The Feast

I grew up in Brooklyn, New York, where the big highlight of the summer season was the Italian Feasts held in Bensonhurst. There were amusement park rides, carnival games, popcorn, cotton candy, and food vendors selling the most delicious homemade Italian specialties: sausage and peppers, meatball heroes, porchetta sandwiches, and hot fried zeppole. 

Today, the Sons of Italy held an Italian Feast in a nearby town, and it instantly brought back so many wonderful childhood memories. The aroma of the foods cooking transported me right back to those good ole days in Brooklyn. We bought zeppole, ate sausage and peppers, rice balls, fried ravioli, and the girls won some stuffed animal prizes at the dart throw game. The park where it was held was packed with people, and we even spotted Caroline Manzo, one of the "Real Housewives of New Jersey" at a vendor booth. I overheard several attendees describing it as "a madhouse", but I loved every minute of it!