La Bella Ferrara

Hi Everyone.  I recently went to my favorite Italian cafe in Little Italy in NYC for an espresso and cannolo.  La Bella Ferrara, NOT to be confused with Ferrara, the tourist attraction, has some of the best espresso this side of the Atlantic.  Franco, the seventy something, Sicilian owner of Bella Ferrara explained to me that one reason his coffee is so good is that he never turns off his espresso machine.  Franco is also very hands on.  He's owned the establishment for over forty years, and you can usually find him there greeting his customers.  On the weekends he sings and he was recently in an indie movie called, "Meatballs, Tomatoes and Mobsters".  One day we were talking about life as a proprietor of a New York City cafe, and he brought out a little wooden box from behind the counter.  The box was filled with little slips of paper.  Franco explained to me that these were papers upon which women had written their phone numbers, and secretly slipped to him while they were with other men in his cafe.  How many he followed up on, he did not say.  

His pastries are indeed the best in Little Italy and you can eat them in the cafe or buy them next door at La Bella Ferrara bakery.  There is outdoor seating and during nice weather it's a real treat to sip your espresso and watch the world go by.  You can also get pizza and Italian style sandwiches as well as wine and beer.  Once again, let me make it clear,  do not confuse La Bella Ferrara which is on Mulberry Street between Canal and Hester with Ferrara on Grand Street.  Ferrara is a famous tourist attraction and is a disappointment.  For the real deal, head over to La Bella Ferrara, and enjoy!  Xo  

This is a picture of the Sicilian town Colesano, where my grandmother was born.