Kennywood's Nationality Days: Italian Day

Ohhhh, Italian Day.

Good ol' Pavilion 4!

The nationality day about which most people call - "When's Italian Day?"  "What time are the fireworks?" "What time is the parade?" "What time are the bands playing?"  I always feel bad for the people who call last-minute, and they already have plans.


{FYI - Italian Day is always the 3rd Tuesday in July.}


Of course, it is so popular because of A.) The high population of Italians in Pittsburgh, especially in its own "Little Italy" section (Bloomfield), and B.) its feature in "Kennywood Memories" (at the 6:57 mark):







Please don't take the woman's advice at the end of the clip.  Please.  Spare us all.


Anyone who doesn't love Italian food must have never had GOOD Italian food.  Lots of carbs, lots of tomato sauce, and lots of love and sweat put into the food.  This year, Kennywood had 4 different vendors, selling their Italian goodies.


Ugh.  If that's going to be the case, then Italian "Day" needs to become Italian "Week".  So.  Much.  Good.  Food.


Del's in Bloomfield is most popular for their recent appearance on "Restaurant Impossible", a Food Network TV show that basically gives restaurants a facelift.  I have never been to Del's before or after the renovation, but having heard of them for so long, I did want to try their food.  From what I have read, there have been mixed reviews.

Del's Menu (No, they were not selling Miller Lite)

They were offering a combo deal for $10 -- any two items listed.  I went with the Chicken Parmesan and Pasta Mafalda, which also came with a piece of bread.  Gina from IT, a fine Italian woman herself, was accompanying me, and played copy-cat (KIDDING -- great minds think alike!):

Pasta Mafalda, Chicken Parmesan, bread

 The Chicken Parmesan was ok (yeah, just "ok"), but the Pasta Mafalda was AWESOME!  The sauce.  It was definitely the sauce.  Gina agreed, wholeheartedly!  The bread was very crusty, but it was also very fluffy, almost like eating cotton candy -- appropriate for an amusement park, I suppose. 


Gina and I also perused the selections from Angle Foods (yes, as in Kurt Angle, the Olympic Gold Medal Wrestler):

Angle Foods

Gina had heard that their Eggplant Fries were pretty amazing, so we split them:

Eggplant Fries

Yeah, we heard right.  Eggplant fries are definitely awesome.  If we had more stomachs, we would have also tried the Italian Egg Rolls, which were also spoken of quite highly:

A bit fuzzy, I know - Eggplant Fries and Italian Egg Rolls

Next year, my friends.  Definitely come back next year, and I will try them!  I also purchased two Pepperoni Rolls to take home for later (one for me, one for James):

Pepperoni Roll from Angle Foods

I don't think it's possible to make a bad pepperoni roll, and I'm glad Angle Foods has kept that theory of mine alive.  If they had a restaurant, or even a fast-food Italian place, they'd do SO WELL!


We then went to the sweets: Joyce's Homemade Cookies and Candy.  A sweets-lover's paradise, stretched over several folding tables:

The Italian Stuff from Joyce's

Only a small sampling of what was available.  Very, very small sampling

It was tough deciding what to get, but I went with the Lady Locks, which I shared with a few people back in the office and, of course, with James later in the day:

A light, sweet Lady Lock.  Yum yum yum!

Delicious.  Not to mention I saw them at Donatelli's in Bloomfield today, and thought about buying more (but I held back...stupid me!)


I had debated between the Lady Locks and Caramel Cups when choosing a purchase -- I mean, I ended up spending almost $30 at the pavilion already!  Luckily, since we are all about sharing back at the office, my boss, Michele, was willing to share one of her own Caramel Cups:

Caramel Cup

I wish money and calories didn't matter.  *sigh*


Unfortunately, due to my lack of stomachs, I did not get to try the foods from Italian Specialty Products, Inc., which had divisions in Ligonier (near Idlewild) and...Las Vegas?  Interesting.  Come back next year, please!

Italian Specialty Products, Inc.

The Italian Sons and Daughters of America (ISDA) know how to throw an event and how to share their heritage and pride with others.  Great food, great events (musicians, a parade, etc.), and to end it all -- fireworks:

I have a great view of the fireworks from my own house!

Slovak Day (CHEREGI!) is next, followed by Serbian Day (LAMB!!!!) the very next day!  Ugh, I'd better hit the gym HARD this week!




Kennywood Park
4800 Kennywood Blvd.
West Mifflin, PA 15122


Website: http://www.kennywood.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KennywoodPark
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Kenny_Kangaroo


Del's Bar & Ristorante DelPizzo
4428 Liberty Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15224 (Bloomfield)


Website: http://delsrest.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dels-Bar-Ristorante-DelPizzo/324941231918




Angle Foods, LLC
3100 Penn Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15201 (Strip District)


Website: http://www.kurtanglefoods.com/anglefoods.aspx
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AngleFoods
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AngleFoodsLLC