The first stop on our tour was for Albanian spinach burek (byrek, burek, börek), the classic Albanian stuffed fillo at Tony & Tina’s Pizzeria, 2483 Arthur Ave, 718.733.8094.
We spent lots of time with Dave at Mike’s Deli inside the Arthur Avenue Retail Market, 2344 Arthur Ave, 718.295.5033, where he showed us how to make both fresh mozzarella and burrata, the soft shell wrapped around a creamy center of torn mozzarella strings and cream. We sampled many types of fresh cheeses plus their house-made pasta in tomato sauce.

 

 

We picked up some sliced sausage from Calabria Pork Store, 2338 Arthur Avenue, 718.367.5145, famous for their homemade fresh and dried sausages. We took the sliced sausages and other goodies to D’Auria Murphy Triangle, a small park, to sit, relax and enjoy some other goodies Susan had picked up for us. While nibbling the goodies, she offered up the area’s history.


Next stop was at Addeo Bakers, 2372 Hughes Avenue, 718.367.8316, for their crusty bread and house-made breadsticks, then to Mt. Carmel Wine, 612 East 187th, 718.367.7833, for some limoncello.

Although stuffed, we continued eating. From there, we went for a slice of thin-crusted at Full Moon Pizzeria, 600 East 187, 718.584.3451, and then on to two dessert stops. First at Madonia Brothers, 2348 Arthur Avenue, 718.295.5573, for freshly filled cannolis, then to Dua Gourmet, an Albanian market for warm zeppole.

Click here to contact Susan Birnbaum for a tour of Arthur Avenue. I highly recommend her tour.