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It seems like South Philly (and I’m guessing maybe some parts of NJ) is the only place where you find those types of old school Italian neighborhoods.
South Philly has kept more of the vibe I think than any other place. But even parts of that have been modernizing, although Italian Market area remains largely old school. Bloomfield in Pittsburgh still has some of the old stuff, and there are residents there still from the early half of the 1900s who have been there since. but its quickly going away, being replaced by asian restaurants and hipsters
Boston has the most beautiful Little Italy that I've visited and has a great location within the city as well! In terms of food, all the ones that I've been to have been delicious!
Leaving San Diego off of the list was a huge miss on my part. Tried to sneak in some underdogs- St. Louis and Cleveland- That do have an intact Italian area.
I didn't include North Beach for a reason- A few streets in the middle of a broader neighborhood, with no real pride or differing aesthetic.
I agree with you that leaving San Diego off was a huge miss, although most wouldn’t recognize it from even 5-10 years ago. It has become a very popular area, and for better or worse, has changed drastically.
I completely disagree on North Beach in SF. I was there in 2006 when Italy won the World Cup and it was bonkers. We were up at Coit Tower not really realizing it was the finals that day and by the time the game had ended we were in North Beach. There was no leaving by cab and my Dad wasn’t in condition to walk so we made an afternoon of it. There was plenty of pride that day, great memory.
I was never more let down than my first trip to NYC and seeing it’s little Italy in Manhattan. The old movies were all lies, lol. It seemed like a tiny Italian enclave in Chinatown (I’m sure it wasn’t always this way).
I agree with you that leaving San Diego off was a huge miss, although most wouldn’t recognize it from even 5-10 years ago. It has become a very popular area, and for better or worse, has changed drastically.
I completely disagree on North Beach in SF. I was there in 2006 when Italy won the World Cup and it was bonkers. We were up at Coit Tower not really realizing it was the finals that day and by the time the game had ended we were in North Beach. There was no leaving by cab and my Dad wasn’t in condition to walk so we made an afternoon of it. There was plenty of pride that day, great memory.
I was never more let down than my first trip to NYC and seeing it’s little Italy in Manhattan. The old movies were all lies, lol. It seemed like a tiny Italian enclave in Chinatown (I’m sure it wasn’t always this way).
San Diego doesn't feel Italian anymore. It feels like a generic Downtown SD neighborhood just with a lot of Italian establishments.
North Beach in 2006 was likely different than today. Even in 2010 when I lived there, its Italian-ness was fading. It's like 3 blocks of Italian establishments. That's not an Italian neighborhood. It's even worse than Manhattan with Chinatown moving into North Beach and replacing the vibe, but it already started out much smaller.
Little Italy Manhattan still has quite a bit of Italian-ness to it and the San Gennaro Festival is still going strong. But no, it's not as Italian as it used to be. For more authentic Italian-ness in NYC, venture into the boroughs. Bay Ridge/Dyker Heights/Bensonhurst in Brooklyn is where you'll still find of the realest Italian vibes. Staten Island, while not officially an Italian neighborhood, has the highest concentration if Italians of any county in the US. I haven't been up there yet, but Arthur Ave in the Bronx I believe is a pretty solid Italian neighborhood still too.
I voted for Philly. South Philly is still heavily Italian, the food is amazing, and it's still right in the city. It feels much more authentic and robust than anything else on the list, aside from Boston. But I find the food better in South Philly and I prefer South Philly over North End just for personal preferences.
jessemh431: I posted in the NYC forum inquiring about Arthur Ave. in the Bronx. The replies which I received stated that Arthur Ave. is still an active Italian American business strip. But, I was told that the number of Italians who live in that section of the Bronx is quite small. According to the replies, the neighborhood adjacent to Arthur Ave. has sizeable numbers of Albanians. Turks, and Mexicans. One poster wrote that this is actually the largest Mexican neighborhood in NYC.
Cleveland's Little Italy is somewhat under the radar. It scores because it has some great restaurants and, more recently, a lot of quality art galleries. It is compact and very dense and walkable. The latter was enhanced even more with RTA's Red Line (heavy rail/subway type) relocating a rapid transit station to LI's front door on Mayflield Road -- an aspect that gives Cleveland's Little Italy a leg up on most of the others..
However the latter are not Italian specific and many old timers (like those in other LIs) have been griping that Cleveland's LI is more trendy and less Italian. To be sure, a lot of younger Asians -- esp linked to nearby Case Western Reserve U and other nearby colleges -- have been moring heavily into LI in recent years. Indeed, LI is the hottest ticket in Cleveland RE in recent years, with new apts and ultra-modern homes flying up overnight -- and rents are now off the hook in many instances... All leading to some NIMBY pushback -- 2 large apt developments have been killed and/or held off/scaled down due to sniping by the locals. Is the area being strangled by its own popularity?
I like the North End a lot, but it's becoming more of a tourist spot than a real little Italy. Someone said north end isnt gentrified, I wonder if we are talking about the same place. If 2-3k rents isnt gentrified i dont know what qualifies. I very much enjoy Cleveland's Little Italy and Providenc's Federal Hill. Any way underrated places.
SF North Beach might be small (it’s also more than a few blocks) but it actually has some good Italian restaurants in the area, as opposed to some—not all—in other cities that are highly touristy and serve Eye-talian or Iowa Italian cuisine (Ronzoni noodles with Heinz ketchup and Kraft grated cheese).
Food/restaurants are my purpose for visiting Italian neighborhoods, not to play bocce ball. Some of my favorite Italian restos are in cities that don’t have a Little Italy (Portland, OR’s Caffe Mingo and Miami’s Fiola, of DC, and Le Sirenuse, of Positano).
Don't knock Italian in Iowa until you visit south Des Moines. I opened this thread to comment on it.
The area across the Raccoon River from downtown Des Moines is still a heavily Italian neighborhood with multiple Italian market style groceries, and some fantastic restaurants. You can walk into these places and find tables of people in their 60's and 70's speaking in Italian to each other. They've spent their entire lives in Iowa.
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