Mangia! mangia!
Little Italy San Jose’s annual street festival returns Sunday, Oct. 6, with a huge lineup of Italian food, from homey specialties to restaurant favorites, plus 150 Italian cars, live entertainment, wine booths and dozens of food and crafts vendors in the historic district.
The event runs from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and admission is free.
If you’re heading over for the food, there will be South Bay restaurants along with traditional vendors. Also, the Little Italy businesses — Littlest Little Italy, Paesano’s, Henry’s Hi Life, Poor House Bistro — will be open and serving inside.
Local favorites include the Tricarico Social Club with its polenta and sausage and the Sons of Sicily frying up sfingi for dessert.
Look for arrosticini skewers, salumi and formaggio from Valley Fair’s Eataly. gnocchi and tiramisu from Morgan Hill’s Sicilia in Bocca Ristorante; pasta boscaiola with mushrooms, strozzapreti and meatballs from Locanda Sorrento in Campbell; and porchetta, antipasto salad and Caesar salad from Rolatti Ristorante in downtown San Jose. Paesano’s will offer arancini and cannoli outside on Julian Street.
Risotto’s Kitchen is doing limoncello cake, risotto and caprese, and Sugo Cooking is making lasagna and baked pasta. Sleight of Hand Pizza and La Fenice Pizza will sell slices.
Artisanal vendors include Roxane’s Biscotti, Mike & Niki’s Honey, That Garlic Stuff, The Olive Bar, Foustman’s Salami, La Copa Loca Gelato, plus specialties from Aemilia Imports, Luca Nextdoor and Ciao Italia.
Details: Julian Street and North Almaden Boulevard, San Jose; www.littleitalysj.com
