ARTICLE
Debut two-day event will celebrate Italian food, wine and culture in downtown Bethlehem. May 24, 2016, 5:43 PM Growing up, Vito Spinelli would go to his grandmother's house, and she would make a simple but delicious Sicilian-style pizza. "Food is such a big part of Italian culture," says Spinelli, owner of Brick Pizzeria Restaurant & Bar in Bethlehem. He now makes that pie, which he calls Grandma Pie, at his downtown Bethlehem restaurant. It's a top-seller. You can taste Grandma Pie and much more at the Festa Italiana, one of the Valley's first Italian festivals. It runs 5-10 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday on Main Street and in the Sun Inn Courtyard in Bethlehem. You'll be able to walk the Food Trail or the Wine Trail, tasting the flavors of Italy with the chance to buy from vendors along the way, listen to live music and watch events such as a sauce competition. Lynn Cunningham, senior vice president of Bethlehem Initiatives, Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce, says the chamber was looking at new ways to bring people downtown. The group figured an Italian festival would be a hit. "There was a groundswell of interest in doing something like this," Cunningham says. At about the same time, City Councilman Bryan Callahan at a council meeting brought up the idea of an Italian festival. Callahan's late wife, Lucia, was 100 percent Italian. She died of cancer 10 years ago this August. "I always thought in honor of her I would get something going for the Italians in our area," Callahan says. A committee was formed and the festival ideas were off and running. Italian heritage runs deep in the Lehigh Valley. About 11 percent of Valley residents identify themselves as having Italian ancestry, according to recent Census Bureau statistics. That makes Italians the third-largest ethnic group in the Valley, behind German and Irish. From brick oven pizza to homemade pasta, the Christmas City also is full of Italian restaurants. One culinary ingredient in Italian culture is, of course, gravy, aka sauce. The festival will celebrate this with a sauce competition for amateur chefs on Saturday. The winner will receive the Golden Spoon, made from blown glass and created at the Banana Factory. Organizers sought amateurs with family sauce recipes. Judges narrowed the 20 entries to nine finalists, who will have their sauces judged at the competition. Wine is an important part of most Italian meals, and with a Wine Trail passport you'll get to enjoy samples from the many different regions of Italy, courtesy of South Italy Imports. With each passport you'll get 12, two-ounce samples. You'll also get a nine-ounce stemless wine glass with the Festa Italiana logo. The Wine Trail locations will work geographically: the northern part of the festival at Broad and Main streets will feature wines from northern Italy. As the trail moves south, so will the wines. And like any Italian function, you'll have more than enough to eat. The Food Trail runs 1-4 p.m. Saturday. With your passport, you can sample Italian classics from Bethlehem restaurants including Mama Nina's, Rosanna's, Corked, Twisted Olive, Molto Pazzo, Colony Meadery, The Brick and more. "I'm excited," says Ralph Caiazzo, owner of Molto Pazzo on Main Street in Bethlehem. "Hopefully it will be a nice turnout." He'll offer samples of miniature meatballs marinara as part of the Food Trail. He'll also have a stand outside his restaurant at 553 Main St. featuring sausage and peppers, pizza, rice balls, meatball sandwiches and Italian pastries. The folks at Twisted Olive will have short-rib ravioli — a homemade pasta stuffed with braised short ribs and caramelized onions, served in a Madeira cream sauce. At Brick, Food Trail ticket holders can get a slice of Grandma Pie. It's a simple, rustic Sicilian style, square pie but not nearly as bready as a typical Sicilian pie. The pie's crust is about 1/4-inch thick, with a fluffy interior and a crispy exterior. This isn't a floppy slice. Spinelli uses all homemade ingredients. No jarred, commercially made sauces or rubbery mozzarella. They make theirs fresh — just like grandma did. FESTA ITALIANA •What: Italian festival •When: 5-10 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday •Where: Sites on Main Street and in the Sun Inn Courtyard •How much: Wine Trail offers three sessions: 6-9 p.m. Friday; noon-3 p.m. Saturday; 6-9 p.m. Saturday. $30, plus $2.64 fee. Food Trial is 1-4 p.m. Saturday. $15, plus $1.82 fee. •Info: www.festaitalianabethlehem.com Read the full article here.
Debut two-day event will celebrate Italian food, wine and culture in downtown Bethlehem.
May 24, 2016, 5:43 PM
Growing up, Vito Spinelli would go to his grandmother's house, and she would make a simple but delicious Sicilian-style pizza.
"Food is such a big part of Italian culture," says Spinelli, owner of Brick Pizzeria Restaurant & Bar in Bethlehem.
He now makes that pie, which he calls Grandma Pie, at his downtown Bethlehem restaurant. It's a top-seller.
You can taste Grandma Pie and much more at the Festa Italiana, one of the Valley's first Italian festivals. It runs 5-10 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday on Main Street and in the Sun Inn Courtyard in Bethlehem.
You'll be able to walk the Food Trail or the Wine Trail, tasting the flavors of Italy with the chance to buy from vendors along the way, listen to live music and watch events such as a sauce competition.
Lynn Cunningham, senior vice president of Bethlehem Initiatives, Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce, says the chamber was looking at new ways to bring people downtown. The group figured an Italian festival would be a hit.
"There was a groundswell of interest in doing something like this," Cunningham says.
At about the same time, City Councilman Bryan Callahan at a council meeting brought up the idea of an Italian festival. Callahan's late wife, Lucia, was 100 percent Italian. She died of cancer 10 years ago this August.
"I always thought in honor of her I would get something going for the Italians in our area," Callahan says.
A committee was formed and the festival ideas were off and running.
Italian heritage runs deep in the Lehigh Valley. About 11 percent of Valley residents identify themselves as having Italian ancestry, according to recent Census Bureau statistics. That makes Italians the third-largest ethnic group in the Valley, behind German and Irish. From brick oven pizza to homemade pasta, the Christmas City also is full of Italian restaurants.
One culinary ingredient in Italian culture is, of course, gravy, aka sauce. The festival will celebrate this with a sauce competition for amateur chefs on Saturday. The winner will receive the Golden Spoon, made from blown glass and created at the Banana Factory.
Organizers sought amateurs with family sauce recipes. Judges narrowed the 20 entries to nine finalists, who will have their sauces judged at the competition.
Wine is an important part of most Italian meals, and with a Wine Trail passport you'll get to enjoy samples from the many different regions of Italy, courtesy of South Italy Imports. With each passport you'll get 12, two-ounce samples. You'll also get a nine-ounce stemless wine glass with the Festa Italiana logo.
The Wine Trail locations will work geographically: the northern part of the festival at Broad and Main streets will feature wines from northern Italy. As the trail moves south, so will the wines.
And like any Italian function, you'll have more than enough to eat.
The Food Trail runs 1-4 p.m. Saturday. With your passport, you can sample Italian classics from Bethlehem restaurants including Mama Nina's, Rosanna's, Corked, Twisted Olive, Molto Pazzo, Colony Meadery, The Brick and more.
"I'm excited," says Ralph Caiazzo, owner of Molto Pazzo on Main Street in Bethlehem. "Hopefully it will be a nice turnout."
He'll offer samples of miniature meatballs marinara as part of the Food Trail. He'll also have a stand outside his restaurant at 553 Main St. featuring sausage and peppers, pizza, rice balls, meatball sandwiches and Italian pastries.
The folks at Twisted Olive will have short-rib ravioli — a homemade pasta stuffed with braised short ribs and caramelized onions, served in a Madeira cream sauce.
At Brick, Food Trail ticket holders can get a slice of Grandma Pie. It's a simple, rustic Sicilian style, square pie but not nearly as bready as a typical Sicilian pie. The pie's crust is about 1/4-inch thick, with a fluffy interior and a crispy exterior. This isn't a floppy slice.
Spinelli uses all homemade ingredients. No jarred, commercially made sauces or rubbery mozzarella.
They make theirs fresh — just like grandma did.
FESTA ITALIANA
•What: Italian festival
•When: 5-10 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday
•Where: Sites on Main Street and in the Sun Inn Courtyard
•How much: Wine Trail offers three sessions: 6-9 p.m. Friday; noon-3 p.m. Saturday; 6-9 p.m. Saturday. $30, plus $2.64 fee. Food Trial is 1-4 p.m. Saturday. $15, plus $1.82 fee.
•Info: www.festaitalianabethlehem.com Read the full article here.