![]() If you start to feel landlocked, head to Jack’s Bait and Tackle (551 City Island Ave.), where a four-person motorboat rents for about $70 per day on the weekend. Stop to marvel at Grace Episcopal Church (116 City Island Ave.), constructed in the 1860s by island shipyard carpenters who styled the rafters like a ship’s hull, Pelham Cemetery (King Avenue), with its views of Hart Island and graves dating to the Revolutionary War, and Ambrosini Field (City Island Avenue near Winter Street), a playground where the equipment is ship-shaped. Then stroll down City Island Avenue, where alongside the restaurants sit art galleries, gift shops and antique stores, including Trader John’s (246 City Island Ave.). “That helped pay the heat one winter,” quipped Dolensek, who is vice president of the island’s Historical Society, which runs the free museum.Ĭheck out the museum's shipbuilders’ tools, model minesweeper, the naval warship designed and built on the island during WWII, and Revolutionary War cannon ball unearthed in nearby Pelham Bay Park. If you find a free moment between all those meals, you can explore the fully walkable island.Ī great place to start is the Nautical Museum (190 Fordham St.), housed in a historic schoolhouse built in 1897, which recently served as a set for the show “ Boardwalk Empire.” No summer excursion to the island is complete without a stop at Lickety Split (295 City Island Ave.), a cheerful ice-cream cottage that scoops out cake-flavored “Birthday Bash,” coffee-and-fudge “Bittersweet Sinphony” and ever-popular “Red Velvet.” In the upper half, among others, there are the Lobster House (691 Bridge Street), whose giant neon crustacean sign sadly toppled during Sandy, Crab Shanty (361 City Island Ave.), with its famous garlic bread, and Seashore Restaurant and Marina (591 City Island Ave.), with its popular clam chowder and waterfront views.Īt the other end are Sammy’s Shrimp Box (64 City Island Ave.) and Fish Box (41 City Island Ave.), the latter a lively 500-seater, Tony’s Pier (1 City Island Ave.), which caught fire during Sandy but promises to reopen before the end of 2013, and Johnny's Reef (2 City Island Ave.), which offers fried seafood, frozen drinks and a sweeping vista of the Long Island Sound.įor more turf options, try Artie’s (394 City Island Ave.), whose logo of a cow and lobster jumping over the moon hints at its menu options, Bistro SK (273 City Island Ave.), which claims to be the Bronx’s only French restaurant, and the Black Whale (279 City Island Ave.), a local favorite with brunch, pasta and backyard seating. For that, head to the island’s north or south ends. There are at least 30 places to find food along the central strip, City Island Avenue, estimates Dolensek - “everything from white tablecloth to fried fish.” “Now it’s pretty much a restaurant island.” ![]() “Everywhere you used to see boat yards,” said John Persteins, owner of the nautical curio store, Trader John’s. ![]() If City Island was once renowned for shipbuilding, it’s now known for something else entirely. Some 4,500 people live on the island, but it’s visitors’ cars that line the main drag on warm weekend evenings - crawling past the town’s single gas station, school and bank - to reach those famed eateries.īut no worries - most clam diggers (City Island old-timers) welcome mussel suckers (that would be you). ![]()
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