Okay, sure, there’s plenty of food at the annual Taste of Little Italy street fair, but as two of our writers found last night, there’s not a whole lot of Italian grub on offer.

Other than the lamb skewers at Cafe Diplomatico, which both Sasha Grigorieva and Ofelia Legaspi remarked on, the event is more about the atmosphere, with bands and performers taking centre stage in favour of fine cuisine.

That didn’t stop people from lining up to try samples from everything from pizza to gelato.

Says Sasha:

But it doesn’t matter actually. Okay, so apart from ice-cream the only truly Italian items sold from the street stalls are small lamb skewers, and there is an occasional presentation of truffle oil, hot Calabrian tripe or a Pecorino burger, but mostly it’s grilled corn on the cob and so-called Italian sausages (one can also find organic peaches, vegetable samosas, fried chicken wings and so on). People still queue at every stall and all the restaurants and cafés are packed. For once, even I have to admit, that food is not that important.

What is important is the unique feeling of so many people enjoying themselves together, even the residents hang out on their balconies so as not to miss the fun and listen to the music. Smoke from the grill rises to the skies as do occasional escaped balloons. There seems to be a new band or singer every few metres: jazz, rock-n-roll, hard rock, ­whatever. And some sing traditional Italian songs ­ and people actually dance on the streets to them (it is very hard to stand still when one hears a tarantella). For those who love dancing I especially recommend the College/Montrose intersection; ­ other musicians may have better voices but the one stationed there plays irresistible dance songs.

Ofelia manages to find a few diamonds such as Riviera Bakery, Dolce Gelato and Cafe Diplomatico, but her general consensus is that “Taste of Little Italy is a little underwhelming in terms of selection. The street is sparse in sidewalk tastes and little distinguishes one from another.”

Taste of Little Italy runs today from 11am to 2am and tomorrow from 11am to 10pm along the Little Italy strip of College Street from Bathurst to Shaw Streets. It’s a fun event for anyone wanting to enjoy a sense of neighbourhood and community, but true foodies may be better off waiting to visit selected restaurants individually.

With files from TasteTO contributors Sasha Grigorieva and Ofelia Legaspi. Street dancers and lamb skewer photos by Sasha. Riviera Bakery and street cannoli photos by Ofelia.