Food at Italian Day 2023. Mangiamo!
It wouldn’t be an Italian festa without a banquet of delicious Italian food offered up by The Drive’s merchants and guest vendors.
Heaven for the Italian dolci lovers, there will be a selection: Cannoli (limoncello, traditional and other), Appolini, Sfogliatelle, Bomboloni, Gelato and more.
Pasta bars and fresh pasta also take to the street, along with a range of wood-fire panini and pizza food trucks, while authentic small bites and Italian product samplings are paired with wine and beer tasters at the Authentic Italian Table.
Other savoury street food will include: fettine panini (veal cutlet sandwiches), barbecued sausages, chicken, sardines, meatballs, arancini, calzone, traditional fried dough and more!
Aperol Spritz and Negroni’s are the cocktail flavour of the day, as are espresso-based beverages. Be sure to enjoy ‘Il dolce far niente’.
All kinds of records broken this year, including a record 20 summer patios, 23 food trucks, as well as over 50 vendors with Italian and European/latin themed street food.
And of course – a diverse range of other ethnic favorites (with an Italian twist) dished up by the Drive merchants and visiting vendors.
Authentic Italian Table Piazza
presented by the Italian Chamber of Commerce (West)
Location: Grandview Park – Sport Court
Today, Italian cuisine is re-interpreted and reconstructed across the globe. The end result is that what Canadians may be familiar with as Italian food isn’t really Italian due to misused ingredients or using products without DOP and IGP certifications. The Authentic Italian Table aims to bring back pure flavours, celebrating Italian ingredients and bringing Canadians the extraordinary taste of traditional products and dishes.
This year’s Authentic Italian table will feature the following food and beverage samplings, represented by various participants:
• Casereccio and Mercato di Luigi – featuring samplings of fresh pasta and ravioli
• Italian Chamber of Commerce – mixed antipasti with Prosciutto di Parma, Grana Padano, Balsamic Vinegar and Canteloupe
• Terrafoods – bruschetta
• MASI wines, Stile Brands, Bocale Wines – wine and prosecco
• Luppolo – beer
• Lavish Liquid – cocktails
Other Italian Food Highlights
• Bosa Piazza (Parker street) – food samplings from their ‘Famiglia’ product line, Italian-style pasta salad, Italian soda and more.
• Fontana Forni Wood-fire Pizza Ovens on 4th Ave – featuring award winning Pizzaiolo Giuseppe Cortinovis with pizza straight out of the ovens.
• Drive Merchants – Bar Corso – patio | Sopra Sotto – patio | Arriva Ristorante – pasta bar | Livia’s | Fratelli’s | Dolce Amore | New Triple AAA | Continental Coffee | La Grotta del Formaggio – arancini & burratini salad | East Van Inc – chicken barbecue | newcomer to the festival and Little Italy – Soccavo – featuring an Aperol Spritz and Negroni curbside garden and fresh mortadella panini.
Other Guest Vendor Italian favourites
Cannoli King – food truck – cannoli, sfogliatelle, appolini, bomboloncini
Via Tevere – food truck – wood-fire panini
Gusto – A Taste of Italy – gelato & wood-fire pizza & porchetta panini
Ragazzi Pizza – food truck
Nonna’s Cucina – food truck – wood-fire panini
Mr. Arancino – food truck – arancini
New Guest Vendors for Italian Day 2023
Antise – Appolini
Pastaggio – fresh pasta
Aperitivo – food truck
Focacciaza – cart
Milano Coffee Roasters – coffee of all forms, including affogato
Cultural Italian Associations with food
Il Centro, Italian Cultural Centre – Fettine (thin cutlet) in a bun
Calabrese Association – barbecued sausages in a bun
Famiglia Bagnolese – barbecued sausages and traditional fried dough
Buon appetito!
