Parkchester loses culinary legend
BY JASON COHEN
A man who served the
likes of Derek Jeter and
Jennifer Lopez and became
known as an icon in the restaurant
industry was taken
from the Bronx this past
weekend.
On April 12, Joe Torres,
owner of Joe’s Place Restaurant
& Bar, 1841 Westchester
Ave., passed away from
COVID- 19. Torres, 73, had
his eatery for two decades
and spent the majority of
his life in the kitchen.
For many years he was
the chef at Jimmy’s Bronx
Café on Fordham Road,
which shuttered in 2004.
Borough President Ruben
Diaz Jr. expressed his
condolences.
“Joe catered a lot of our
events and sponsored our
Orchard Beach Salsa summer
concerts last year,” he
said on Twitter. “More importantly,
Joe was a friend.
My heart goes out to Joe’s
family during this diffi cult
time.”
Torres was born in
Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
and developed his culinary
talents from an early age
in his mother’s kitchen.
At 9-years-old he came to
America and began cooking
at 14.
Kevin Fitzpatrick, who
wrote “111 Places in the
Bronx That You Must Not
Miss,” reminisced about his
time with Torres.
“He is just a classic old
school chef,” Fitzpatrick
said. “What impressed me
about Joe was that he basically
grew up in a kitchen.”
Torres told Fitzpatrick
how as a kid he would work
60 to 80 hours a week and
when his friends were out
riding bikes, he was behind
the wheel of a Cadillac.
He mastered his trade
while cooking at Jimmy’s
in the 90s. Fitzpatrick said
even though he served numerous
celebrities, he was
always humble.
Here is an excerpt from
his book about Torres.
“I worked in Manhattan
hotels and restaurants as a
teenager. Daytime I was at
the old Americana Hotel.
Then I’d go over to the Cattleman
on 45th Street and
work at night. I was there 18
years.”
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Joe’s Place is the restaurant
he always wanted.
“Now it’s been more than
20 years cooking Caribbean
food,” Joe says. “Our
mechado is a very good looking
dish. Cow feet soup is a
traditional Spanish dish.
Try the mofungo stuffed
with shrimp, or sweet plantains
and yuca. For dessert
get the tembleque, it’s cocoa
based.”
Joe Conzo, a retired paramedic
and lifelong Bronxite,
was the photographer
for the book. Conzo recalled
how during the 1996 blizzard
Torres and the staff at
Jimmy’s helped feed FDNY/
EMS personnel.
Conzo noted that Torres
was looking to retire, but
sadly his life was cut short.
His death came as a shock,
Conzo said. He heard he
was in the hospital and the
next thing he knew he had
passed.
“He gave back to the
community and he was an
approachable guy,” Conzo
said.
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Joe Torres, owner of Joe’s Place Restaurant &who passed away April 12
from COVID-19 Photo courtesy Joe Conzo
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