Angela
Elite member
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San Gennaro, the patron saint of Napoli, is celebrated not only in Italy, but in N.Y.C.
For 92 years, there has been a street festival in his honor. Some claim this 11 day street fair is the largest in the U.S. All I know is that it seems to get more claustrophobically crowded every year. (1.5 million people attending at last count) I stopped going a few years ago, contenting myself with the Italian-American fairs near my suburb, but my children go. They've loved it since childhood.
It's the fair memorialized in "The Godfather". Remember?
In addition to the procession of the statue, the ferris wheel and carnival games, and the music, the big attraction is also the food. It's all good. I don't know what it is, but the food quality declines with every mile from N.Y.C. The same applies to Chinese food.
My personal favorite is zeppole, deep fried dough sprinkled with powdered sugar and served in a little paper bag. The pastries as a whole are delicious, especially Ferrara's Bakery ones. One thing I used to always bring home is the torrone, because it's the real, teeth cracking kind, not that squishy, nauseating packaged kind.
Everyone's mad about cannoli, but there's so much else. My personal favorite are sfogliatelle: so crispy, with the pastry not overwhelmed by the filling.
They have to use a hammer and chisel to break it up.
I always like it better at night.
One thing I don't miss is watching all the people, especially men, eating to such excess.
For 92 years, there has been a street festival in his honor. Some claim this 11 day street fair is the largest in the U.S. All I know is that it seems to get more claustrophobically crowded every year. (1.5 million people attending at last count) I stopped going a few years ago, contenting myself with the Italian-American fairs near my suburb, but my children go. They've loved it since childhood.
It's the fair memorialized in "The Godfather". Remember?
In addition to the procession of the statue, the ferris wheel and carnival games, and the music, the big attraction is also the food. It's all good. I don't know what it is, but the food quality declines with every mile from N.Y.C. The same applies to Chinese food.
My personal favorite is zeppole, deep fried dough sprinkled with powdered sugar and served in a little paper bag. The pastries as a whole are delicious, especially Ferrara's Bakery ones. One thing I used to always bring home is the torrone, because it's the real, teeth cracking kind, not that squishy, nauseating packaged kind.
Everyone's mad about cannoli, but there's so much else. My personal favorite are sfogliatelle: so crispy, with the pastry not overwhelmed by the filling.
They have to use a hammer and chisel to break it up.
I always like it better at night.
One thing I don't miss is watching all the people, especially men, eating to such excess.