So, as most Italian American's can remember, September 16th is usually the start of one of the most sought after food festivals in the New York/New Jersey area. This is the start of the San Genaro Feast!!! Every feast is different, bringing together Italian Americans and those that highly enjoy Italian food.
According to the website for the New York San Gennaro Festival website, "Although this is an annual celebration of faith, the Feast of San Gennaro is known the world over for its festive atmosphere, an 11-day event featuring religious processions and colorful parades, free musical entertainment every day, a wide variety of ethnic food delicacies, charming restaurants and cafes and even a world-famous cannoli-eating competition! The central focus of the celebration takes place every September 19th, the official Saint Day when a celebratory Mass is held in Shrine Church of the Most Precious Blood, followed immediately by a religious procession in which the Statue of San Gennaro is carried from its permanent home in the church through the streets that comprise Little Italy."
Unfortunally for myself, I couldn't make it to the official festival in New York's Little Italy, but I did make it to a local one down in Belmar, New Jersey. Initally I wanted to spend almost all day but due to personal reasons, I went for the last 3 hours and it was--somewhat worth it. Diving right into it, I arrived with my friend and decided to park at the church of Saint Rose (where the procession of San Gennaro was held earlier that morning to kick off the event) and we walked roughly about 2 blocks to the party. After arriving on Main Street, it felt so nice to be able to walk in the middle of the street, not having to worry about cars coming towards you--its honestly the little things. We decided that we weren't going to buy food just yet, but we wanted to look around and see the offerings. Boy, did I have high expectations. Walking around the middle of Belmar, there were SO MANY vendors trying to sell everything from hand painted sweatshirts (that honestly screamed 1980's Staten Island Grandma) to emoji poop pillows and everything in between. Now as far as food goes, anyone that knows me, knows that I.LOVE.FOOD, espically Italian food (along with others). Finally smelling the wafting smells of pasta, pizza and everything in between, I forgot that everything that was being served was basically carnival food. Fried, over priced and full of grease. My friend settled on Sausage, Peppers and Onions and I settled on 2 slices of pizza (that weren't even that good) and french fries (that were so soggy from the grease that I'm still physically sick). The SP&O looked and smelled delicious and was equally as good. I don't even want to talk about the $12.00 mess of food that I ate. For a small desert (the real desert would come later), we settled on a vanilla filled cupcake and cookies and cream cupcake from House Of Cupcakes that are based in Princeton, NJ (Fun fact: they also won Cupcake Wars on the Food Network). The cupcakes were actually REALLY good. After we decided that we had had enough, we began to make our way back to the car. But before anything, we stopped by a booth that I was looking forward to visiting. If you've watched (and are fans) of the show "Married At First Sight", Jamie Otis and Doug Henher were there (well, just Jamie because Doug was being a party pooper--ok actually Doug was at a wedding for a friend of his). I rooted for Jamie and Doug all season and when they decided that they wanted to stay married at the end of the show, I felt like there was some hope for my sorry self. If you're not up to speed on Jamie and Doug, Jamie actually put a book out called "Wifey 101" (I'm actually in the middle of reading it) and launched her own jewelry line that's based on how Doug and Jamie bonded and that's by spooning. I've kept my eye on a few pieces for a while and when I finally saw them in person, I couldn't help but buy myself a spoon necklace. The necklaces are dainty and beyond adorable and are all handmade including the bracelets and rings, in New York City (Side note: Jamie is also a certified RN in New York and California and works for Dr. Oz). Jamie is so down to earth and will take the time out to talk to you and it feels like you're talking to your girlfriend that you haven't spoken to in a month. Not only did I walk away with the necklace that I wanted, but I also walked away with her book that is on my list of books to read (it's personalized and everything!). Once Sean and I decided to leave, we went down to the boardwalk portion of Belmar, to a little ice cream shop called Coney Waffle. Coney Waffle is famous for their Big Top milkshakes:

Long story short, everything at Coney Waffle is fresh including the waffle cones and waffle sandwiches. Sean settled on a brownie waffle with cannoli filling and I ended up with something called The Liberty, that basically looked like this:

(THAT IS THE LOOK OF REGRET AND BAD CHOICES!)

Needless to say, after Sean finished his ice cream, we both murdered mine. Half the candy on there I don't eat so all that was left was the ice cream sandwich, waffle with 3 scoops of ice cream in it and the ice cream itself, and we still went to town, and I'm still regretting it because I've never felt this sick--ever.

In the end, the festival might have been less than good, but when you have great company, good conversation and awesomely delicious ice cream, then that makes up for everything.

If you're interested in any of Jamie's spoon necklaces, check out Jamie Otis Jewelry.