Along with the religious part of the Festa de Santa Cristina
comes the festival food and flea market. There are people roasting corn on the
cob, various meats sausages and different kinds of nuts. People were stopping
for crepes with Nutella, as well as licorice candy. I decided I was going to
try a couple of things, as well as eat a favorite sandwich of mine.
One of the first things I tried was a delicacy I’ve seen for
years, but never knew exactly what it was. Strictly old people approach the
lemon adorned push cart and ask for a small helping of the local favorite from
a time gone by. What I’m talking about is the meat and fat from around the jaw
of a cow. In Bizarre Food’s fashion, I asked the local merchant to try a
sample, which he, wrongfully, did not think I would enjoy. First, he slices the
meat moderately thin, about as thick as a slice of Oscar Meyer bologna. Then he
salts the meat and squeezes fresh lemon juice over it. The taste is a smoky,
tart and salty all in one, with a decent consistency throughout.
Next, I picked up a piece of pampanella, which is spicy
roast pork. It might be the only food here that is actually piccante (spicy) when
they say so. I waited until I got home to eat the pampanella due to the fact
that there is a lot of fat to trim (almost half was fat that some people eat,
not me). I then headed for the torcinello sausage guys. There were quite a few
people grilling and selling the local favorite, which is basically a piece of
liver with some parsley wrapped in intestinal tubing, not stuffed. When grilled,
the tubing snaps when you chew it, unleashing a distinct meat flavor.
Lastly, I hit up the stand with the panino kebab (kebab meat
sandwich). It is one of my favorite sandwiches in Europe as many EU nations
have adopted the Turkish inspired dish. There were no less than a dozen stands
to choose from, and each one offered toppings that ranged from lettuce to
roasted peppers to seasoned eggplant.
While I ordered the kebab sandwich, the place was just
dishing up an batch of French fries. I’m not sure why, but the fries in Europe
are different. They stay consistently textured even when they’ve been out of the
fryer for a little while. They also have a lot of good sauces to put on
them. Along with my sandwich and fries,
I tried a Peroni Chill, Italy’s version of a shandy. It was delicious, but mostly
tasted like lemonade. 