Chinatown anything. At least in the Chinatown part you can still find, you know, real people of Chinese descent living there, hanging out in Columbus Park, unlike the silliness that now passes for Little Italy. Above Kenmare, Mulberry is charming and stylish, as can be expected of Nolita, and I was delighted to spot two sample stores here. For the uninitiated, sample stores are temporary retailers that sell overstock of designer clothes at deep discounts.

Once a haven for the Italian community Mulberry Street has branched out to offer food for all palates. Authentic Australian food can be found at Eight Mile Creek and a great slice of pizza is never more than a store away. Mullberry Street is basically a foodie's true paradise. Aside from the food the entire atmosphere is just warm and inviting.

Mulberry Street is the center of Little Italy where it meets with Chinatown. It offers great eating experience and those who live along the block truly enjoy the neighborhood for it's rich culture and lively atmosphere. Many authentic and famous Italian eateries are located on the strip including Amici II and La Bella Ferrara Pasticceria, which offers a variety of Italian Pastries. Shoppers can duck into some of the small shops along the street to find ceramics, apparel and housewares. The Feast of San Genero is an Italian street festival in September that shuts down the entire street to vehicles. It's wildly popular and the street is just packed to the breaking point with people and vendors. It's an amazing experience.

Mulberry street is probably one of the most fun streets in New York, and that is saying a lot since there is a plethora of places to choose from in this fine city! Mulberry street offers anything from jewelry to cuban food to Australian pubs to a multitude of Italian eateries in its Little Italy block to the fine establishments of Chinatown further down. It is pretty fair to say that Mulberry street is certainly quite international in what it offers, and a gentle stroll down this street is never boring! There is always something new to discover, including the New Designers fair that takes place every Saturday by its intersection with Houston street. This is one of these New York streets that never sleeps, there is always something to see or shop or eat here! It is truly a gem, and definitely a worthwhile stop on any tour around the city.

Mulberry Street
This cutely named street is filled with food options and let me tell you, there are some great ones. First you might try Angelo of Mulberry for a great brunch, Da Nico for some Italiano cuisine, or La Mela for good old big portions of the Italian food we’ve all come to love. I love Little Italy because it is just so warm and filled with the spirit of the women and men who immigrated to this great country. I also think it’s one of the most picturesque streets in the city.

This village is best accessed by the followed Metro Stations: 1,2 Houston Street, A,C,E, Spring Street, Prince St N,R,W, Broadway-Lafayette, B,D,F,V, Bleeker St, 4,6 2nd Ave- Lower East Side F,V, Canal St 1, 2, Canal St, A,C,E, ...N, Q R,W,... 4, 6,... J, M, Z, Grand St, B, D Bowery, J, M, Franklin, 1, 2. It is also very well accessible by the bus system!