“I’m like the court jester of mozzarella,” says Dining on a Dime host Lucas Peterson — in this episode, he’s in the presence of the “king and prince” of the cheese, intruding on the family affair in the Belmont neighborhood of the Bronx. Casa Della Mozzarella, owned by Sicilian native Orazio Carciotto, is a full-service Italian deli on the legendary Arthur Avenue, home of the Bronx’s Little Italy — but where it really shines is with its fresh balls of mozzarella, made daily on-site.
Casa Della is one of many traditional Italian businesses in the area, which maintains strong connections to its Italian and Italian-American roots. Within a few blocks’ radius of the Arthur Avenue and 187th Street intersection, it’s possible to buy fresh pasta, baked goods, and prepared foods in restaurants that seem unchanged since the ’50s and ’60s. Watch as Peterson learns how fresh, creamy mozzarella gets made: Orazio and his son Carlo make thousands of pounds monthly by hand, and without measuring instruments. Will its incredible reputation live up to the hype?
