I am still in a bit of a zeppole hangover from the past five days. Those crispy, doughy delights covered in powdered sugar are gifts from Heaven--no doubt from the very saints we gather to honor at the yearly Church bazaars (Italian feasts) here in New Jersey.

I grew up going to these every sticky summer, and now I'm actually part of them, serving meatballs & Sunday Gravy in the tradition of the little old nonnas in black.

We served up hundreds of balls, and at the conclusion of the two feasts, we had not one left. These were our first Italian feasts of the season for the meatball cart, and I was very excited for them both. After all, this is what the cart was built for--these are where we feel the most at home. The festivities began with St. Rocco's in Fort Lee--the 82nd--a feast I went to as a kid...actually THE feast of the summer when I was a kid off Main Street overlooking the GWB.

Opening night (Wednesday) was very rainy and gloomy, but it didn't put a damper on the fun. I saw so many people I knew from the area and was chatting with Uncle Floyd about music, movies and meatballs under the tent with my friends at the Fort Lee Film Commission. Although I was supposed to perform The Meatball Song with Floyd up on stage, that part of the night got cancelled due to the weather. Some day I know we'll cross paths again, everyone commented that we're destined to perform together.

Thursday and Friday was rain-free, and Fort Lee was the place to be. People came out in droves and we were crazy busy. Besides our regular meatball sandwiches, we had new stuffed meatball breads with provolone prepared by our paisans at DiPaolo Brothers Bakery in Newark. They also supplied us with their signature round loaf pizza bread, which we cut in half and filled up with our seven toppings. Our new Doo Wop Root Beer made its debut as well, which was a big hit.

Next to us was the Regali gift shop with the Italy hats, t-shirts, satin jackets, soccer jerseys, the red plastic horns to hang from your rearview mirror...of course the CD selection with everything from Sinatra to Angelo Venuto available. On the other side was the Dunk-A-Cop booth which had a HUGE crowd and across the way was the legendary "Crazy Vinny," singing and flipping his saw-zeege and peppers. Then there’s the money wheels, rides for the kids and games of chance. (I remember prizes like framed pictures of Dean Martin or a laundry basket full of mopeens, boxes of spaghetti and bottles of Brioschi, but all they seemed to offer was stuffed animals.)

The main thing to keep in mind at these feasts--and what too often sadly gets lost--is the religious connection. There are carnivals all over but a church bazaar is different. It is the Italian carnival in every way possible. Roman-Catholics place a lot of importance on the saints, and the St. Rocco Society is a very devoted one. I'd like to especially thank members Domenico Tripodi and Sal Luppino, who invited us to participate. St. Rocco's is a five day feast, but we had previously committed to be part of the St. Donato feast in Montclair which began on Saturday & Sunday. It was tough to leave Fort Lee but I was not about to break a committment, I only wish there were more of me to devote to more saints.


So Saturday morning, bright and early, we hitched up the meatball cart and were off to set up at festa #2 in Montclair. This was the first time in 90 years that St. Donato was being honored at Montclair's Mount Carmel Church. Just like St. Rocco, their opening day (Saturday) was filled with rain. I was beginning to think that it may have been the curse of Johnny Meatballs! But the wetness eventually subsided, and there was actually a real nice crowd on Saturday night--including a visit by Anthony Lombardi of "Jerseylicious."

Sunday was a much better day weather wise, it was dry and hot. I give a lot of credit to the society members who marched with St. Donato up and down the streets for over two hours. Some of the notable stands were the cigar rollers from Fume and Frankie Antipast' who had a whole selection of deli treats...dried sausages and salumi and marinated everything--olives, cheeses, madonne, what a set-up he had! My wife was the guest bartender on Sunday in the beer & wine garden, serving up homemade vino with the peaches floating inside. There was beautiful music by the Red Mike Festival Band as well as the DJ, who played doo-wop to disco to freestyle hits. Joey "Goomba" Santoro and Dan Armino made us feel like family, and I'm excited to annouce that I'll be returning to Montclair on Aug. 25th for their 85th annual St. Sebastian Feast!


Family, friends, cugines--young and old--gathering together to celebrate their faith with wine, cigars, lots of food, just like any holiday at an Italian's house is what these feasts are all about. They are the TRUE representation of the old-school, authentic New Jersey Italian-American experience. To have been a part of these two for saints Rocco and Donato with Johnny Meatballs On A Roll is real special.