Tennis-techture

Trekking up to 218th Street in the dead of winter to play a tennis match may not be your idea of fun; fortunately, however, it's one of mine. The courts at Columbia's Dick Savitt Tennis Center are a "rubberized hard court" surface; they feel pretty cool. But the real surprise was the architecture of the Center itself, which I can at the moment only classify as "late '60s space-age public architecture." If anyone call tell us the actual architectural pedigree of this building, a free NYC guide is yours for the taking. In the meantime, I'll just have to wait for another USTA match to do some more "ground research."

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Tennis Courts • Inwood

Kilt 'n Burgers

The sign outside The Piper's Kilt advertises the "Best Hamburgers in Town." We don't know who gave the burgers that distinction, but few Inwoodites would argue with it. A throwback to the days when Inwood was the Irish hub of Manhattan, The Piper's Kilt is dark, oaky, and full of atmosphere. The locals wouldn't have it any other way. Sunday nights feature free Karaoke, Tuesdays they have trivia, and you can always catch your favorite sporting event on one of the many TVs scattered around the bar. And then there are the amazing burgers. Rich and juicy, they are grilled to order and prepared with any number of toppings. At The Piper's Kilt, it's all about the beer, the fresh food, and the friendly people who hang out here. Every neighborhood needs a place like this.

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Nightlife • Inwood

Italian In Inwood

A relative newcomer to Inwood, La Estufa features fresh, simple food that appeals to almost any palate or diet. Looking for low-carb? Try a skewer of chicken with a side of sautéed spinach. Craving comfort food? The penne with lamb ragout sauce is rich and filling with just a hint of spice. Best of all, very little on the menu is more than $15, and complete meals can be found for less than $10. The skewers of various grilled meats (a steal at $4.50) are the house specialty; a perfect on-the-go meal. A side of fresh sautéed spinach complements almost anything on the menu and proves that “healthy” doesn’t have to mean “bland.” Wraps, pastas, sandwiches and salads are also available, and the beverage list features several rare sodas (the extra-dry ginger ale is especially tasty). The restaurant's interior resembles a townhouse (it probably was at some point). Exposed brick walls give it a cozy and comfortable vibe, and most tables are designed for two. For an intimate and inexpensive date, La Estufa probably can't be beat north of 14th

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Restaurants • Inwood

Just Like __ Used to Oven-Bake

The debate over which neighborhood restaurant sells the best slice of genuine New York pizza may tear apart other communities, but in Inwood, there's only Grandpa's. Small, intimate and featuring a brick oven that makes flawless crusts, Grandpa's harkens back to the days of the neighborhood hangouts, where the man behind the counter knew the regulars' names and favorite slices. The pizza here features a firm but thin crust and a zesty sauce that nicely compliments the melted mozzarella. (Yes, I just said "zesty." Deal with it.) The standard toppings are available, as are the standard alternatives (sausage rolls, Sicilian pies, etc.). Grandpa's isn't trying to reinvent the wheel, and if your taste in pizza is more exotic, you'll probably prefer Two Boots downtown. An informal dining room is available, and families can always be seen chatting in every language as they devour a fresh pie. Naturally, Grandpa's delivers, and even recently started accepting credit cards. A Papa John's recently opened just down the street, but true Inwoodites know where to go for the best and freshest pizza in town.

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Restaurants • Inwood

Inwood-Mex

The first major cries of "Gentrification!" struck Inwood when Guadalupe opened on 207th Street last year. Awkwardly situated in between dollar stores and across the street from a McDonalds, this dark and cavernous eatery serves elegant and tasty Mexican fare at surprisingly affordable prices. Forget greasy Tex-Mex: Guadalupe’s menu features fresh ingredients and intense flavors that demand savoring. This is an ideal place to meet up with friends, enjoy a leisurely meal, and revisit a cuisine you thought had been beaten into the ground by tacky fast-food joints. Tuesdays and Wednesdays feature live jazz and mariachi music, respectively. On the weekends, the $14 brunch includes coffee and a complimentary drink. The frozen tamarind margarita is a house specialty, and smoky-sweet spice pairs well with tequila. From 5:00 until 8:00 on weekdays, the bar offers a 2-for-1 happy hour special and $6 snacks. In addition to the numerous flavored margaritas, the extensive bar features other popular south-of-the-border concoctions and several original drinks as well.

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Restaurants • Inwood

Brunchin' at the Garden Café

The closest thing Inwood has to a corner bistro is this humble American restaurant, hidden in plain sight next to a church. The narrow front dining room opens up at the rear into a gorgeous outdoor terrace that is enclosed and warm in the winter and open and airy in summer. If the menu isn't as exciting as those of some downtown joints, the food itself is. The restaurant's ingredients are fresh and wholesome, and just about everything is prepared from scratch. This means that the rich hollandaise sauce served at brunch has a strong lemon flavor that makes Eggs Benedict or Florentine seem gourmet. (Indeed, judging from the crowds, brunch at Garden Café is a weekend ritual for Inwoodites.) The salads are crisp, the Buffalo wings have a smoky orange flavor, and the cheesecake is rich and intense. Garden Café is worth a trip up from midtown—after all, where else in the city can you get an enormous home-style brunch for less than $10?

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Restaurants • Inwood

Park Terrace Bistro

Moroccan food in Inwood sounds about as likely as... well, Dominican food in Marrakech. But for those willing to lower their arched eyebrows and suffer a subway ride to the top of Manhattan, Park Terrace Bistro is one of the great hidden gems of this city. Combining exotic cuisine with a friendly atmosphere, PTB was the first gourmet restaurant in Inwood (some would say that it still is). The bistro has been managed by local husband-and-wife team Karim Bouskou and Natalie Weiss since its opening in 2005. Bouskou, who hails from Casablanca, imports many ingredients from his homeland and is the restaurant's head chef. Weiss can frequently be found behind the bar, supervising the extensive wine selection and chatting happily with the customers. They know the regulars on a first-name basis, and newcomers are quickly made to feel at home. In addition, the restaurant's menu changes regularly, and there is always something new to try. Any of the tagine dishes are a safe bet for beginners, and there are plenty more exotic recipes for the more adventurous. The vegetarian cigars or the Mediterranean platter are excellent appetizers or tapas. As Bouskou explains, Park Terrace Bistro is designed for friends and families to gather and talk while enjoying a good meal.

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Restaurants • Inwood

Inwood & Bronx Botanical Gardens Farmers Markets

Sometimes, when you live in Bronx, you forget that you don’t have to go to Manhattan to enjoy New York City snobbery. For example, we New Yorkers may be part a huge city with a bunch of disease-ridden rodents, foul, and insects, but we’re cool enough to attract local farmers. We’re so cool that these local farmers are willing to put aside their suspicions that all city-goers who are willing to put up with disease-ridden rodents, foul, and insects—especially those who bring their dogs to doggie spas and cafes—couldn’t possibly appreciate fresh produce. But West Bronx residents deserve to be snobby, in spite of the borough’s reputation. Here in the West Bronx, there are two farmers markets in close proximity: one at the Bronx Botanical Gardens, and the other in Inwood. And yes, Inwood is technically Manhattan, but no one below 125th knows anything about the neighborhood, and the demographics are about the same as the West Bronx, so it might as well be the West Bronx. You can expect that some of the farmers at these farmers markets will look at you askance, just like downtown. That should make you proud, because you are now officially as cool as the shoppers in Union Square…and you have more parkland.

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Farmers Markets • Inwood

Dyckman Farmhouse

There’s a C-Town Supermarket across the street and the A train a few blocks away. Yet looking down on the cacophonous street is the Dyckman Farmhouse, a reminder that Uptown Manhattan once existed for agriculture rather than commuting. The cozy stone and clapboard house, with wide porches and low ceilings, was built on the Dykman family’s 250-acre farm in 1784. In the lush back garden is a log military hut used by Revolutionary War soldiers, and behind it austere brick high-rises. With the lot so tightly hemmed in by the modern city, it’s hard to envision cattle or buggies walking by, or even the texture of the soil below the concrete. Yet this quiet little house, and others like it, founded our roaring city, and perhaps visiting it is to say a sort of thank-you.

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Landmarks , Museums • Inwood

Grandpa’s Brick Oven Pizza

Go figure. Another pizza place to write about? What can possibly be so different about this pizza place than any of the 17,248 others within a five mile radius? Well let me just say that’s quite a snotty attitude you have. Grandpa’s Pizza isn’t a grease hole that gives you a slice of pizza that tastes like newspaper pulp with waxy cheese-substitute barely covering the ketchup. No way, and not here. At Grandpa’s, it’s about one thing-the crust. It’s amazing and crisp on the bottom and has just the right thickness. Then there’s the service. OK so that’s two things, but the people at Grandpa’s are always friendly and go out of their way to make you feel welcome. Then there is the restaurant itself, with plenty of tables and a nice view of Broadway. OK, so Grandpa’s is about three things now, but you get the point. All your traditional favorites plus killer salads and sandwiches. Try a slice of “Grandpa’s Sicilian” to get your fill.

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Restaurants • Inwood

Keenan's Piano Lounge

There’s no better hipster doofus magnet than the faux dive bar. You see them everywhere in the trendy nabes, where they attempt bar dive status with poor sound systems, imported bar stench and sometimes even going so far as hiring out of work actors as ‘regulars’ to make small talk at the end of the bar. No such thing at Keenan’s Piano Lounge. This is the real deal. The bar is centralized and oval-shaped, which is really helpful when ordering another round because no matter where you are, the bar is nearby. There’s one pool table with an assortment of crooked sticks, and several televisions of varying reception for your entertainment needs, though only viewable in your periphery. The regulars are regulars, and the smell is real. Come on Monday nights for open mic, which starts at 8 pm. And even though it’s called Keenan’s Piano Lounge, there’s no piano. Come to think of it, it’s not really much of a lounge either."

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Nightlife • Inwood

Tacos Puebla

As we’re ever-on the lookout for authentic Mexican food, we might have found the best yet at Tacos Puebla, located at 207th Manhattan’s most famous neighborhood: Inwood. Family-owned and operated, Tacos Puebla is humble in size and appearance, but the food has a well-deserved ego. And yes, they sell tacos. Lots of tacos…and they’re all $2 each. Carne asada to die for, chicken marinated and succulent, and all the tacos are topped with cilantro and onions. Lettuce, tomato, and salsas are on the side. The salsa is fantastic, by the way, from mild to the very-nearly-dangerous. For openers on your first visit, you might try the quesadilla. For $5, it’s huge and comes with tons of guacamole and sour cream—plenty to share. Then move on to an enchilada, or maybe a bowl of albondigas, or perhaps a huarache or two. Only then should you go for a few tacos. A really good taco is like making love—you don’t want to just dive in there all

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Restaurants • Inwood