Bloomfield's Little Italy consists of small, authentic Italian grocery stores and restaurants. Del's Bar and Ristorante DelPizzo was featured on the Food Network show Restaurant Impossible. It is family-owned and located in the heart of Little Italy. As shown in our photos, there is a large sign where the Bloomfield boundary begins for visitors to identify the location of Little Italy. One weekend a year, Bloomfield hosts "Little Italy Days", in which the local vendors line the streets of Little Italy selling their products and showing their Italian heritage. The festival is exciting, with many activities and musical performances. This year, it was September 28th through September 30th. Although we were not able to make it to the festival, our experience was very exciting. We went on a Sunday in the early afternoon, so the town was very active and most of the grocery stores were open. The owners were very willing to talk to us about their establishments. They all talked about how they have many "regulars", or people who visit their stores every day, because people who live in the area are very committed to the same store each time they get groceries. They all prefer to go to these Italian markets instead of a regular supermarket because they love the products so much more. We were able to eat lunch at one of these grocery stores. We had fresh, authentic Italian food that was incredibly delicious. Some of what we ate consisted of meatballs, crab cakes, and freshly baked bread. Everything was priced fairly inexpensively, which excited us because we were able to buy food to bring back to our own rooms. We were all thrilled to come back another time and try more delicious, Italian foods.
Stephanie, Aiden, Cori, and I went to Bloomfield on a lovely Sunday morning several weeks ago. We took the bus down, and it was a fairly easy ride that only took about ten minutes. We got off the bus and started venturing toward the main part of the neighborhood. Though the streets were quite, the stores were bustling with business. The first deli we walked into, Groceria Italiana, was small but bursting with imported foods that made our mouths water. Stephanie and I were able to talk to the owner about the neighborhood, and asked what made Bloomfield "Little Italy". He told us that during the beginning of the twentieth century when all the immigrants were coming over from Europe, as one might have guessed, all the Italians ended up sticking together. He explained that the neighborhood was a very tight knit community, and even when some individuals had the chance to move out, they refused to do so. All the elderly women still cooked homemade pastries, and individuals within the community still held close to their heritage. We ended up buying our lunch from Groceria Italiana, and sampled each other’s food, gushing about how it was wonderful to finally have real food again.
Our journey to Bloomfield began on a quiet Sunday morning. While it took some time for the bus to arrive, the bus ride itself was rather quick and direct. As we exited the bus I was a little worried that we chose the wrong day to visit. Initially all we saw was an occasional jogger or passerby; however, as we ventured into the heart of the neighborhood one could see the bustling of patrons in and out of stores and the neighborhood was teeming with life. The first store we entered was, Groceria Italiana, a cute little deli filled with delicious foods and bursting with business. As we explored the aisles of traditional Italian foods, including homemade raviolis, breads, and baked goods our stomachs began to growl. Prior to arriving in Bloomfield we had all complained about the mundane meals at Market and how we longed for “real food” or a home cooked meal, and the food in front of us fueled this hunger. After exploring Jessica and I got the opportunity to talk to Joe, the manager and owner of the store, and asked him about Bloomfield’s history as “Little Italy”. Joe explained that the neighborhood’s Italian roots date back to the early twentieth century when immigrants began coming over from Europe. He explained that, like most ethnic groups, the Italians ended up bunching together and continued to stick together to this day. In his opinion he sees Bloomfield as a looking glass into Pittsburgh’s past. Joe stated that while Bloomfield hasn’t completely adapted to modern times he doesn’t see it as a bad thing, and takes pride in the traditional practices and customs within Bloomfield. On average Joe said he’ll see the same customers at the same time each day and has come to know everybody by name, illustrating the community’s closeness. He also stated how many families have lived in Bloomfield for generations upon generations, and even when some have the opportunity to move they continue to stay or come back. In addition, many families continue to practice traditional customs of the past, such as baking their own bread and making everything from scratch. After leaving Groceria Italiana we continued to explore Bloomfield and witnessed the charm of the neighborhood. From the street posts, painted like the Italian flag, to the many pizza shops, Italian groceries and little gift shops. After taking a group photo in front of the Little Italy sign we ventured to another Italian deli, but still couldn’t get over the initial appeal of Groceria Italiana. So in the end we returned to Groceria Italiana for lunch, and we can all attest that nobody left disappointed or hungry.
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ReplyDeleteBloomfield's Little Italy consists of small, authentic Italian grocery stores and restaurants. Del's Bar and Ristorante DelPizzo was featured on the Food Network show Restaurant Impossible. It is family-owned and located in the heart of Little Italy. As shown in our photos, there is a large sign where the Bloomfield boundary begins for visitors to identify the location of Little Italy.
ReplyDeleteOne weekend a year, Bloomfield hosts "Little Italy Days", in which the local vendors line the streets of Little Italy selling their products and showing their Italian heritage. The festival is exciting, with many activities and musical performances. This year, it was September 28th through September 30th. Although we were not able to make it to the festival, our experience was very exciting. We went on a Sunday in the early afternoon, so the town was very active and most of the grocery stores were open. The owners were very willing to talk to us about their establishments. They all talked about how they have many "regulars", or people who visit their stores every day, because people who live in the area are very committed to the same store each time they get groceries. They all prefer to go to these Italian markets instead of a regular supermarket because they love the products so much more.
We were able to eat lunch at one of these grocery stores. We had fresh, authentic Italian food that was incredibly delicious. Some of what we ate consisted of meatballs, crab cakes, and freshly baked bread. Everything was priced fairly inexpensively, which excited us because we were able to buy food to bring back to our own rooms. We were all thrilled to come back another time and try more delicious, Italian foods.
Stephanie, Aiden, Cori, and I went to Bloomfield on a lovely Sunday morning several weeks ago. We took the bus down, and it was a fairly easy ride that only took about ten minutes. We got off the bus and started venturing toward the main part of the neighborhood. Though the streets were quite, the stores were bustling with business. The first deli we walked into, Groceria Italiana, was small but bursting with imported foods that made our mouths water. Stephanie and I were able to talk to the owner about the neighborhood, and asked what made Bloomfield "Little Italy". He told us that during the beginning of the twentieth century when all the immigrants were coming over from Europe, as one might have guessed, all the Italians ended up sticking together. He explained that the neighborhood was a very tight knit community, and even when some individuals had the chance to move out, they refused to do so. All the elderly women still cooked homemade pastries, and individuals within the community still held close to their heritage. We ended up buying our lunch from Groceria Italiana, and sampled each other’s food, gushing about how it was wonderful to finally have real food again.
ReplyDeleteOur journey to Bloomfield began on a quiet Sunday morning. While it took some time for the bus to arrive, the bus ride itself was rather quick and direct. As we exited the bus I was a little worried that we chose the wrong day to visit. Initially all we saw was an occasional jogger or passerby; however, as we ventured into the heart of the neighborhood one could see the bustling of patrons in and out of stores and the neighborhood was teeming with life. The first store we entered was, Groceria Italiana, a cute little deli filled with delicious foods and bursting with business. As we explored the aisles of traditional Italian foods, including homemade raviolis, breads, and baked goods our stomachs began to growl. Prior to arriving in Bloomfield we had all complained about the mundane meals at Market and how we longed for “real food” or a home cooked meal, and the food in front of us fueled this hunger. After exploring Jessica and I got the opportunity to talk to Joe, the manager and owner of the store, and asked him about Bloomfield’s history as “Little Italy”. Joe explained that the neighborhood’s Italian roots date back to the early twentieth century when immigrants began coming over from Europe. He explained that, like most ethnic groups, the Italians ended up bunching together and continued to stick together to this day. In his opinion he sees Bloomfield as a looking glass into Pittsburgh’s past. Joe stated that while Bloomfield hasn’t completely adapted to modern times he doesn’t see it as a bad thing, and takes pride in the traditional practices and customs within Bloomfield. On average Joe said he’ll see the same customers at the same time each day and has come to know everybody by name, illustrating the community’s closeness. He also stated how many families have lived in Bloomfield for generations upon generations, and even when some have the opportunity to move they continue to stay or come back. In addition, many families continue to practice traditional customs of the past, such as baking their own bread and making everything from scratch. After leaving Groceria Italiana we continued to explore Bloomfield and witnessed the charm of the neighborhood. From the street posts, painted like the Italian flag, to the many pizza shops, Italian groceries and little gift shops. After taking a group photo in front of the Little Italy sign we ventured to another Italian deli, but still couldn’t get over the initial appeal of Groceria Italiana. So in the end we returned to Groceria Italiana for lunch, and we can all attest that nobody left disappointed or hungry.
ReplyDelete