Feast of San Gennaro...And Zeppole!

Collin Murray and I took a little walk today, a walk that ended in Little Italy and the 84th annual Feast of San Gennaro. I have to admit that though the festival is supposed to be religious (in fact, the festival's website claims that it is the longest running and most revered religious festivals in the United States), I certainly didn't find it all that church-y...unless we're talking about worshipping food. I swear, I have never seen more sausages and peppers in my life. Sacks of onions, vats of oil, and wood-fired pizza ovens right on the side of the street! It was a little insane -- especially when considering how absolutely packed with people Mulberry street was.


See! It was just a wee bit busy...


Crazy enormous sausage rolls!


They also had a fresh and fried seafood booth that smelled amazing.

Collin Murray and I didn't even make it to the end of the festival, it was just too nutty but what we did manage to snag was a steaming hot, confectioner's sugar dunked, huge paper bag of zeppole or fried bits of dough -- Italian-style.



A common pastry of Rome, Naples and Sicily, zeppole are normally consumed on La Festa di San Giuseppe (The Feast of Saint Joesph) in March but I was very excited to find them in September. Occasionally the little bits of dough are sprinkled in granulated sugar and can be filled with jam or pastry cream but ours were "served" plain and I was quite ok with that...



Click here for more information on the Feast. It will continue to run, this year, till September 26.