The annual Feast of San Gennaro hadn’t always been brimming with eager diners and bustling vendors like it is today. The 11-day celebration — this year from Sept. 12 to Sept. 22 — has surprisingly humble origins, tracing back to a 1926 block party dedicated to one of Naples’ patron saints, San Gennaro. Now, it’s the most popular food festival in Little Italy, featuring dishes not only from Italy, but around the world.
While it’s tempting to load up on the feast’s many pastas, meats and sandwiches, one of the most unique parts of the festival is its assortment of sweet treats. Between cannolis, gelato and tiramisu, San Gennaro has something for everyone’s sweet tooth.
Best Cake: New York Cheesecake from Ferrara Bakery & Cafe
Though this historic bakery is known for its St. Joseph’s pastry — a cream puff-like donut topped with powdered sugar — its New York Cheesecake with fresh strawberries was arguably the best I’ve had in the city. The cake had the perfect filling-to-crust ratio and a delightfully creamy filling, which reminded me of the popular Korean Melona ice cream. Ferrara offers cheesecake year-round at their Grand Street location.
Best Candy: Torrone from Vinny’s Nut House
While Ferrare is a Little Italy staple, Vinny’s Nut House is a San Gennaro exclusive. So, sampling their torrone — traditional Italian nougat — is a must. Despite its seasonal nature, the stand plays an important role in both the festival and the Little Italy community at large.
While I’ve often seen soft and sweet nougat, I was pleasantly surprised at the crunchiness of this torrone. It also had a chewy consistency without being overly sticky or cavity-inducing, and a flavor profile that can best be described as a nut granola bar mixed with hints of marshmallow.
The corner of Mulberry and Grand Street was recently nicknamed “Vincent ‘Vinny Peanuts’ Sabatino Corner” in honor of the stand’s owner, Vincent Sabatino, who passed away due to COVID-19-related complications in 2020.
Best Zeppole: Danny on the Corner
Eater New York described Zeppole, small Italian fried donuts, as “perhaps the best-loved San Gennaro fare.” While the festival has quite a few stands that offer the treat, Danny on the Corner has become a San Gennaro staple. In fact, in the past, the stand has even sponsored the festival’s zeppole-eating contests.
Danny on the Corner’s zeppole certainly deserves the attention it gets — each zeppola is crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. The powdered sugar topping melted perfectly into the warm zeppole, creating a donut-like glaze, and the sweetness balanced out the slight saltiness of the dough.
Most unique: Lemon sugarcane juice
It wasn’t long into my dessert quest that I realized just how multicultural the Feast of San Gennaro is. Next to vendors selling pizza and pasta, I found stalls selling everything from kebabs to Nutella crepes to bubble tea. Perhaps one of the most unique stands is one that sells “guarapo de caña,” or sugarcane juice, at the corner of Mott Street and Hester Street. Festival attendees can watch vendors extract raw sugarcane juice from the stalks using a traditional wooden press.
I was quite intrigued by how light the guarapo was — I had expected it to be a concentrated, overwhelmingly sugary juice. The mild sweetness complemented its earthy, grassy flavor, and finished off with my choice of lemon juice. In other words, think lemonade, but with a better balance of sugar and lemon.
While San Gennaro is indeed a showcase of Italian American food and culture, it honors something larger than our shared love for gastronomy. It’s a full-fledged celebration of New York City’s complex identity as an endlessly creative community that spans neighborhoods, and the desserts at this year’s festival emphasized that more than ever.
Contact Mia Shou at [email protected].