Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Food
The Hungry Cabbie Eats The Outer Boroughs: Mike's Deli
By
Dave Freedenberg
Published Jun 15, 2006
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Dave Freedenberg
Published Jun 15, 2006
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Everyone loves a good caprese salad. The Italian delicacy is genius in its simplicity. It can be nothing more than sliced tomatoes topped with fresh mozzarella, garnished with basil and drizzled in olive oil. Anybody can make caprese as well as any Italian restaurant in town so long as anybody has access to high quality ingredients. Ay, there’s the rub: Where to find those ingredients.
Jersey tomatoes are some of the best on the planet (Italians didn’t even know what a tomato was until it was brought back from the New World just a few centuries back). So the base ingredient shouldn’t be a problem, especially since ripe Jersey tomatoes can be found at almost every market in city during these summer months. Crisp, aromatic basil, if it's not one of the plants growing on your window sill, can be purchased fresh from the farm at any of the city’s myriad farmers markets. And a tin of high quality olive oil is an investment in flavor that will pay dividends well beyond your next dinner party.
The fresh mozzarella is the most important ingredient, but it is also the most difficult to find. Even some of New York’s world class cheese shops like Murray’s don’t take the time to make mozzarella fresh on the premises. While there are downtown shops that make fresh mozzarella (Joe’s Dairy), Mike’s Deli in the Arthur Avenue Retail Market in The Bronx is where you’ll find the best.
Mike’s Deli makes mozzarella fresh all day. Just stand there looking hungry, and the counterman will gladly fork over a generous taste of mozzarella while it’s still delightfully warm. And once the mozzarella has taken its cold bath, you can buy a great, squishy ball of it in a plastic quart container. Mike’s mozzarella is salted to perfection, and the texture strikes an ideal balance of stringiness and softness. It is so flavorful that, if you are anything like me, you’ll devour half of it before you have the chance to marry it to your tomatoes, basil, and olive oil.
Mike’s also sells some of the best dry Italian sausages in the city as well as an array of giant, mozzarella-centric heroes. But it is their fresh mozzarella that can make your homemade caprese salad taste like you ordered it at Lupa.
Mike's Deli 2344 Arthur Ave, Belmont, TheBronx 718-295-5033
Tagged
Arthur Ave
arthur avenue
bronx
downtown
eating in
farmers markets
italian
New World
new york
retail
the bronx
the city
The Italian
Dave Freedenberg
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE food
10 dishes that demonstrate the delicious diversity of curry in New York City
The global dish is shapeshifting and ubiquitous.
By
Robert Sietsema
Published Sep 12, 2026
Frozen yogurt is back in New York City. So are the super long lines.
Is it worth the high price and ridiculous wait? Gothamist needed to find out.
By
Sonia Rao
Food
Frozen yogurt is back in New York City. So are the super long lines.
Is it worth the high price and ridiculous wait? Gothamist needed to find out.
By
Sonia Rao
5 NYC banana puddings as good as Magnolia's
By
Hannah Frishberg
Where to eat in Greenpoint, Brooklyn right now, from Polish to Sichuan to Iberian
By
Robert Sietsema
Can a congressional candidate's dumpling diplomacy win over Queens’ immigrant communities?
By
Caroline Shin
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .