Birthday Adventures: San Gennaro in Little Italy and Dilena's Dolci

After getting back from the Renaissance Faire we were exhausted but not done with the day so we headed into Manhattan to Little Italy for the San Gennaro Festival.

It was the last day of the feasts antics so I'm really happy I made it there! 

The Feast of San Gennaro is celebrated every year in Little Italy in mid September.  It's an Italian-American celebration that used to be celebrated as a one day religious commemoration, September 19th.  It originates from Naples as San Gennaro is their patron saint. Every year since 1926, Mulberry street is the home to these festivities. Now these festivities go on for weeks.

Nowadays, the festival features sausage and peppers, zeppole, meatballs, street vendors, rides, games and parades.  And on the last Saturday of the feast, the Grand Procession happens.  It is a candlelit procession in which the statue of San Gennaro is carried from the church through the streets of Little Italy.

It's a great festival that gives you a great opportunity to eat delicious food and be part of the Italian American culture.

It took us forever to get there thanks to train craziness, so we made it there by around 7pm.

We entered via Canal and Mulberry and walked our way up to the end.
There was so much food!  And so many people.
We tried some sausage and peppers, meatballs with spaghetti cooked into them, plantains and pork belly and Colombian chicken and of course, some canoli!

so crowded

hard at work

Italian style hydrant!

We had a delicious walk, even though it was super crowded and sometimes hard to navigate. After getting our food, we would navigate ourselves to an empty corner or spot to avoid people bumping into us.

Towards the end of our walk, we started seeing more clothing and jewelry sellers so we knew the festival was coming to an end.

I'm not sure how we got roped into spending money on basketball... but that happened too.  It was entertaining for sure...

Ang fit right in with her green makeup!!

But we also found the stand where one of our friends' from elementary school was set up.  We found Dilena's Dolcini, #dilenasdolcini.  She opened shop in 2010 using her grandmother's recipes a few years ago and her Italian desserts are delicious.  We were hoping to run into Carly, herself but we missed her by a day.

Look at all those delicious treats!  

Still, it didn't stop me from stocking up on some treats.  And we did get to meet her sister, who is just as much of a sweetheart as Carly!

I grabbed some amazing pistachio cookies for my husband and some chocolate amaretto cookies for myself.  The pistachio cookies were soft baked and full of pistachio and the chocolate amaretto were rich and so tasty.
I also stocked up on different alcoholic gummy bear treats.  I got mojito, rum punch, prosecco, limoncello and two or three other flavors that I can't currently remember.
Oh man, they're so good.  They are chilling out in my fridge for whenever I need a little kick.  They really taste like the drinks they're supposed to be.

I was so happy to find her booth and finally try her desserts!  I'd only seen pictures up to now.  Let me tell you, her desserts are as delicious as they look!
Her store is currently set up at
284 TEANECK ROAD
RIDGEFIELD PARK, NJ 07660
so if you're in Jersey, get going!!
The cookies are hand-made and all natural.  And you can special order and have them shipped.

After finding Dilena's Dolcini, we made it to the end of the festival and it was time to head back home.

It was a great part of my birthday celebration and I'm so glad we got to go!

The end of all!!