Atlantica - 01.09.2003, Page 22

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seem to have lost all respect for the culi-
nary traditions of their home country. Be
sure to check out your Zagat guide
before eating here. The atmosphere is
extremely lively, however, and never
more so than on the Feast of San
Gennaro, which takes place mid-
September. For the festival, which hon-
ours the patron saint of Naples,
Mulberry Street closes to traffic for ten
days while the festivities rage on.
Little Italy is slowly disappearing into
Chinatown, which according to the map
should lie beneath Canal Street but has
long since stretched much further north
towards Houston Street. This is to be
expected when you keep in mind rough-
ly 250,000 Chinese people live in
Chinatown, making it the largest
Chinese community outside of Asia. In
addition, numerous Vietnamese immi-
grants have settled here in the last
decade, adding to the Asian appearance
of this section of Manhattan.
Chinatown is not the diluted ethnic
flavour of Little Italy, but a true step into
Asia where you hear Chinese spoken all
around you; where the newspaper
stands offer Chinese newspapers; and
where you’ll find a fantastic selection of
food and spices, from wiggling frogs
and eels to cook on your stove to a
selection of ready-made meals in street
Chinatown is not the diluted ethnic flavour of Little Italy, but a true step into
Asia where you hear Chinese spoken all around you...
Big city life in China Town: soccer comes to the USA; where have all the flowers gone?; delicacies from the sea; bringing in the food.
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