New Applebee's on Fordham Plaza/Fordham U area

[Elvira Black]

Fear to tread rather lol.

PS: Bronx's little Italy: now there's great eating. Also places nearer to Riverdale like Jake's Steak House.

[Elvira Black]

By the way, this whole phenom is reflected aptly in the quality and diversity of restaurant takeout and delivery in a given hood.

NYC real estate and gentrification is one of my favorite topics, so for anyone interested see New York Stories under Elvira Black, writer on blogcritics.org, in particular a piece about:

Elvira's theory of delivery menu gentrification

Blogcritics - News Reviews and Opinion (Elvira Black)

[K 22]

Originally Posted by cotb16

TGI Friday's is coming to the Bronx too! They will be opening at 1750 East Gun Hill Road (just east of Gunther and Allerton Avenues, west of the New England Thruway). This is at the same site where Circuit City once was.

I decided to drop by there on my way to Co-Op City. It looks like that whole complex is being rebuilt as there's going to be a Duane Reade there eventually as well. The Friday's looks to be opening in about a week or two and the prices are definitely lower than the Manhattan ones.

The downside is access as it's literally at the end of Gun Hill Road and this is a car spot. Even from Co-Op City, you have to take the ugly curve from Edson/Bartow that runs alongside the 95 that runs out into Gun Hill.

[CaliforniaSwagger]

Good to see chains moving in to the Bronx Hopefully more like it move in to clean up some of the neighborhoods and move the thugs out

[Elvira Black]

Well, from what I gather I think that some of the Fried Chicken places are "hot spots" and/or undercover op fronts...if you consider those "chains."

[nycricanpapi]

Originally Posted by NooYowkur81

What did you mean by that? Elaborate please.

I was just saying, because sometimes people write Graffiti in front of some stores, so I am just hoping that people won't damage the place hehe.

[Elvira Black]

Went back a second time yesterday, and as I "feared," now that the novelty of the opening week is behind them, they're starting to slack off a bit in a few ways.

I went around 1pm, and they had a fair amount of folks though far from packed. Two things bothered me:

I sat at the bar, and since some of the staff pass by there going to and from, I heard the same waiter who had served me the last time I was there chit chatting with another staff member about a customer's (?) acid wash jeans and how '80s they were.

After I paid my bill, I went to the bathroom, where the piped in music is a bit louder than in the main room. As I was there, they changed the station from what had been basically mainstream pop to some hiphop station, and the song had a lot of use of the f word.

So before I left, I approached one of the managers, and told her about it and asked that she tell the main supervisor.

Basically I said that I was hoping this place would do well, but the area has enough of the gangsta atmo. Since families and other folks dine there, I said that they might find this offensive. And though it's not the Four Seasons, it is a step up for the area, and so I thought it might be wise to consider not playing this.

Probably some idiot in the kitchen decided it was time for some Lil Wayne. That's fine, but not for people dining in Applebees. I don't even hear that stuff in any of the other joints or stores, though I do hear hip hop. Sheesh...