Interesting Bakeries in Manhattan | mywalkinmanhattan

Taking the number One subway back uptown, I continued my travels to 215th Street station right next to the Columbia complex and sports center. My journey took me to 10th Avenue from the tip of the island to West 220th Street to West 207th Street. For you folks out there they think the island of Manhattan is completely gentrified with upscale housing and businesses, you must visit this part of Manhattan. There is hardly a Gucci store on every corner.

This has got to be the most commercial area of Manhattan I have seen so far. Home to Time Warner repair trucks, the NYC Sanitation Department, the MTA Headquarters and the Knightsbridge Terminal it made for interesting walk. Between 9th and 10th Avenue from 218th Street to 216th Streets is the Knightsbridge Bus Terminal, which is the center of much action throughout the day.

Tenth Avenue near all the restaurants near the 207th Street shopping district

I then walked the length of 10th Avenue past the bus repair building and the Sanitation Building. This is a very busy place during the week.

The New York Sanitation Department is located from 216th Street to 214th Streets and it is best to avoid this area most of the day. It was quiet on the 4th of July. The only person I saw was a security guard and his dog, who was so happy to see someone he jumped up and down.

Walking past the Bus building on 10th Avenue

The MTA Facility and the New York Sanitation Department Facility take up most of the corner of this part of Manhattan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inwood%E2%80%93207th_Street_station

Passing the bus building and subway on 10th Avenue

This is how the City runs and its lined in a row

When I went back to tour the area later in the month, it was a whirlwind of action with garbage trucks going in and out of buildings and the place really smelled. It is not exactly an area I would recommend to tourists unless they want to see how the city really runs.

The intersection of Sherman and 10th Avenue

All along 9th Avenue are places to get your car repaired and washed. At the end of every street, there is a nice view of the river, but I would suggest holding your nose. From 214th Street to 207th Street, The MTA has their building behind high walls and barbed wire. 208th Street has a parking lot and a few truck vendors. Not much to see here and the operation is behind closed doors.

Walking Tenth Avenue near the 207th Street Shopping area

Parts of lower 10th Avenue are being gentrified as some of the former parking garages and repair shops are giving way to small more upscale restaurants. The area around the subway station at 207th Street is a bustling shopping area catering to the large Dominican population living on the Broadway side of Inwood with everyday stores, very reasonable and good restaurants specializing in Dominican and Spanish cuisine and several clothing stores. This area is slowly going through a transition as the neighborhood is starting to change to a younger, artier crowd.

As I walked both sides of both 10th and 9th Avenues, I visited places that I must have missed the first time or had been closed off at the time. I missed the 203rd Street sitting area just off 9th Avenue, which offers beautiful views of the East River.

The 203rd Street Sitting area park

This tiny park at the end of 203rd Street is not the most well maintained but it does offer respite to the rest of the neighborhood which has the powerplant, the bus and sanitation buildings off 9th Avenue. The views were amazing on this clear sunny afternoon.

Looking down the East River from 203rd Sitting area park

Looking up the East River from the 203rd Street Sitting area

The area on 207th Street leading into the Bronx has been rezoned and new luxury buildings have been built between 9th and 10th Avenue. They looked like they have not opened yet but at the end of Sherman Avenue, these will bring big changes to the this part of the neighborhood.

Changes coming to 207th Street with the rezoning of the area

https://council.nyc.gov/land-use/wp-content/uploads/sites/53/2018/07/Inwood-CPC-report-180204a.pdf#:~:text=southeasterly%20of%20Ninth%20Avenue%2C%20West,Ninth%20Avenue%2C%20and%20West%20203rd&text=district%20area%20proposed%20at%20the,and%20Ninth%20Avenue%2C%20two%20wide

Walking up 9th Avenue I passed many creative pieces of street art. This area of the neighborhood is mostly commercial but along the walls is some of the most interesting graffiti art in a row that I have seen in along time. It was like looking at one panel after another.

9th Avenue Street Art

9th Avenue Street art

9th Avenue Street art

9th Avenue Street art

9th Avenue Street art

9th Avenue Street art

9th Avenue Street art

10th Avenue Street art

9th Avenue Street at the subway stop

9th Avenue Street art

Walking back down Broadway from the tip of the neighborhood, you can see the whole shopping district on Broadway and then Fort Tryon Park in the distance.

Looking down Broadway in Inwood from 208th Street

I walked through all the middle streets of Sherman, Nagle, Post and Vermilyea Streets, which are lined with rows of brick apartment buildings on tree lined streets. Changes are coming to the neighborhood with a new luxury building on the corner of Sherman Avenue and on the edges of 207th Street as you cross the bridge to the Bronx. You can tell that this neighborhood is in a slow transition since my initial walk here in 2015.

My walk started with a trip down Nagle Street by the corner of Hillside Avenue and seeing the changes in stores and restaurants over the last ten years. Many of my favorite spots are gone while some have modernized with new customers coming in.

The Nagle Street shopping area

The Magnet school mural at 93 Nagle Avenue

https://www.ps152m.com

https://www.facebook.com/ps152m

The magnet school mural

Looking up Hillside Avenue by Nagle Street

Street art around an ATM on Nagle Street

I then turned around and walked down Sherman Avenue and through the shopping districts of Dyckman Street and 207th Street, which have lots of reasonable restaurants and many street vendors.

Sherman Street at 207th Street shopping district

Sherman Avenue and 204th Street artwork

Eating homemade Pastelitos on Sherman Avenue and 207th Street

This small family food cart has some of the freshest and most delicious pastilitos that I had on my return walk to the neighborhood. They were also still warm. The husband and wife team that run this cart also have fresh juice which looked so good. When I finished walking all the side streets, I did a more detailed walk down the 207th Street shopping district.

Looking down 207th Street shopping district from Broadway

The 207th Street shopping district

The best part of this part of 207th Street is the local street cart vendors selling everything from Pastelitos (a kind of empanada) to fresh mango juice and shaved ice all for around a dollar. Visiting El Lina at 500 207th Street is a nice way to have a reasonable to go meal while you are walking around. It is one of the best restaurants for delicious Pastelitos.

El Lina Restaurant at 500 207th Street

https://www.yelp.com/biz/lina-restaurant-new-york

Their fillings are generous, and the service is very friendly. It is one of the many restaurants that line the ‘restaurant mile’ on 207th Street. From the subway station to Broadway, it is interesting to look at the menus and peak in the windows of the many shops and dining establishments that line both sides of the street.

El Lina’s Pastilitos are delicious

Both the Chicken and the Beef are great and perfectly cooked

This vibrant section of the neighborhood hustled every day that I visited it and the subway stop is always busy. If you are looking for tourist spots and excitement, it’s not for you. If you want a true experience in Dominican culture and food, a trip to this part of Inwood is for you. It is not just the restaurants and shops that make the neighborhood, it is the interaction of the people in the neighborhood, the music, the conversations and debates and the overall life of the streets that make this neighborhood a neighborhood.

The street art in the neighborhood on West 204th Street

Don’t miss the interesting street art in the neighborhood. These taggers are very talented!

One of the taggers was sending a message of crime in the neighborhood (I think)

When you are in the neighborhood, take time to really walk through Inwood Park. I feel it is one of the best parks to visit in the warmer months. It is like New York City does not exist. This is a nice place to relax on a warm sunny afternoon.

Inwood Hill Park pathways

https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/inwood-hill-park

The Inwood Hill Park Rose Garden

Inwood Hill Park

Inwood Hill Park by the Hudson River. Walking through Inwood Park is like stepping back through time when there was nothing in Manhattan but woods.

Inwood Park

Inwood Park pathway

Inwood Park in the Spring

Walking through the paths

Walking through Inwood Park

At the end of the day, I was exhausted with all the walking and was trying to make a decision on what to do for dinner. I did not want to trek all the way down to Chinatown, I did not want to walk to 181st Street to go to a restaurant I wanted to try again and then I saw the lights to the Santos Gourmet Deli Grocery and decided to check it out.

Dinner that evening at the Santos Gourmet Deli Grocery at 4672 Broadway

https://www.facebook.com/SantosDeliGrocery

My review on TripAdvisor:

I saw a bunch of people in Fort Tryon Park across the street playing a game (that ended up being Bingo) and decided to get a sandwich and have a late night picnic in the park. I looked over the menu and ordered my dinner, a Chicken Parmesan Hero. It was the perfect dinner at the end of the evening.

Chicken Parmesan sandwich

The sandwich was so good

The days are getting longer and I sat down in the park and ate dinner while watching this large group play bingo. More people watched and maybe they got the same idea as it stated to get dark, more people just sat in the park and watched the sunset.

Picnicking in Fort Tryon Park

Picnicking in Fort Tryon Park

I thought I would be done early but ended up staying in the neighborhood at nightfall. This is some of the changes you are starting to see happen with new construction and many new businesses surrounding them to cater to both old and new neighbors.