Great eats can be found at San Gennaro Festival

The Feast of San Gennaro, the patron saint of Naples, returns to Little Italy for its 77^th year, beginning Thursday, September 16. The 11-day festival promises to once again fill the streets of this downtown neighborhood with parades, entertainment, and an anticipated crowd of one million people. And then, of course, there's the food.

For those in need of a little culinary guidance, please consult the following San Gennaro food glossary, first published on LowerManhattan.info last September. Mangia!

A Glossary of San Gennaro Food Favorites

"What's a zeppole?" asks a woman reading from a sign at one of the dozens of stands set up along the streets of Little Italy for the 76th annual San Gennaro Festival, which concludes this weekend on Mulberry Street and surrounding blocks. "That's this," says Betty Trapani from behind the counter, pointing to the laden tray in front of her. "Fried dough with powdered sugar on it."

Betty Trapani, with zeppoles

To save her some breath, and make things easier for the non-Italians who join in each year to help celebrate the patron saint of Naples with delicious food and games in Lower Manhattan's historic Italian neighborhood, we've compiled a glossary of San Gennaro terms to help you find the best eats the Feast has to offer. Read on, and then head down and eat up!

• Pork braciole, ready to eat

  Pork Braciole -- "It's a pork steak, rolled and stuffed with garlic, parsley, grated cheese, black pepper, and oregano," explains Maria Spata, who has helped run her brother-in-law's San Gennaro stand each year for the past decade. Though she was born in the United States, Spata's family hails from the Calabria region of Italy. "A lot of Italian families cook braciole in a thick tomato sauce for a Sunday meal," she says. Braciole can also be made with beef, or even chicken, but in Spata's opinion, pork is best.

• Stiglioli  -- "Intestines," says Frankie Damico, searching for the word for cow to explain their source. Stiglioni aren't actually served at the stand where Damico works, though the sign above his head lists them. "They are delicious," he is quick to say, but perhaps not as popular among the increasingly diverse crowd that San Gennaro today draws, he offers.
  
  Damico, who's worked the Feast for the past 26 years, favors steak and mozzarella, which is served at his stand. "It's a Sicilian tradition," says the Sicilian native. A thin beef steak is grilled to order over an open flame, then topped with fresh mozzarella, which melts to perfection. Broccoli rabe or tomatoes can also be added on top, he offers.

• Bits of torrone are chiseled off piece by piece

  Torrone  -- An imported Italian candy, torrone is made from honey, sugar, and egg whites, says Sal (last name withheld), who chisels pieces from a large block as interested customers approach his cart near the intersection of Mulberry and Grand Streets. "I don't make it," he says. "It's all imported straight from Italy." Sal has sold as much as 20 pounds each to some customers. "People just love it," he says. "They buy it to eat all year long, or to save for Christmas."

• Gelato  -- "It's Italian ice cream, but creamier than regular ice cream and with a sweeter taste," says Johnna Delutro. Delutro's parents own Café Palermo on Mulberry Street, which runs a gelato stand out front each year as part of the Feast. How long has Delutro been coming to San Gennaro? "Well, I'm 21, so about 21 years." In addition to about a dozen flavors of gelato, Delutro also serves eight or so flavors of sorbet. "Sorbet is more like Italian ice," she says. "It's water-based and has a slushy kind of feeling." Top sellers among the gelato flavors are hazelnut and chocolate chip, she reports. And for sorbet, it's raspberry and lemon. "The lemon's better," she confides, "but some people really like raspberry, I guess."

• Andriola sells assorted nuts, Italian cookies

  Mostaccioli Riepeni  -- "That's probably the one people ask about the most," says Tony Andriola, who sells a dozen different varieties of imported Italian cookies, as well as assorted nuts and candy. "Mostaccioli are chocolate cookies filled with fruit and nuts," he says. His top seller, though, are the anisette (licorice-flavored) biscotti. Some people buy two or three pounds at a time. But Andriola, a retired high-school history teacher from New Jersey, favors the papatelle over all else. "They're good for breakfast, with your coffee in the morning. Not too sweet."

• Polpi baked with sesame seeds, paprika

  Polpi -- "That's baby octopus," says Pamela Bellomo, pointed to a tentacle-covered tray. The polpi are mixed with sesame seeds, paprika, and olive oil and baked in the oven, she explains. The top seller, though, at the stand where Bellomo works on Grand Street is the fried calamari, hands down, she says. Also available: fried shrimp, mixed seafood salad, and fried ravioli.

• John Fratta, founder's great-grandson

  Tiramisu -- "It's like a custard -- it's made with marscapone cream, Kahlúa, espresso, and ladyfinger cookies," says Mike Caruso, manning the stand run by his brother-in-law John Fratta. Fratta's great-grandfather, Luigi Vitale, started the Feast in 1827. "It started as a block party," Fratta explains. "In those days, they had a contest to see who could decorate their fire escapes the best." It grew gradually from one day to a weekend and eventually to the 11-day carnival it is today.

• Sausage and peppers grilled to perfection

  Sausage and peppers  -- You don't have to be Italian to recognize sausage and peppers, and you can't attend the Feast without seeing or smelling them. Sweet or hot Italian sausage is cooked on a hot grill and served piled high with sautéed sliced onions and red and green peppers. Delicious -- and the festival's top-selling item, according to most anyone you ask.
  
  
• Fried Oreos -- There may be nothing particularly Italian about fried Oreos, but  they are distinctly San Gennaro. "My brother invented them," proclaims Laura Trapani proudly. Eight years ago, Trapani's brother Peter decided to dip an Oreo cookie

  Fried oreos are hot items at the Feast

  in funnel-cake batter and fry it up. Ever since, they've been a part of the Feast, and have grown to be every bit as popular as traditional zeppoles, she says. "We're definitely becoming known for them," she continued. "We've even been on Emeril."

This glossary first appeared on LowerManhattan.info on September 19, 2003. This year, the Feast of San Gennaro begins on Thursday, September 16, and continues through Sunday, September 26. Centered along Mulberry Street between Canal and Houston Streets, stands of food and games extend beyond Mulberry along intersecting side streets.