Food in The Bronx

A Dominican and Puerto Rican kitchen on the square itself, open from seven in the morning to half past eight at night every day of the week. Oxtail stew, pernil, mofongo and rice, with a steam table for anyone in a hurry and tables for anyone who is not. The breakfast trade is as real as the dinner trade, which is what the seven o'clock opening is for.

Daily, 7am to 8:30pm

Colombian empanadas made to order on East Tremont Avenue, along with arepas, bandeja paisa and a short list of cocktails. It runs 10.30 in the morning to nine at night seven days a week, which covers most of what a performance schedule can throw at it. The Morris Park Avenue branch has shut, so this is the one that is still trading.

Daily, 10:30am to 9pm

A corner pizzeria on Crosby Avenue that has been going for more than sixty-five years, known for a thin sausage pie and for a white pie with fresh garlic on it. You order at the counter, you wait, and there are a handful of tables plus a patio when the weather allows. It closes at half past eight, which is the only thing about it that requires any planning.

Daily, 11am to 8:30pm

A Parkchester fixture of more than forty years on Metropolitan Avenue, doing Caribbean and American cooking with a full bar attached and music on weekends. It opens at noon at weekends and one in the afternoon on weekdays, and it runs to eleven most nights and midnight on Friday. Parkchester's commercial strip is the closest thing to a real high street on this bench, so it is worth the walk even without the food.

Mon to Thu, 1pm to 11pm. Fri, 1pm to midnight. Sat and Sun, noon to 11pm