VERO BEACH — Friday marked the beginning of the three-day, Italian American Food Festival in Vero Beach, an attraction that will bring thousands together to indulge on heaping plates of lasagna, manicotti, spaghetti, calamari, spicy sausages, cannoli and bowls full of tripe.
To the unsuspecting visitor, the tripe may easily blend in among the assembly line full of marinara doused dishes. But this dish has a reputation for being either loved or hated.
Tripe is the lining of a cow’s stomach. And though the idea of it may be off-putting for some, according to Vinnie Abbate, one of the founders of the event, others have been known to travel just to get their tripe fix.
“You’d be surprised. People come all the way from Melbourne and up from Port St. Lucie only because their wives don’t like to make it,” Abbate said as he ate a bowlful.
As one of the last two living members of the event’s founding group, Abbate is very proud to be the “tripe cook.”
This year, he spent 12 hours behind five industrial-sized pots to brew up 350 pounds of the delicacy. He seasoned the sauce himself, and pointed out the inclusion of “honeycomb tripe” – what Abbate said is the best type available.
But not everyone agrees that the stomach lining is so appetizing.
Joanne Daniels and Kathy Carboni sat together in the dining hall after enjoying lasagna and eggplant Parmesan, both of which came highly recommended by friends.
Aside from enjoying the food, Daniels said she was happy to see her husband helping out in the kitchen.
The kitchen was teaming with men and women scuffling around with hot pans, stirring up steaming pots of sauce, and doing their best to stay ahead of the crowds lining up for dinner.
The cooking started days ago, filling a walk-in refrigerator with pans of prepared food. By the end of the weekend, Abbate said, easily over 100 cooks will have contributed to the homemade dishes.
Mary Ann D’Egidio was included in that cook-count for her homemade cakes, served up under the pastry tent. This year, she baked more than 35 cakes, made all of the cream puffs, and filled boxes upon boxes of cannoli pastry shells.
“I just like to bake,” D’Egidio said, as she pointed to more than half a dozen cake flavors laid out on the table in front of her. “I’ve been part of the club eight or nine years and have always baked the cakes.”
D’Egidio’s baked goods are only one of the many additions that have been tacked onto the annual festival since 1985, when Abbate and his comrades opened the kitchen doors to festival goers for the first time.
Richard Ferretti was president of the Italian American Club in 1985 and recalled the unexpected success of the event’s opening.
“We ran out of food on the very first night,” Ferretti said. “Vinnie was in charge of purchasing. He had to go out at 2 a.m. to make more sauce.”
Ferretti and Abbate are the only members of the original planning committee still alive today and both of them were proud to say they are still involved with the event.
Money raised from the Italian Food Festival will jointly support veterans, fund scholarships, and sustain the Italian American Civic Association of Vero Beach for the next year.
Anyone is welcome to join the association, regardless of national heritage. According to the club’s welcome letter, anyone who “enjoy[s] fine food, music, dancing, parties and special events throughout the year,” is encouraged to participate.
Abbate said the group is “warm and congenial.”
He added, “It’s a place where people can feel comfortable.”
Festivities, which include food, drinks, and live music, will continue Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., at the Italian American Civic Association building on the corner of 16th Ave. and 25th St., in Vero Beach.
Tickets redeemable for food are available for purchase at the door.
