Lieutenant Petrosino Square - between Lafayette, Kenmare, and Cleveland Place

I would have said that this block is in SoHo, but Google Maps says it's in Nolita, and who am I to argue? The term 'Nolita' comes from North of Little Italy, by the way. Couldn't it have its own name instead of being compared to something nearby? It shouldn't have to be the West Virginia of neighborhoods. 

Unfortunately the most noticeable thing right away on the block is a big advertisement. I guess the ad people did a good job. When ad people succeed, however, the rest of us lose. 

Here's a big building at the northeast edge of the block, with grand columns and an interesting shape:

Oh yeah, and a Duane Reade. I have a feeling that building wasn't originally a Duane Reade on the ground floor. Just a guess.

I tried a pizza joint on Cleveland Place called Champion Pizza SoHo. The sign says they have award-winning pizza, so I guess the name holds up. 

At the counter they have many varieties of pizza and novelty license plates:

If I'm trying a new pizza place and judging its quality, I have to go with a regular slice. 

That's a good-looking slice. The verdict: delicious. Highly recommend. And a slice is only $2.00, which is a bargain for quality pizza around these parts. 

The place itself is small and has a nice atmosphere, with wood and brick walls and plenty of small tables. On the walls are framed articles and photos of famous people who have eaten there. 

Just next door to the pizza place, and sharing with it the ground floor of a nice-looking building, is Eileen's Special Cheesecake. 

This shop is even smaller than the pizza place, with the back area full of employees working on making more treats. 

It was very crowded and seemed to be mostly full of tourists, but that doesn't mean New Yorkers can't go there. They let me in, at least. Fortunately the line moved fast so it wasn't a long wait. 

I got a cannoli and cherry tart. Here's the box it came in!

Ah, nothing like a bakery box, tied with that special string in that special way. Good stuff. 

Oh yeah, and here are the actual pastries:

Both were really, really good. Especially the cannoli, though that may just be my personal taste preferences talking.
 
Also on Cleveland Place is The Henley Vaporium.

Are you wondering what a vaporium is? Dude, get with it. It's a place for e-cigarettes. Where have you been?

On Kenmare Street is the Corner Deli, which actually serves Mexican food. 

It is also called La Esquina, which means The Corner. Hmm, makes sense. 

I do find the name "Corner Deli" confusing in terms of what food to expect there. I didn't eat there but it has good online reviews and I would guess it is in the city's top ten for "delis" that serve Mexican food. Since I can't imagine that there are ten such places here, I would put it in the top ten even if it had bad food. But apparently it doesn't.

By the way, see that rather majestic, domed building a couple of blocks down the street? It's just an apartment building. Actually, from 1909-1973 it was the New York City Police Headquarters, but now it's full of condominiums. So there you go. At least they didn't tear down the nice building.

It is fitting for the former police headquarters to be so nearby, because at the center of this block is a park named after an heroic lieutenant, Joseph Petrosino.

Below is a plaque with more information on Lieutenant Petrosino. I recommend reading it, he sounds like a great man:

Next to the plaque was an article that included a photo of the Lieutenant and a photo collection of 17 criminals whom he had locked up. 

  
The park itself is small with a calm vibe, and a nice open space in the middle of a rather busy area of lower Manhattan. 

I'm sorry to say it, but here are some rather ugly buildings in the area:

Along the Lafayette Street side of the block there are several restaurants that seem very nice, though I didn't go to any. One of them is Ed's Lobster Bar, which is probably the one with the big lobster on its sign.

I like the colorful art on the right side of that photo.

That about wraps it up from a nice block, named after a noble man and with good food options. Here's one more look at the pastries, just because:

Oh my.