Get a piece of the south back with a chicken biscuit from Pies & Thighs.

Arthur Avenue is a mainstay of the Bronx. Since the early 1900's til today, it's been the hub of the Italian-American community that calls the Bronx home. Many family-owned, traditional businesses dot the main avenue, and the food culture is rich and boisterous.

You can't say you've seen NYC until you've seen it from a boat. Hop on the ferry from anywhere to anywhere and you'll see what I mean. Not only will you see excellent old buildings and factories--the inner workings of the old industrial city--but you'll head out under working bridges and see the skyscrapers in all their towering glory. And once you've done it, do it again, at night.

Empty, but not abandoned, this cavernous Brooklyn loading dock was once considered the largest individual building in the world.

I am definitely a creature of habit, some good, some bad, and some worse. This is one of my better ones. Pretty much stop here every day on my way to the studio for caffeine. They brew up stumptown and always see someone I know from the neighborhood. When I get to the front of the line there is already a large coffee ready for me.