Feast of San Gennaro

Last week after work, I was on my way to meet friends for dinner in Chinatown when I found myself right in the middle of the Feast of San Gennaro festival in Little Italy. I had some time to kill before we were due to meet, so I walked down Mulberry Street taking in the sights (and smells!).

The Feast, going on annually for 87 years, is basically a street festival with an (obviously) Italian theme. There were some decidedly non-Italian vendors — hot dogs, cheeseburgers, fried oreos — but also more pizza, italian sausage, cannoli, gelato and pasta than I've ever really seen in one place. There were carnival games, souvenir vendors, and even a few rides, mostly for kids. It's definitely a place you go to eat, eat and eat some more, which was driving me a little crazy right before dinner.

The food all looked (and smelled) incredibly amazing, and I eventually broke down and bought a tiny pistachio-cream-filled cannoli (it was definitely worth it). Little Italy is a charming part of town, even if all that remains of it fits on basically one street. That street — Mulberry — was really crowded, but the people-watching opportunities more than made up for any inconvenience, and compared to the 2/3 train I take every morning the streets felt downright deserted. All of the restaurants had seating outside, and most had at least a few empty tables.

I love the painted buildings, vintage signage and old-world feel of the whole area, and I've never met a pasta or pizza that I didn't like. Sunday was the last day for the festival, but I definitely want to go back and explore (and eat my way through) Little Italy soon.