Putting the fizz in an afternoon walk

South Broadway in Yonkers is an interesting mix of old and new. The signs pictured here, rusting Pepsi on a shuttered deli and fading Coca-Cola on a still operating luncheonette, are ties to a past that still peeks through a wide-ranging menu of Chinese, Portuguese, Cuban, Mexican, Italian and other restaurants.

In addition, there's an eclectic hardware store with uneven floors and haphazardly stocked shelves you'd wish your neighborhood had after it gentrified. Also open for business: a silversmith and a piano store.

There's a storefront called Triple Magnet that offers haircuts, a photo studio and games. A small thrift shop (open when it has volunteers, according to the sign, and those volunteers were so ready to leave when I stepped inside they almost locked me in) had a surprisingly unworn but unsurprisingly pulpy best-seller pile of books.

Fall color

The first hints of red, yellow and brown are peeking into the trees around the city as the weather gets cooler. Fall colors, driven in from upstate and farms inland predominate at the farmers' markets. Apples, squash, gourds, peppers, pumpkins and corn display the full spectrum of autumn taste and tint. Here's a glimpse from the Thursday market in Yonkers.

Full list of farmers' markets in Westchester County.

Yonkers tacos redux

I mentioned that Tacos El Poblano had a bar for topping tacos. Feast your eyes on the spread of chopped cilantro, tomatoes, onions, peppers, radishes lime, salsa verde and salsa rojo.

The service is friendly and speedy, and the carnitas are crunchy on the ends leading to soft strands of meat that is heaped on the hot tortillas.

The toppings bar

The finished taco. It was tasty.