Is this the best restaurant in New York City?

There are some things in this world that we can never get enough off: Date night and affordable dining options in New York City.

Not gentrification, but integration: People of different backgrounds enjoy a night at the Mott Haven Bar and Grille.

Fortunately, the Mott Haven Bar and Grille is a solution for both.

Formerly named the Bruckner Bar and Grille, this South Bronx dining establishment is directly across the Harlem River and sits under the shadows of the 3rd Avenue Bridge.

"Isn't it amazing," said Nicole on our most recent visit, "that our hummus plate has pico de gallo?"

"It's amazing," I said, "but not all that surprising, given the clientele." Some restaurants offer the finest Italian food, others give you a taste of Thailand. But the Mott Haven Bar and Grille Menu is as diverse as the neighborhood that bears its name.

Mott Haven is emerging from the shadows of its 1970s stigma. It's neighborhood in something of sweet spot: not gentrifying, but integrating. The high concentration of Robert Moses-style high rise public housing projects has unfortunately burdened the area with a high concentration of people living in poverty. But a recent injection of investment and attention from many middle-class residents who are now priced out Manhattan, Brooklyn, and yes, even Queens, a new light to the nitty gritty South Bronx.

For Nicole and me, it's a marvelous date night: the quality of the food, the selection and the prices are unmatched, perhaps anywhere in all of New York City. The current clientele provides a great look and feel to the restaurant--no celebrities, no hipsters, just a nice mix of people from a nice neighborhood.

Yet I can't help but wonder what the future will bring: Will Mott Haven suddenly become the next Williamsburg, and price out virtually everyone along with it? Will it wither away, or maintain its current status as one of the last affordable areas right next to Manhattan island? Only time will tell.

Easily accessible via the 6 train--and right next to Manhattan.

Speaking of time, the Mott Haven Bar and Grille is only 15 minutes away from Grand Central on the 6 train. It's worth a trip--for now.

New York's Other Park Avenue

It was then--it is now no more.

El Rancho Restaurant. Formerly New York Savings Bank. Formerly Bronx Savings Bank.

It's a massive stone marble structure that dwarfs the walkups and townhomes in the neighborhood. It's Greek Columns and artistic facade almost look as if they were built yesterday; the sparkling marble reflects the sunlight and brightens the sidewalk and street. Constructed at the height of the Great Depression, the message of this building is clear: Your money is safe with us.

Bronx Savings Bank, 2014.

And yet there is no money, no bank. Only garbage and broken glass.

This relic of a vaunted financial institution stands at the intersection of East Tremont and Park Avenue. That's right. Park Avenue. From the other side of the Harlem River stretching all the way to Fordham Road in the Bronx lies New York City's other Park Avenue. 429 East Tremont Avenue is perhaps the most spectacular structure in this 3.5 mile stretch of road.

Bronx Savings Bank, circa 1945.

When Nicole and I took our epic bike trip through the backwoods of Virginia and North Carolina, we saw more than one boarded up, abandoned, stately mansion. We wondered who lived there, and how it was that something built with such care, precision, and foresight could be left to waste away.

After decades of neglect, signs of wear and tear.

But when we saw this bank in East Tremont, there was little mystery. The neighborhood's decline has been well documented. In the 1940s and early '50s, East Tremont was a haven of lower middle-class Jews who could escape the poverty of the Bowery Slums. They have moved up in the world, literally and figuratively. Some still worked in Manhattan, others quickly found jobs in their new neighborhood. Some worked at the department store, the deli, and yes, the neighborhood savings bank. That all changed when New York City's Master Builder, Robert Moses, decided to route a major highway right through the heart of the neighborhood.

Typical East Tremont apartments. The cast-iron facades are painted give an appearance of affluence.

By Robert Moses's own figures, a single mile of the Cross-Bronx Expressway through East Tremont would necessitate  the outright destruction of 1,530 apartments of which contained 5,000 residents (some say the figure was higher). As people were forced out of their homes, the abandoned apartment buildings quickly became a target for thieves and vandals before finally succumbing to the wrecking ball. Many who weren't forced to leave hated and feared what their neighborhood had become, and simply chose to leave. As if this wasn't enough, East Tremont was delivered a final, fatal blow in the 1970s when mayor Abe Beame ordered the demolition of the 3rd Avenue El, severing subway access to and from the neighborhood. The bank ceased operation a few years later.

Vicente Medina surveys El Rancho, shortly before its grand opening in 2004.

And yet, incredibly, this was not the end for 429 East Tremont. In 2004, a Mexican immigrant by the name of Vicente Medina chose the former bank as the location for El Rancho restaurant. "I'll serve steaks and seafood," Medina said in the Sept. 21st, 2004 issue of the New York Times. "It will be like City Island."

City Island is a fairly prosperous neighborhood. East Tremont is not. El Rancho is no more. The artwork from restaurant is peeling, its gaudy, diner-style shiny, glass-covered everything is falling to pieces, and water damage is eating away at the ceiling. It's over for El Rancho.

Glitter and broken dreams are all the remains of El Rancho Restaurante.

Will this be the end for 429? Let's hope not. May another dreamer like Medina--or perhaps even Medina himself--have more success next time. Call me crazy, but if we can't so much as dream, what can we do?

What does the future hold?

Spontaneous Portrait on Randall's Island

"Take my picture!" Yelled some kids that had decided to spend their Saturday afternoon patrolling Randall's Island, which lies between Manhattan's Upper East Side and Astoria, Queens. Nicole and I were taking photos when they decided to race to the foundation of the Hell Gate Bridge's western tower.

How did they get there? When Robert Moses connected Randall's Island with neighboring Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx with the Triborough Bridge in 1936, he added a recreational complex of athletic fields and pedestrian walkways that he perceived would be immensely popular. However, without subway access, not many Gothamists bother to make the trip out there. Those who do enjoy a lack of congestion enviable elsewhere in the city.

Fun Fact: Without human intervention, the Hell Gate Bridge would last for approximately 1,000 years, far longer than any other bridge in New York City. The Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queensboro bridges would likely "only" last about 300 years.

As we walked around the corner, leaving the kids to their own fun, we saw the mesmerizing support arches for the Hell's Gate bridge up close and personal.

Kevin loves to sing tenor underneath the operatic echoes that these arches provide!

Hell Gate Bridge Links to an inverted bow-string bridge between Ward's and Randall's Island.

I-278 runs parallel. It is interesting to note the difference in esthetics between a bridge built around 1959 and one built just under 50 years prior in 1912.