9th Street Italian Market Festival

In celebration of my Italian heritage, 9th Street in South Philadelphia was putting on a festival that only a spaghetti-twister like myself could appreciate. May 15 & 16th marked the annual outdoor festival of America's oldest outdoor market. Quizzo cats take note. My friend and I got a decent start on the festivities Sunday afternoon hopping onto 9th beneath a vendor's tent hawking a number of ridiculous phrases on t-shirts, baby jumpers, and hats. I was tempted to pick up a jumper that read "My little Italian Princess" but realized I didn't know any princesses and didn't want to portray myself as a liar.

Sauntering away, we made our way North through the throngs of handsomely dressed hipsters, pushy Moms wielding strollers, and the occasional unsightly Jersey guido. The party was capped off at Sarcone's on 9th and Fitzwater, so we ventured back South, passing three stages with live music (including one raucous middle-aged dance party), Peroni salesmen, and table after table of South Philly's finest fare.

By now we had walked the festival 1.5x and were ready for the appetizer. Fresh tomato & mozzarella salad with just the right excess of olive oil held us over until we could make it back up to Sarcone's for what would be the best Italian hoagie I've ever had. I'd heard good things and they lived up to the hype. Quite sated there was still a small cannoli sized hole in my heart that needed filling...vanilla with chocolate chips to be exact. Not the best I'd ever had but still hit the spot. By now I was sweating olive oil and lumbering around like a lb. of pepperoni and needed a rest.

Commence 4 hr. fat nap



Upon waking I was shocked to see what time it was. Water ice time. John's Water Ice was our next stop, which left something to be desired but was still refreshing after a long hard day of walking about 2 miles and napping twice that. Ready to call it a day I headed home and made myself a bowl of pasta before bed.

Truth be told I'm not Italian (I had to look up the spelling for nearly everything I ate that day) but that doesn't mean I can't eat copious amounts of unhealthy food and wear my "Little Italian Princess" tee in honor of a joyous day at the Italian Market Festival.

9th Street Italian Market Festival, check.